How to find off-market land with county records
Every county keeps a record of every parcel inside it: who owns it, where the tax bill goes, what it is assessed at, and whether the taxes are paid. In most of the country those records are public, and many counties put them on a free online map. They are the best tool there is for finding land before anyone lists it.
1. Open the county's parcel map
Search for "[county name] County GIS parcel map" or "[county name] County land records". Most counties have an online map where you can click any parcel and see its owner, acreage, assessed value and tax information. Some states run one statewide map for every county.
If your county only offers records at the courthouse, the treasurer's or assessor's office can usually print or email a parcel list for a small fee.
2. Look for the signals
A parcel is not interesting just because it is vacant. These are the signs that an owner might be willing to sell:
- The owner lives far away. When the tax bill's mailing address is in another state, the owner may have inherited the land, may never visit it, and may be quietly paying taxes on something they have no use for.
- It has been owned a long time. A deed from the 1970s or 80s often means an older owner, or heirs who have not decided what to do with it. The deed date is in the register of deeds index, and some parcel maps show it.
- The owner is an estate or a trust. "Estate of", "heirs of" or a family trust on the record often means the land is being sorted out, and the people sorting it would rather have money than another chore.
- The building value dropped to zero. If a parcel used to be assessed with a building and now shows land only, the house or mobile home was removed or destroyed. Those old home sites often still have a well, septic and a driveway. Here is how to check.
- The taxes are behind. Counties publish delinquent tax lists, often once a year in the local newspaper or on the treasurer's site. An owner who cannot or will not pay may welcome an offer. Be kind about it: some of these owners are in real hardship.
3. Check the history
Old aerial photos show what used to be on a parcel. Google Earth Pro (free on a computer) has a historical imagery slider that goes back decades in most places, and many counties publish their own aerial photos by year. A house that was there in 2012 and gone by 2018 is worth a phone call to the zoning office.
4. Contact the owner
The mailing address on the tax record is where the owner actually receives mail. A short, honest letter works better than a phone call out of nowhere. Here is how to write one, with a template you can copy.
Play fair
- Say who you are and what you want. Never imply you are from the county or the government.
- When an owner says no, stop. Keep a list so you never write to them again.
- If an owner is facing foreclosure, many states have special rules for buying their property, written to stop people taking advantage. Talk to a real estate attorney before you make that kind of offer.