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As we prepare ourselves to make an offer on a property how do we find out what encumbrances are owed on the property, down to the penny? While we’d like to trust every seller we meet, that’s obviously not a prudent strategy. How can we find out if there are any junior mortgages, Lines of Credit/Equity Loans, Illegal Additions to the property, etc, etc?
The reason I’m asking this question is because I recently got a call from my DMC(direct mail campaign)……I looked up the property on the county appraisers website and found the records show it being a 754ft^2 RESIDENCE and a 253ft^2 GARAGE. When speaking with the seller she wasn’t sure how big the house was but she estimated it was around 1200ft^2. She informed me they converted the garage and closed in the porch to make some of the rooms larger. She said doesn’t think the work was done with a permit. What is the best approach to this particular situation? If the city or whoever decides the work needs to be torn down that should help bringing the offer price way down I would think.
As an aside-when looking at the appraisal district website they separate the RESIDENCE and GARAGE as well as any STORAGE buildings…..when realtors list do they combine all those values and consider that the square footage of the property? Is it RESIDENCE and GARAGE? Or is it RESIDENCE only?
a title company can do a title search to determine if there are any liens against the property.
every state is different, but in Texas, if there is a non-permited addition, you can just request that it be inspected, then get the permit after the work was done.
I’m not sure how realtors do things. I’ve never been one.
On the square footage issue, I guess a more direct question would be, when determining what the square footage of your subject property is do you combine garage and house, rely on the appraisal district information, or do you refer to the MLS? I want to avoid going out tho the property and measuring room to room or paying someone else to do that before I even make an offer, that way I can run the comps accurately. Again sorry for all the questions, I know after you’ve been doing this for so long they seem like no-brainers.
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