Identifying the owner of a particular property can help you determine whom to approach about a sales inquiry, or prevent you from falling victim to real-estate scams. Because property owner documents are public records, they are readily available at most county courthouses or property tax divisions. Therefore, conducting your own search to find a property owner, using only an address, is fairly straightforward and perfectly legal.
Step 1
Visit your city courthouse's website if the address of the property in question is within the city limits, and search for the property owner in the online property listing directory. If the address is outside the city limits, you'll need to visit the county courthouse's website.
Enter the address of the property in question into the address field to obtain the property owner's contact information.
Step 2
Visit the city or county courthouse in person if an online directory isn't available, or didn't identify the property owner. You can go to either the public records office or the property tax division; either office should be able to provide the property owner's name and contact information.
Give the address to the office clerk, and request the name and contact information for the most recent owner of the property. You may have to sign a form stating your name and reason for inquiry before the office will release the property owner's information.
Step 3
Use a third-party property search firm, or a local title company, to locate hard-to -find property owners. A title company will be able to furnish filed deeds for the property in question, which you can then use to trace the most recent owner. These companies can also perform more extensive research to locate property owners, but their services may be expensive. You can also search the Bureau of Land Management's federal land records database to locate owners of federally transferred land dating as far back as 1820, according to the University of North Texas Libraries.