How do I find out the history of a property?

Violet, there are five different records here and they answer five different questions. Somebody already pointed you at permits and prior listings, which are two of the good ones. Let me lay out the whole set so you know which door to knock on for what. If you want to know who owned it and what is attached to it, pull the chain of title. Order a property search from a title company, or go to the county Register of Deeds. This gives you every recorded transfer, plus mortgages, liens, easements and any recorded restrictions. It is also the cheapest way to date the house: look for the point where the deeds stop describing bare land and start describing a house. If you want to know what has been done to it, pull the permit history from the city or county building department. Permits tell you about the roof, the electrical, the additions, the pool. Just as important is what you do NOT find. An obvious addition with no permit is a real issue, and it can mean the square footage does not count in an appraisal. If you want to know how it has been marketed and priced, ask an agent to pull the MLS history. This is my favorite one and it is the one consumers cannot get themselves. An agent can see prior listings, prior price reductions, how long it sat, whether it went under contract and fell out, and often archived photographs from previous listings. Old listing photos are gold, because they show you what the house looked like before somebody painted over something. If you want to know how old it is and how it has changed physically, use the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and historical aerial photography. Insurers surveyed thousands of American towns block by block for close to a century, drawing each structure with its footprint and materials in dated editions, and the Library of Congress has a large digitized collection. Aerials from the 1930s and 1940s onward are hosted by many states and universities. Watch for the edition where the building first appears, and for footprints changing over time, which shows you additions. If you want to know what happened in it, that is the hardest one and the honest answer is that it depends on your state. Disclosure rules for deaths, crimes and what gets called stigmatized property vary enormously, and a number of states expressly say a death on the property is not a material fact and does not have to be disclosed. I do not practice in North Carolina and I am not going to guess at its rule, so ask a local agent or a real estate attorney what is and is not disclosable there before you assume silence means nothing happened. Two more that come up constantly: - Flood history. Check the FEMA flood map for the parcel, and separately ask whether the property has ever flooded, which is a different question than what zone it sits in. - Lead paint. If it was built before 1978, federal law treats it as target housing, so the seller has to give you the EPA pamphlet, disclose what they know, hand over any reports, and give you a 10-day window to test unless you agree otherwise in writing. That is a right you have, and most buyers waive it without realizing they had it. One practical note. If you are doing this because something feels off about a specific house, say so to your agent directly. "Find out why this sold three times in six years" is a better instruction than "pull the history," and the answer is usually in the MLS record. I am a real estate professional, not an attorney, and I am not licensed in North Carolina. My name is Zoltan Peresztegi and I work in Los Angeles, the South Bay and on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Start with the title search and the old MLS photos. Those two answer most of it. Zoltan

Violet, what kind of history are you looking for? Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

Understanding a propertys history gives you context that is not visible in the current listing, and the information is largely public in Florida and across the Southeast. In North Carolina and throughout the Southeast, the starting points for property history research are the county property appraisers website (which shows ownership history, sale dates, and purchase prices going back years), the county clerk of courts (which shows recorded deeds, liens, judgments, and any lis pendens or foreclosure filings), and the county building department (which shows permit history for improvements, additions, and system replacements). For additional context, Zillow and Realtor.com both maintain listing history databases showing prior listing dates, prices, and days-on-market for most properties that have been listed on the MLS. If the property was involved in a foreclosure, the court records are public and searchable. For older properties where the MLS history may be incomplete, a title search by a licensed Florida or North Carolina title company will produce a comprehensive chain of ownership going back decades. Combining the property appraiser records, the permit history, and the MLS listing history gives you a complete picture of what the property has been through before you make an offer. Kevin Neely & Kaitlynd Robbins | K2 Sells, Keller Williams Elite Partners

Start with your county's property appraiser and clerk of court websites. The property appraiser shows ownership history, assessed values, tax history, and basic property details like year built, square footage, and lot size. The clerk of court records show deed transfers, liens, mortgages, and any legal actions involving the property. Your local building department maintains permit records that show what work has been done on the property, when it was done, and whether it passed inspection. This is especially useful for understanding additions, renovations, and major system replacements. For a broader history, you can search newspaper archives for the address, check historical maps through your local library or the USGS, and look at aerial imagery over time using Google Earth's historical imagery feature to see how the property and surrounding area have changed. Your title company will conduct a thorough title search as part of any purchase, which reveals the complete chain of ownership, any liens or encumbrances, and any recorded legal issues with the property.

In NC, the cleanest way to learn a property’s “paper trail” is to pull county public records and match them with MLS history. Start with the County Register of Deeds (ROD): Search by owner name or address to see the deed chain, sale dates/prices (sometimes), and recorded docs like deeds of trust (mortgages), liens, easements, plats, and HOA declarations. Most counties have an online ROD search. Check the County GIS/Tax Assessor site: This shows tax value, lot size, zoning, tax bills, prior sales (often), sketch/measurements, and sometimes permit links. Look up permits/inspections: Use the county/city Building Inspections/Permitting portal (or call) to see permits pulled, finals, COs, and major upgrades—great for verifying renovations. Court records (if needed): For foreclosures, probate, or lawsuits, use the NC court system’s public records/search. Quick tip: Addresses can be messy (road name changes, unit numbers, rural routes). If the address search is thin, search by PIN/Parcel ID from GIS or by the current owner name from tax records.

You can search the country records and find a history of the property information

You can obtain sales and ownership history from your county assessor or property value administrator. Many times they have this information online.

If you are referring to the buy and sale history of a home, that can be found in a few places, such as the county tax records for the property or a real estate agent and have them look at the Multiple Listing Service and see the history there. If you are referencing a Historic Home.... That can be in the historic registry fo the area. and I always encourage my clients to google the address. One of my investors found out the a home was a known drug activity house previously by seeing the google activity that come up with the police calls to that address.... You never know what you can find...

Some resources to find out more about the property are the county assessors, county recorders, google search, a title company can pull a property profile or do a title search, talking with a great local agent that is familiar with the neighborhood and talking with neighbors is a great resource.

This can be a very fun and interesting challenge. I recently listed a house in a very historic area and found the public library very useful when it came to the specific history of that town and area where the house was located. I would start there.