Posted by Geff on March 10, 1999 at 18:27:31:
One of the big downfalls about living in rural counties like ours is the fact that our technologies are behind the times. I still like living in a quiet county though. I guess you can just look at it this way… as long as it is this hard to get info there won’t be many doing it. If it was really simple to look up the info, everyone would be an investor.
Geff
Assessors Records…why can’t I - Posted by Mike (Illinois)
Posted by Mike (Illinois) on March 03, 1999 at 22:50:53:
Over the past few months I’ve wondered why I can’t access my county records over the computer. What I don’t understand is why MLS has complete online access to these records (PUBLIC RECORDS!) and I can’t. Sure I can spend half a day at the courthouse like I currently do but MLS is not a government agency…so why can they have access and I can’t? I’m a private business just like they are and I also paid my fair share in taxes. Can anyone fill me in? Sorry to vent on the board but I’m wasting lots of time at the courthouse by travelling many miles to get information that a few privileged people can access.
Thanks,
Mike
Re: Assessors Records…why can’t I - Posted by Rob FL
Posted by Rob FL on March 04, 1999 at 21:57:37:
In FL about half the counties tax rolls are online via the internet. Only 3 counties in FL have their recording department online.
There are many other counties that have their tax rolls and recording information available but it will cost you money to subscribe to their dial up system. Before my county went online in 1997, the MLS already had a direct dial-in to the county records. But their dial-in cost the MLS system big bucks. The MLS pays money to the county for its dial-in access and the realtors pay dues to the local realtor association. It certainly is not free to the realtor’s (in fact my dues were nearly $800 last year) but the access is unlimited.
Contact the assessors office and find out if they have a dial-in system you can subscribe to. In FL almost all of them do.
Re: Assessors Records…why can’t I - Posted by HankM
Posted by HankM on March 04, 1999 at 09:25:57:
Mike, I don’t know where you are, but Cook, Lake, DuPage, McHenry and Will are available from First American Real Estate Services (Formerly Experian, formerly TRW) They have both an on-line service or CD subscription that should have what you need… A word of warning, I subscribe to Cook and the data is only complete back to the time they started offering the service, so anything older than about 8 years is only going to have a PIN, tax amount and owner info … nothing on liens.
Another place to look is The Law Bulletin publishing company www.lawbulletin.com, they have an online service called access plus which gives you the same info you can get at the courthouse terminals in the county building. They also have lots of other products … that site is worth a look.
Hope that helps.
HankM
Re: Assessors Records…why can’t I - Posted by Bobby(VA)
Posted by Bobby(VA) on March 04, 1999 at 08:37:19:
This info often comes from a private source. You can often subscribe to the service. Check your yellow pages to see who it might be. Moore Data is a source in some areas.
Re: Assessors Records…why can’t I - Posted by BankRobber
Posted by BankRobber on March 04, 1999 at 01:40:06:
My local MLS has a “tax asssesor’s” data base they purchase from the County. It is updated on a quarterly basis. It is not really direct access to the County’s data base. Your local MLS data base maybe similar.
Mike, have you tried… - Posted by ScottE
Posted by ScottE on March 03, 1999 at 23:00:39:
this website? I don’t know where you live, but you may find a connection here. It your county even automated/online?
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~dev-pros/Realestate.html
Hope this helps.
Scott
Re: Assessors Records…why can’t I - Posted by Mike (Illinois)
Posted by Mike (Illinois) on March 04, 1999 at 08:50:38:
I used to live in Oklahoma and we had a company called Market Data Research that provided a complete list of residential sales, commercial sales and access to all of the county records online (almost all appraisers used this valuable service). I now live in SW Illinois and I can’t find any such service…ahhh maybe this is a business opportunity!?
Mike
Re: YEP - Posted by Mike (Illinois)
Posted by Mike (Illinois) on March 03, 1999 at 23:13:19:
Yes! I was excited when I found that site but they only list a couple of counties (not mine). The courthouse told me that no one has access to the records online. I know better because MLS has a direct dial-up and downloads records everyday. Oh well…things like that just seem to upset me.
Mike
Re: Assessors Records…why can’t I - Posted by AJ- Oklahoma
Posted by AJ- Oklahoma on March 04, 1999 at 21:51:45:
Too bad you’re not still in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma County Assessor’s property records are on line via the web and as of March 1 the Oklahoma County deeds are all on-line (MS IE for now, Netscape on March 15).
Is there a legal newspaper in your area? You might find out which company provides this data from someone at the newspaper.
AJ
Re: YEP - Posted by Geff
Posted by Geff on March 08, 1999 at 23:28:58:
Which county are you in Mike?
The MLS here (in the Quad Cities) has some tax records but not for every county. The county I live in (Mercer) is not online… still have to go in and look it up here. But the other county I work in (Rock Island) is on the MLS.
Anyway, what I’m saying is that the MLS you are talking about may have some type of access to tax info and stuff, but probably not every county they cover. I’m like you… I hate having to go there every time, I hope they get up to date pretty soon.
Geff
Re: YEP - Posted by Mike(Illinois)
Posted by Mike(Illinois) on March 09, 1999 at 09:17:37:
I live in Madison County. I finally came across a company called Dataquick that covers Madison and St. Clair County property records, but our assessors haven’t provided any description or square footages on the properties. It’s vital to have at least approximate square footages on comps so I guess I’m still going to the courthouse(s). I wish they would update their system like the rest of the country! Oh well, you gotta do what ya gotta do…I’m off to the courthouse.
Mike