Property Records,
where the record lives
Where property records are kept and how to read them: recorders and registers of deeds, parcel numbers, plats and legal descriptions, easements, homestead exemptions, tax and ownership lookups, and guides to the county offices we search.
Durham County Register of Deeds: How to Search Real Estate Records in Durham, NC
The Durham County Register of Deeds records deeds, deeds of trust, plats and other real estate documents at 201 East Main Street, Durham. Its online search covers all real estate documents except the historical record and the condo, corporate, mortgage and plat books. Judgments and contractor claims of lien are filed with the Clerk of Superior Court instead.
Read the guide · 8 min readForsyth County Register of Deeds: Searching Winston-Salem Deeds and Land Records
The Forsyth County Register of Deeds, at 201 North Chestnut Street in Winston-Salem, records deeds, deeds of trust, satisfactions, plats and other land records. Its free online record search shows index entries and document images; computerized indexes began in 1965. Judgments, liens filed in court, foreclosures, estates and wills are kept by the Clerk of Court.
Read the guide · 8 min readHorry County Land Records: How to Search Deeds, Mortgages and Parcels
Horry County land records sit in two official systems. The county Land Records app maps tax parcels and finds a PIN by address or owner name. The Register of Deeds index in Conway holds recorded deeds, mortgages, plats and liens, searchable by name, book and page, legal description or document type. Neither one is a title opinion.
Read the guide · 8 min readHow to Find the Deed to Your House and Get a Copy
Your deed is recorded with the county office that keeps land records where the house sits: the recorder, county clerk, clerk of court or register of deeds. Look up the parcel and owner at the assessor, search the recording office's index by owner name or parcel, then order a copy. Certified copies cost more than plain ones.
Read the guide · 8 min readAPN Lookup: How to Find an Assessor's Parcel Number for Any Property
An APN lookup finds the assessor's parcel number, the unique ID a county assigns to one parcel of land. You can find it on a tax bill, a deed or an assessment notice, or by searching the county assessor's site by address or owner name. The format differs by county.
Read the guide · 8 min readAppurtenant Easement vs Easement in Gross: Who Benefits and What Transfers
An appurtenant easement benefits a specific parcel of land and transfers automatically with that parcel. An easement in gross benefits a person or an organization and is not tied to any neighboring parcel. The difference decides who can use the easement, whether it passes to a buyer, and what a record search should look for.
Read the guide · 8 min readCook County Deed Search: How to Look Up a Deed by Address, Name or PIN
Search recorded Cook County deeds on the Cook County Clerk website by address, PIN, grantor or grantee. The Clerk lists documents from 1985 to the present online. Older deeds are in tract books at the downtown office. Copies cost $5 to $65, depending on type. A deed search shows documents, not whether title is good.
Read the guide · 9 min readCounty Recorder's Office: What It Records, What It Does Not, and How to Search It
A county recorder's office accepts real estate documents such as deeds, mortgages and liens, stamps each with a unique record identification, and indexes it so the public can find it later. It does not check that a document is valid, value property, or collect property tax. Those jobs belong to other offices.
Read the guide · 9 min readEasement by Necessity: How Landlocked Parcels Get Access and What Shows in the Record
An easement by necessity is a right to cross a neighbor's land that a court recognizes when a parcel has no other access and was once part of the same property as the land it must cross. It is created by the facts, not by a recorded document, so it often does not appear in the records.
Read the guide · 8 min readEasement Meaning: Definition, Types and How to Find One on a Property
Easement meaning: an easement is a legal right to use part of another person's land for a specific purpose, such as a driveway or a utility line, without owning it. The right is a nonpossessory property interest. The owner keeps title, but the land is burdened by the easement.
Read the guide · 8 min readEncroachment: Meaning, Examples, and What Happens When a Neighbor Builds Over the Line
An encroachment is an unauthorized intrusion onto a neighboring property, such as a fence, wall, driveway, roof overhang or tree branch that crosses the boundary line. The owner of the land that was crossed can negotiate, sell or grant the strip, or ask a court for an order. Time can also change the outcome.
Read the guide · 9 min readFlorida Homestead Exemption: Who Qualifies, the March 1 Deadline and Save Our Homes
The Florida homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of your permanent residence by up to $50,000 and starts the Save Our Homes cap on yearly assessment increases. You must own the home and live in it on January 1, and file with your county property appraiser by March 1. It is separate from the creditor protection in the state constitution.
