How To Find Mortgage History On A Property

Whats In The Land Registry

The land registration system contains official records of land and property in Ontario, including the:

• title, which is a legal term for the land rights held by a person or corporation
• deed, which is a term used for the legal document that transfers title from one person to another
• mortgage and other land documents.

How To Determine If My Neighbor Has A Mortgage On His House

While the easiest way to find out if your neighbor has a mortgage is simply to ask, there are other ways to get this information. When a person takes out a mortgage to buy a property, the document is registered with the local land registry agency. It then becomes a matter of public record, and anyone who wishes to access this information – and pay any required fees – can do so.

Property History Search By Owner

If you already know who the owning person or entity is behind a property, you can also navigate to the Ownership tab of Reonomys search app to simply search the name of the owner and find a propertys history that way.

Once you have clicked Apply, youll instead be taken to a list of properties, as the owner may own multiple properties. From that list, you can then click any address, where youll then go to the profile page of the individual asset as mentioned above.

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Who Completes The Title Search

An attorney or title company usually performs the title search, which is most often initiated after the seller and buyer execute a contract. The steps involved can vary depending on location, however.

In New York City, the search is done by independent title companies, says Greg Maybaum, a real estate attorney in New York City. Once the contract is signed, the purchasers attorney typically orders the title search, and either that attorney or the title company provides the completed report to the sellers attorney. Its the sellers attorneys job to then manage and address title issues with the title company.

The company or attorney generally does the sleuthing at the office of the county or municipal clerk where the property is located. Many of the necessary records are now available online, so the searcher often doesnt need to physically visit an office to conduct the search.

This person reviews many sources of information related to the property, explains Suzanne Hollander, an attorney and real estate professor at Florida International University in Miami, such as:

• Deeds
• Judgments
• Maps

A thorough title search will also likely include details about mortgages attached to the property, street and sewer assessments, taxes and any other title problems present, Hollander says.

Once all the information is gathered, the title company or attorney will create an abstract report that reveals what has been found regarding the title.

What Can You Learn From Property Records

There are a number of things you can learn from property records in fact, you may be surprised by just how much there is to know, especially if the home youre interested in is older with lots of history.

Any time there is a major change to the house affecting the ownership, its recorded with the county or city. Major changes can include sales or transfers of ownership, tax liens, and changes to the homes square footage, if there have been additions to the property.

A property record search can also reveal information about the previous owners, property deeds even some personal information about the seller regarding divorce and bankruptcy.

A more extensive search could tell you whether the land where the property sits has any restrictions, and who originally built the home you might even dig up old photos of the home. For instance, the Los Angeles Public Library has a Housing Authority historic photo collection for Los Angeles county.

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Why Access Mortgage Records

There are several reasons why you may want access to the mortgage records on a property:

• Mortgage records on a foreclosed home can give prospective buyers a competitive advantage during the bidding process.
• Mortgage records can provide important information and insight about the current owners, such as how motivated they may be to sell the property.
• Mortgage records show how much the owner borrowed on a home or how often the property has been listed for sale, which can help you decide how much to offer.
• Mortgage records show when the lender transferred the mortgage to another lending company.
• Mortgage records help determine the current value of the property.

How To Find Out If Someone Died In The Home

If youre worried about the property being haunted, or just concerned that previous activity in the home could affect how easy it will be for you to sell later on, you can use DiedInHouse.com.

Perhaps youve heard a rumor about the property or know that the area has a horrific past. A service like Died in House can help you find out for sure if that affects the house you are looking to purchase.

They will create a report on any home that is a valid Unites States address so that you can remove some fears you might have about the property.

Since, in most states, death is not considered to be a material fact that requires disclosure when the home is sold, you can use this service to find information that would be very difficult to uncover otherwise.

Without using a service like this, you will be reliant on information from the seller, their agent, neighbors, or any details you can find by searching online. Doing so, could take a lot of time and still not result in revealing information about any deaths in the home.

