Thomas Cole


I did this about 5 years ago. In my state it is far easier but the process is the same. I suggest that you do not use the county website instead take a trip to the courthouse so you can actually have the aid of an expert. These people are employed by the county so they already work for you. The tax assessor's office is stop one and that has already been explained. The county clerk is stop two. The clerk records the deed, you can see the actually deed and the record showing if there are any current liens on the property, this is public knowledge, is free, will tell you who actually owns the property and, if you're lucky, the clerk can tell you about the property owner. The clerk will then send you to the treasurer's office where you can make sure the property tax is paid up to date. This trip can save you from paying a title company just to find out you can't buy the property anyway. After all of that use an attorney to handle the contract. An attorney will save you a fortune and if you shop around you will find one who will do it all for one or two hundred dollars. The attorney has been through the process themselve, hopefully numerous times and will be able to walk you through the process and possibly even handle the bargaining for you. Do not use the seller's attorney!