Almost everything about the real estate that you own or live in is public. It is easier than ever to find out who owns a piece of property, when they bought
it and how much they paid for it. For many properties, I can find pictures of the interior too.
Most of the information about your house is public. It is fairly easy to find out how much of a mortgage there is on a house or if it is owned free and clear. Sometimes I can find permits that show when certain home improvements were made.
When someone sells a house in St. Paul they need to have a truth in housing inspection. The inspection reports can be found on the internet by using the property lookup feature. Sometimes there are several old inspection reports too.
Sometimes it pays to do a little research before buying or selling real estate. The county websites also have information including pictures. Google Maps is also a great place to research property. I like to do a virtual driveby when I can’t quite picture the area.
When someone calls me about selling a house if I don’t know the caller one of the first things I do is look up the property to see if the person calling is or could be the property owner.
