10 Ways to Unlock the History of a Property Online and Offline

A home is more than just a place to live. It’s a vibe, an affair, and a dream. Home gives you feelings of comfort, safety, and connection. You can be casual about hundreds of things in life, but home is not one of them.

You should invest time in learning your house’s history in the same way you invest in learning the history of your partner.

Here is How to Get the Deets on your Property’s History.

1- Examine the House

The first thing you should do to get an idea of the history of the house is to take a close look at the house. Exposed bricks in the basement or elsewhere on the structure could tell you a lot about the house history. If you notice different sizes of brick, it could mean that the house was built in different stages.

Usually, builders document the house’s construction date somewhere on the walls. Finding it would be a treasure trove for you. You also need to look in the house’s closets as well. They usually remain in their original shape, and you may find out some paper patterns or color schemes there that can be traced back to popular style.

2- Be an Archaeologist

Dig around in your backyard out of curiosity you might find buried items like children’s toys. If you are lucky enough to find something, you may figure out when and who lived in the house before you.

3- Ask Around

You’re new to the neighborhood, but chances are your neighbors moved in long before you. Ask around to gather information about when the house was built and if there were any changes made to the home’s layout. You can also reach out to local historians for similar information.

4- Explore the Surrounding Area

Walk around your neighborhood and look for similar buildings. See if there are other buildings in the area that look like they were constructed at the same time as your home.

Are there other buildings that look older than your home? Ask those building residents if they know when your house was built and if they know of anything historic or exciting that happened there.

5- Search on Dedicated Websites

Gone are the days when you would have to travel miles to libraries or the home appraisal office to get information about the history of your home. You can learn about the property history from the comfort of your home. All you need to do is visit websites dedicated to providing house history like tracemyhome.com. The site has a user-friendly step-by-step guide to learn more about the property history.

6- Seek Help from the Home Listing

This is the most simple and basic approach to learning when your house was built. You are likely to find out some details about the house’s history in the listing.

It has been published and seen by a large population of people, so there are lots of people who have read the property history on the property listing description. The title of the house will provide the most insight into the house such as the age of the house, if it has been remodeled, or if any additional structural components were added to the house.

To view the listing, simply write the house address in the search bar.

7- Public Records

Public records are there to serve the public. If you are looking for insights into the history of your house, consider getting help from the public record. You may get information about previous ownership, sales, and tax history. You may even find out if there were any structural changes made to the property.

Confirm whether your county’s public records database is available online. If so, you can search the online database for information about your house. Review any records that you locate carefully to get the information you’re looking for. Pulling up the home’s title record will reveal who owned the house in the past as well as if the property was remodeled?

Some home records are so extensive that they trace back to the 19th or 20th century.

8- Get Help Using Local Census Data

Another option for finding out when your house was built is to review census data. You will learn about how many people lived in the house during different time periods. Census data is accessible online from the official website.

9- The National Register of Historic Places

If your property has been deemed a historic place, the National Register of Historic Places will likely have the property history. The National Park Service initiated the registry, and it contains records that detail the historic nature of different properties.

There is a search bar on the website which can help you easily find out details about the property you are looking for. You can also download a spreadsheet with information about the historic buildings in your area.

10- Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records

This is the option reserved only for those who have taken the task of learning the history of your house very seriously. Searching using this method is more like conducting academic research than merely seeking information.

The Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records is a federal website where you can search land records. It’s a treasure trove of information about properties. It does not only have property information but also images of the property.

You may find out who owned the property first and see graphic designs of the property. You can also read the field notes included in the initial survey of the property.

Conclusion:

The upshot is, if you are serious about learning the history of the house, there are plenty of ways of accomplishing it. You may also consider searching for the property history online on any of the above-mentioned sites, or you can engage surrounding neighbors by asking around. Either way, you are sure to find what you are looking for.

Read Also:

What is a Property Title Search and How to Do It
Everything You Need to Know About Property Deeds