Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

How to find owner of ''nuisance'' house

A neighborhood rental house is a general nuisance; loud parties, trash all over the property, untrimmed trees whoses roots have have caused damage to the neighbor's property, barking dogs, etc. We have sent registered letters to the last known owner and they have been returned. How can we find the legal owner of this house so we can notify them of the problem and pursue further action?


Asked on 12/13/05, 4:48 pm

5 Answers from Attorneys

OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES

Re: How to find owner of ''nuisance'' house

County recorder's- office ownership information. If you need assistance on this difficult action call me directly at 16195013608.

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Answered on 12/14/05, 7:27 pm
Carl Starrett Law Offices of Carl H. Starrett II

Re: How to find owner of ''nuisance'' house

The easiest way to do this is to contact the customer service department of a title insurance company and request a copy of the deed to the property. It's a public record and many won't even charge a fee to send you a copy. The deed should show the name and mailing address of the owner(s). Once you have the parcel number, can also call for stop by the property tax collector's office to see where the tax bills are mailed.

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Answered on 12/13/05, 4:59 pm
JOHN GUERRINI THE GUERRINI LAW FIRM - COLLECTION LAWYERS

Re: How to find owner of ''nuisance'' house

Call the County Assessor's Office in the County in which the house is located and ask if they will give the information to you. You are seeking to know the name and address of the owner of record.

If that doesn't work, go to the County Recorder's Office in the County in which the house is located, and ask the nice friendly people behind the counter for help in searching the index to find the owner of record.

Or you can ask a title company for help in locating the information. It's all public record, after all.

If all else fails, we have a skiptracing and asset locating department that can find easily the information for you. But if you want to do it on your own and avoid the expense, try one of the three ways outlined above.

Good luck.

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Answered on 12/13/05, 5:00 pm
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Re: How to find owner of ''nuisance'' house

Feel free to e-mail me the address and I will research it for you. There might be a slight charge for the service itself. I won't charge you for my time. If you want help with the letter, I'd be happy to help with that, too.

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Answered on 12/13/05, 7:30 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: How to find owner of ''nuisance'' house

In many counties, but not all, assessee information is available on line at no cost.

It requires a little patience and some Web surfing skill, but not much. Start by determining, if possible, the assessor parcel number of the property. Some counties have the parcel maps on line. Start with your parcel number, and you'll soon be able to spot the neighbor's parcel and learn its number. By the way, you may have an adequate parcel map attached to your title report or title insurance from when you bought your property!

When you have the parcel number (and in some counties you may not even need it), you can go to the treasurer, tax collector or assessor Web site and, hopefully, your county will allow you to search for assessment information by parcel number, or maybe even street address alone.

Bingo! The name of the person(s) responsible for payment of property taxes will show up. Usually this will be the owner of record.

Be prepared for the owner to be a corporation, LLC or other entity, rather than an individual. Many income properties are so held. Finding the name of a responsible individual will take additional investigation in such a case.

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Answered on 12/13/05, 8:52 pm


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