The site charges just under $12 for research on one property, but the report contains more information than you might initially expect. As well as telling you about a death in the home, they also give you details about:

• The cause of death, if known
• Information on the deceased
• Property history information

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Verify Ownership Details Immediately

Do you have headaches searching multiple maps, county databases, and assessors websites for accurate information? We put precise property details right at your fingertips such as property ownership, square footage, and year the home built, and much more. Our data sources provides you with the most up-to-date ownership detailsinfo, and gives it to you with one click of a search button.

chris p

Commercial Lender, FL

The service is AWESOME . I use it all the time to verify property info for my commercial deals. The title download functionality is easy. I can get a title of a property in my downloads so quick and easy”

dan l.

Insurance Agent, CA

“I recently re-subscribed to this service, At first I didnt realize how valuable this was, but now I see its an extremely valuable tool. I get to download deed, mortgage and involuntary lien reports in seconds”

Ownership History And Abstract Of Title

After the title search is finished, the title company will know the history of ownership of the property in question. Based on this history, the title company will prepare a summary of the findings, known as an Abstract of Title. A legal document called a Title Opinion Letter will then need to be issued that demonstrates the validity of the title. If the title is considered valid, the title company can then proceed to issue title insurance.

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Why Choose Attoms Mortgage Data

Decades of property data collection and optimization makes ATTOM the industry leader in providing public mortgage data for your exact need.

Improved Efficiency

Accurate information improves your efficiency across the board. Real-time analytics provides an accurate picture of your mortgage data.

Know Your Clients

Your business will improve through a better understanding of your clients with up-to-date and accurate data.

Better Decision Making

Speed of accessing information can improve your decision-making process by fueling your analytics with extensive and regular updates.

Accurate Targeting

You define your targets, our data helps you reach them. Its available at all geographic levels.

Ownership Insights

Verify the property owners, lenders, and title companies listed in the loan data.

Loan Data Analytics

Estimated things like risk and payoff totals with the amortized balance and rates for loans against a property.

Ask An Experienced Real Estate Agent

When you are interested in the history of properties you are looking to buy, dont forget about local Realtors. A real estate agent that has been operating in the area for a long time, will have a wealth of knowledge about the area and possibly the property you want to own.

They might offer you some clues about the property so that you can narrow down your research, and they could be a good place to start. For example, I have lived in Hopkinton Massachusetts my entire life.

Some people may not know it is the start of the world-famous Boston Marathon. Others may not know Hopkinton has been rated as one of the safest places to live in America or have some of the best schools in the state.

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Discovering Paranormal Activity Searching The History Of A House

This should help ensure that the property you are looking to buy doesnt have a dark past you may only find out about when youve been living in the property for a while. Helping you avoid buying a property that turns out to be a macabre tourist attraction, for example.

The report should or help put your mind at ease over negative energy in the home or ghostly activity if thats something that worries you.

While this service is often used by paranormal investigators, house appraisers, and real estate agents researching a home before they list it, buyers can also profit from using this service.

You could also use the information in a report like this to gain a better deal on a home. After all, it could impact the property value. Finding some negative information about a property could put you in a position to negotiate a better deal with the seller.

Whether you want to live in the home, or if you are purchasing as an investor, there is an opportunity for a discount. If you dont mind the idea of buying a property with what some people would see as a negative history, you could get a bargain.

Mortgage Data Points You Can Find Online

You can find data online for individual loans, the properties and people involved with those loans, and the lending entities involved.

Some data sources have all of this information, whereas others may only have partial data.

You can find data on each of the following pieces of a mortgage:

1. Dates: Loan origination and maturity dates.

2. Dollars: How much the loan is worth.

3. Terms: The length of the loan, specific loan type, and interest rate.

4. Companies: The lenders of the loan, as well as any other entities involved .

5. Names: The people behind property ownershipincluding the names and contact information of the borrowing party.

6. Assets: The property or properties being mortgaged, as well as any other asset being used as collateral to secure the loan.

Mortgage Origination Data

Mortgage Origination DateThe mortgage origination date is the date on which the borrower closed on the property and signed the mortgage deed.

This piece of commercial real estate data is helpful for a few reasons. Most importantly, it tells you when that specific mortgage took effect, and therefore, gives you a rough assurance of when that loan matures.

This is not always the same as the purchase date, either.

A person or entity can carry multiple mortgages on a property at the same time, or over time, in which case the origination date may be different than the purchase date.

Mortgage Maturity DateAs its name implies, the mortgage maturity date tells you when a loan is set to mature.

