Become A House Detective

Do you live in an old house and want to unearth a bit of its history?

If you live in an older house and are not familiar with its heritage you might want to consider becoming a house detective, so to speak. It's fun and educational to find out about the history of your property. In my college real estate classes, students are required to select a property, preferably one they have some interest in, and research its ownership back to 1900. They tell me it's the best assignment of the course.

Here are some places you can go for information:

First, go to the county courthouse and check the property records. There will be deeds filed by names of owners, plus there will be tax records. It will help tremendously if you have the legal description and tax number of the property you are investigating.

Other sources of information include your local historic preservation program, if there is one in your town. Also, the state archives has tax rolls and birth and death records. Census records are available at regional National Archives centers and some libraries. And don't forget local libraries that might have city directories, newspapers ,and magazines.

Good hunting.

This Homebuyers Tip was excerpted from:

TWO HOURS OF REAL ESTATE, One Minute at a Time, by Phil Hardwick, Quail Ridge Press, 1993.

ISBN 0937552534