How to Find Out If There Is a Mortgage on a Home
- 1). Have your lender pull a title report on the property you are considering buying. Essentially, title examiners are paid to investigate a property's mortgage history -- usually at a county courthouse -- and return a report with all existing liens against a property. This is normally standard operating procedure when you buy a home, but make sure to get this report early in the process to ensure you're not wasting both time and money.
- 2). Conduct your own research. Most towns now have online resources that allow you to pull up most (if not all) mortgage records on all properties within the limits of the town's jurisdiction. You can also visit the courthouse and physically go through the record books. When searching for existing or old liens, make sure to enter search terms relating to address, previous owners' names and neighborhood. Make sure you are thorough and print records of any old liens -- even if they appear to have been removed.
- 3). Hire an outside title abstractor who is unconnected to your lender or bank to do an in-depth investigation of the property in which you are interested. Experts will understand the technicalities of mortgage release and will be able to efficiently comb through complicated legal documents. While expensive, these abstractors will provide expert insight into ambiguous loans and liens.
- 4). Contact previous mortgage holders to research old accounts and liens on a property. This may require gaining authorization from either the previous owners or the new lender on the account. However, it may prove critical in releasing an old, paid mortgage or gaining new information into an unpaid, and potentially delinquent, loan on the property.
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