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How To Track Down Your Mortgage Transfer Records

When your mortgage broker sells your loan to another lender, there might not be specific mortgage transfer records for your loan.

Q: Four years ago my husband and I refinanced our home with a mortgage broker, who immediately sold it to a big box lender, to whom we have been paying our mortgage payment for years. I happened to look at the records for our County Recorder of Deeds, but I donât see any evidence of the transfer to the big box lender.

Shouldnât I expect to see a recording of transfer from the mortgage broker to the big box lender and a recording of a satisfaction of the mortgage to the mortgage broker?

A: Weâll start with the easy part of your question. When a lender sells your loan or transfers the servicing of your loan, the loan or the lien that secures your loan is not âsatisfied.â So youâd never expect to see a release of your mortgage due solely to your lender selling off or transferring servicing rights to a different lender. As you have not repaid your loan, there is no release to be seen. Youâll see a release of the mortgage at the time the loan is paid off in full.

With that in mind, lenders will use MERS but when they need to file suit against the homeowner for a loan default, they will now file the assignment of the mortgage against the property.

How Mortgage Records Are Used

Public mortgage records can tell you a lot about a home and its owner. Potentially, your clients could leverage this information to get a better price. For example, mortgage records may show if the sellers are divorcing. Using this information, your client could offer a lower price, knowing that the sellers are motivated to get rid of the property.

You also can find out how many times the home has been listed, removed, and relisted. This gives you peek into the listing and potential problems: Did the owner remove it because the market was slow or because something was wrong with the house? Was the seller just testing the market the first time? If so, it may mean the owner is motivated to sell, again giving your client an opportunity to offer a lower price.

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The National Register Of Historic Places Will Tell You If The Home Is Historic

If the property youre interested in is a historic home, then you should be able to locate it through the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register of Historic Places is a program of the National Park Service, where properties that are historically significant are recorded.

They have a research page where you can search for properties. Theres also a downloadable spreadsheet on the research page, which is currently the most complete set of information they have on all properties. You can recover a propertys historic name or reference number from the spreadsheet. Theres also a GIS map on the website that you can use.

If you dont find a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, that doesnt necessarily mean the house isnt historic. Theres a similar resource called the State Historic Preservation Office .

Many states maintain their own official lists of inventories or registers of historic and cultural resources, says Jeff Joeckel, an archivist with the National Register of Historic Places. He has more than 20 years of experience working with the National Park Service.

Its possible for a state to list a property on the state register, but not send it to the National Register of Historic Places. In other words, if we dont have the information on the property, it can still be considered worthy of preservation by the state, Joeckel says. So you may have to look in two places.

Commercial Real Estate Databases For Finding Mortgage Data

As we mentioned to start, one of the challenges with commercial mortgage data is that it is notoriously difficult to find.

Mortgage data associated with private bank loans tend to be the most elusive, as banks are not required to report loan-level detail in the same manner as public entities.

Instead, private banks tend to report categories of data, like total loan volume, rather than report the data associated with individual loans.

Often times, youll need some basic information, like the owner or borrowers name and/or the property address.

Then you can search the countys registry of deeds to pull the public records associated with that property.

That can be a laborious process, however.

There are a few easily accessible commercial real estate databases that can help expedite your efforts of finding commercial mortgage data.

Reonomy

With Reonomy, commercial lenders and banks can quickly analyze the portfolios of owners and lenders with data spanning everything from transaction data, to current debt, to full ownership details.

Reonomy technology connects all of this data to show the interconnectivity of people, companies, and property.

CoreLogic

CoreLogic offers a few different tools that can be helpful for finding mortgage data.

One of those tools, called RealQuest, includes property-specific data for 149 million parcels, including transaction histories, MLS data, valuations and more.

HUD

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How Far Back Does A Property Title Search Usually Go

To avoid any last minute surprises in the closing process and guarantee that the buyer will become the sole owner of the property, a thorough, professional property title search is critical. A property title search is the process of gathering documents that show who has the legal right to own the property in question and, through that ownership, to sell it. While it may seem simple and obvious that the home seller is the owner, there may be hidden claims or liens on the property by other parties that the seller and buyer may be completely unaware of. To avoid any last minute surprises and guarantee that the buyer becomes the sole owner of the property, a property title search is critical to ensuring any property transaction goes smoothly for all parties.