house sale records?

[greenbunny]

The home across the street from us was just sold by the owner. DH and I would like to look up what the selling price was, but I'm not sure how.

The reason we want to do this is that we're trying to get rid of PMI at 20% (versus the mandatory 22%), and having an idea of how much the local prices have increased would give us a good starting point with the mortgage company.

I looked on our county's .org site, but it says I need to pay $300 to get a password to the county records. I thought this was public information, so I don't see why they are allowed to charge for it. Where else can I look?

[shopaholic]

Our local newspaper posts recent transactions...I believe its in the paper once a month and divided by the neighboring towns. It will show seller, buyer and $ amount.

[kemaji]

It should be public information and you shouldn't have to pay for it. Have you tried your county auditor's website? I know that is where we need to look in our county.

[vjel]

yeah, it should be public info. Within your county's website, try looking in the property tax/assessment area. I think that's where ours is.

[Ali]

There are only two counties in my state that have this information online. Mine is one of them. I google "(my city's name) property valuation assessor" and then do a property search. Otherwise you may have to go down to your city's courthouse to get the records. It should be free and available to the public. OUr newspaper also prints them in the Sunday edition. I have found that you can also google for that information, as well by typing in the person's name or the address.

[jennylou]

Wow, $300!?! Our county auditor's site charges $15 per year, and honestly, for us, it's worth the cost!

It is a public record, and therefore, you can call the county auditor and get the information - if it's already gone through all the paperwork. Also, they may tell you that you have to wait X amount of time for the information.

[villanelle75]

If you worked with a real estate agent on buying your home, you could call them and ask. They'll have easy access to that info and any decent agent will spend the two mintues to help you out so that they maintain a relationship with a you as a future client.

[Hello Kitty]

If you worked with a real estate agent on buying your home, you could call them and ask. They'll have easy access to that info and any decent agent will spend the two mintues to help you out so that they maintain a relationship with a you as a future client.
That's what I was going to suggest as well. It's very easy for them to pull it up. My mom has a realtor friend who does this for her often.

[greenbunny]

Thanks, everyone! I will start trying these things.

[Sabrina]

Try these websites:
http://www.bairdwarner.com/content/PastSales.asp

http://www.domania.com/

There is a local real estate firm here in CT that has recently sold houses on their site and what the selling price was. You could try to find something like that for your area.

[Tanya]

FYI, if you live in one of the non-disclosure states (Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming), you cannot get sales price information as public records. If anyone knows of a free way (short of a realtor), I'm all ears!

[Lizzy]

If you see your neighbor out, you could always just ask. People who have just sold don't usually mind sharing the information. In my old neighborhood, I asked people what they sold for and I was also asked after I sold. It's usually no big deal, since eventually it becomes common knowledge.

Most places I have lived have the information available online. Like someone else said, google your county name along with "property appraiser".

[lml41981]

How about you call up that realtor who sent everyone in the neighborhood the flyer of how much all your homes cost? ;)

In Texas, you can't find out that information and the county appraisal is just for tax purposes, not actual value (they tax at less than actual value). Also, our mortgage broker said the best way to get PMI is to have an independent appraiser come out and give you an appraisal. If the value has increased enough and you've paid down enough to have 20% equity, then you can petition to have the PMI dropped. I have heard that banks give you a hard time about it, though, because they are losing money to do that.

[merjmo]

Greenbunny, aren't you in Massachusetts? Google 'Massachusetts Land Records' and follow the links, if you are.

[mpc863]

You can try http://www.zillow.com

[greenbunny]

Thanks, I'm not in Mass. though. I've tried the sites you guys posted, and there's nothing yet...I have a feeling they scheduled a really long closing date. They don't even look like they've started packing!

[amorey]

I don’t think anyone knows what the sale price is until the sale is completed. A realtor can look up the pending sale, but I think they will only see the list price.

[la_bride_2004]

It will take a month or two after escrow closes, before the deed is recorded and the new sale price is part of public record. Once it is, I would recommend www.zillow.com or, see if you can contact the selling agent and see if they will give you the price.

[Jazz]

I would recommend www.zillow.com ...
LOL! I just tried this and it says our house is worth over $2 million. Score!! (It's not.)

Thanks for posting it though, la_bride_2004. I bet it just doesn't work since I'm in one of the non-disclosure states -- it looks right for my parents (in another state). Very interesting!

[Tanya]

LOL! I just tried this and it says our house is worth over $2 million. Score!! (It's not.)

Thanks for posting it though, la_bride_2004. I bet it just doesn't work since I'm in one of the non-disclosure states -- it looks right for my parents (in another state). Very interesting!

I tried it too, and we are in a non-disclosure state, and it looks like they just pull our info from the county appraisal records. However, ours is outdated and missing a part of our land in another county. But, our neighbor's comes up with both counties. Weird.

[Smiley]

http://chasehomefinance.domania.com/using/homeprice.jsp

http://chasehomefinance.domania.com/homepricecheck/index.jsp