Property Research
A listing photo tells you almost nothing. Before you write an offer — or before you decide not to — there is a specific set of records worth pulling on any address. Here is what I look at, and why each one has changed somebody's mind.
Get a full report on an addressWhat a real property workup covers
Most of this is public record or MLS data. Some of it takes a licensed agent's access to get at. All of it is worth having before you commit hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Comparable sales
What genuinely similar homes actually closed for — not what they were listed for, and not what an automated estimate guessed. Adjusted for square footage, lot size, condition, age, and features.
This is the same exercise the buyer's appraiser will do. If the price is not supported by the comps, the appraisal is going to have something to say about it.
Days on market
How long it has been sitting — and whether the clock got reset. A listing that was withdrawn and relisted shows a fresh DOM count while quietly hiding months of history.
A home that has been available far longer than the local median has a reason. Sometimes it is the price. Sometimes it is something you would want to know about.
Price and listing history
Every previous list price, every reduction, every expired or cancelled listing, and any prior sale — with dates. This is the negotiation leverage that hides in plain sight.
Two reductions and a fallen-out escrow tells a very different story than a listing that went live last Thursday.
Permits and unpermitted work
That finished garage, the added bedroom, the converted patio — was it permitted? The building department's records will say. Unpermitted square footage may not appraise, may not be insurable, and can become your problem at resale.
Permit records and enforcement vary by city and county.Hazard and environmental status
Flood zone, wildfire risk, seismic or subsidence zones, coastal exposure, radon, proximity to known contamination. Some of these drive insurance premiums or make a property uninsurable; some are simply mandatory to disclose.
Which hazards must be disclosed — and by whom — is set by state law.HOA documents and finances
Dues and what they cover, the reserve study, pending or recently levied special assessments, litigation, rental caps, and the rules you will actually have to live under. A thin reserve fund is a future assessment with a delayed fuse.
Read the minutes. That is where the roof project shows up before it shows up on your bill.
Title, liens, and easements
Who is actually on title, what is recorded against the property, and what rights other people have over it: utility easements, shared driveways, access rights, deed restrictions, solar liens and lease assumptions.
Title practice and who conducts the closing differ by state.Taxes and carrying costs
The current assessment, the actual tax rate for the parcel, and — crucially — how the assessment behaves after a sale. Some jurisdictions reassess at your purchase price, which can make your tax bill very different from the seller's.
Assessment and reassessment rules are state-specific.School data, as data
Which schools the address is actually zoned for — boundaries do not follow ZIP codes — plus the district's and state's own published performance data, cited so you can read the source yourself.
I will give you the records and the boundary. What they are worth to you is your call, on your criteria.
The physical property
Age of the roof, HVAC, water heater, and electrical panel. Foundation type. Sewer or septic, city water or well. Zoning and what you could legally add later. The things that turn into five-figure surprises.
Things that should make you slow down
None of these are automatically deal-breakers. Every one of them is worth an answer before you remove a contingency.
- A relisted property with a reset day count. The MLS history shows what the listing page does not.
- Square footage that does not match the county record. Usually means an addition. The question is whether it was permitted.
- A prior escrow that fell through. Ask why. Sometimes it is financing. Sometimes it is the inspection report you have not read yet.
- An HOA with thin reserves or open litigation. Both can become a special assessment with your name on it.
- A price far above or below the comps. Above, and the appraisal is a problem. Below, and there is usually a reason nobody has written it up yet.
- Hazard-zone status the listing does not mention. It affects insurability and premium, and in many states it is a required disclosure.
- A solar system that is leased, not owned. You may be assuming the lease — or paying to buy it out at closing.
Where the rules change on you
Real estate is local law. Which disclosures a seller must make, what a natural-hazard report has to cover, who conducts the closing, how a property is reassessed after a sale, and even what shows up in the public record all depend on the state — and often the county — the property sits in.
Anything you read on a national website about "the process" is, at best, one state's version of it. For a specific address, ask someone licensed where that address actually is.
Get a full report on a specific address
Send me the address and I will pull the workup above — comps, full listing and price history, days on market, tax and permit records, and anything of record that stands out. No cost, no obligation, and no requirement that you be my client.