Read the guide · 8 min readHarris County Deed Search: How to Find and Copy Deed Records in Houston
A Harris County deed search uses the County Clerk's Real Property index, which you can search by grantor, grantee, file number, legal description or date range. Searching the index costs nothing. Viewing or buying a copy requires a free account, and the Clerk lists the per-page and certification fees online.
Read the guide · 9 min readHomestead Exemption: What It Is, How It Works, and How States Differ
A homestead exemption is a legal benefit for the home you live in. Depending on the state, it lowers the taxable value of the home, protects some or all of its value from creditors, or does both. Each state writes its own rules, amounts and filing steps, so you must check your own.
Read the guide · 9 min readHow to Find Out Who Owns a Property, and Prove It
Look up the parcel at the county assessor or property appraiser, which lists the owner of record for tax purposes, then confirm it against the most recent deed recorded with the county recorder or clerk. The deed is the legal proof of ownership; the tax roll can lag a recent transfer by weeks or months.
Read the guide · 8 min readIllinois Homestead Exemption: Cook County Homeowner, Senior and Freeze Rules
In Cook County, the Illinois homestead exemption is the Homeowner Exemption: it reduces a home's equalized assessed value by $10,000 if you own and occupy it as your principal residence. Senior, Senior Freeze and Persons with Disabilities exemptions are separate programs, each with its own eligibility and renewal rules.
Read the guide · 8 min readMetes and Bounds: Description, Example and How to Read One
Metes and bounds is a way of describing land by tracing its boundary. The description starts at a point of beginning, follows each boundary line by direction and distance, often using landmarks called monuments, and ends where it began. It is one kind of legal description written into a deed.
Read the guide · 8 min readPhiladelphia Deed Search: How to Look Up a Deed, Mortgage or Owner
Philadelphia deeds are recorded by the Department of Records, whose commissioner serves as Recorder of Deeds. Its online system, Philadox, searches deeds and other property records from 1974 to the present. Older records come by mail or in person. A deed search shows recorded documents, not title insurance or legal advice.
Read the guide · 8 min readPlat Map: What It Shows, How to Read One, and Plat of Survey Differences
A plat map is a recorded drawing of a subdivision that shows how a tract of land is divided into lots, blocks, streets and easements. Florida law defines a plat as a map or delineated representation of the subdivision of lands. A plat of survey is different: it is a surveyor's drawing of one parcel.
Read the guide · 8 min readPrescriptive Easement: How It Works and How Long It Takes
A prescriptive easement is a right to use another person's land that is acquired through open and notorious, adverse, continuous use for a number of years set by state law, with no deed. It gives the user a right of use, not ownership of the land. People also search for it as a prescribed easement.
Read the guide · 9 min readProperty History: How to Look Up Past Owners, Sales, Permits and Liens
Property history is the record of who owned a property, what it sold for, what work was done on it and what claims were recorded against it. No single database holds all of it. The county recorder is the most reliable source, followed by the assessor, the building department and the tax collector.
Read the guide · 9 min readProperty Tax Lookup: How to Find Property Tax Records and Bills for a Parcel
A property tax lookup means searching a county or city tax office website, by address, owner name or parcel number, to see a property's tax bills, balance owed and payment history. The assessor sets the value and the treasurer or collector bills it, so you often need both offices.
Read the guide · 8 min readPulaski County AR Real Estate Records: Where Deeds, Owners and Taxes Are Kept
Pulaski County AR real estate records are split across offices. The Circuit and County Clerk records deeds, mortgages, plats and liens, and its website shows records from 1994 to present. The County Assessor keeps owner, parcel and value data. Property taxes are billed from the Assessor's data and handled by the County Treasurer.
Read the guide · 8 min readRegister of Deeds: What the Office Does and Who Records Your Deed
A register of deeds is the local public office that records deeds and other property documents, indexes them, and keeps them open for public search. The title is used in some states, such as North Carolina. In many others the same job belongs to a county clerk, recorder or similar office.
Read the guide · 9 min readTexas Homestead Exemption: School Tax, Over-65 Rules and Creditor Protection
The Texas homestead exemption removes $100,000 of a home's appraised value from school district taxation, with $10,000 more for owners who are 65 or older or disabled. Cities, counties and other units can add their own. You apply once with your county appraisal district, normally before May 1.
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