Many people are unaware of the fact that the monetary value of a house or apartment increases if it has a story related to its legacy. Obviously not every building or house is a famous landmark but every building has a history. Now the question arises of where we can find the history of our property. In this article, we will tell you about the online resources and websites where you can find the property history by address free and how to find the history of a property online.
1. How to Find the History of a House?
There are many sources on the web where you can find the history of a property. The list below contains some methods which will discuss how to find the history of a property online and offline:
A. Trace my House
There are instances when people think that they’re living in some uncharted territory and therefore the urge to find the history of their house becomes important. The website works efficiently in the UK. Trace my House helps you with the step-by-step process. The process starts with getting knowledge of the building itself. A big segment of the entire process is carried out offline and the web search acts only as an assistant.
B. Family Search
The Genealogical search engine helps you to trace your ancestral lineage. Family Search has many filters that will help you to set up multi-event searches. The website is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. It contains plenty of records related to census data, death and birth certificates, military enrolments, and Church parish tallies. This is the most common way how to find the history of a property online.
C. Building History
If your ancestors lived in the UK or Ireland then this resource can be the foundation point of finding out the history of your house. On this site, the resources are arranged sequentially and the first step focuses on basic research at the local library. The guide is run by Jean Manco who is a historian, she provides plenty of links that help you to dive into the heritage and history of old British houses and buildings. This is the most common way how to find the history of a house.
2. How to Find the History of a Property Online?
Take a look at the following points to know how to find the history of a property online:
A. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
NARA is a Federal agency that maintains all the records related to land ownership, history, and Genealogy. The section on land records in NARA contains plenty of information related to land patents, farm ownerships, land case records, and much more. The NARA website works as a complete guide that can be used to navigate federal records. Powerful search aids like the Heritage Quest Online and Fold3 also link to the federal agency NARA.
B. Cyndi’s List
Cyndi’s List is considered the most comprehensive resource on the internet that collects links to tools related to genealogical research. The website can be used to start your search for the history of your house. The website has 189 categories and plenty of links to kickstart the research process. On this website every state in the US has its separate page of links, it also contains separate pages for the US county. The Canadian province has its own set of links and similar is the case of counties located in the UK. This is the most common way how to find the history of a house.
C. The National Archives
It is the official archive of the UK government and contains a history of the last 1000 years approximately. The National Archives can help you to trace the history of your house. It contains a Discovery Search engine that can help you to tap into millions of historical records. You can even download a large segment of the historical records. It also contains a map section that has more than 5 million maps and planning structures ranging from the fourteenth century to the present day. This is the most common way how to find the history of a property online.
3. How to Find the History of my House by Address?
By using the following ways you can find the history of your house or property by address.
A. Search for the Address Online
Online research is the best way to find the history of a house. By doing online research on Google one can find fascinating information. You just have to enter your address of the house in the search bar and the search results may reveal different things about the house. You can get complete information about the house using this simple method. This is the most common way of finding the history of my house by address.
B. Looking out for Details of the House in the Census Records
Checking the census records helps you to find out about the previous occupants of the house. The census records are government records and therefore you can trust them. Census data offer satisfactory information about previous residents and usually reveal their name, birth year, marital status, and date of birth.
C. Look into the Property’s History
There are many websites that provide you the historical pictures using imaging data from google maps that allow you to see how the house, surroundings of the house, and the street looked like in the past. The website is supported by people that upload pictures of these things on the internet.
D. Look at the City Data Fields
Visiting the local town hall is the most important task while searching the history of a house. This is the best way to search the history of the house by address. You can also ascertain whether proper permits were issued or not. The field contains information pertaining to the value over the years, the area of the land, and much more.
E. Checking the Property Title
The title documentation contains very important information about the house. It shows the chain of title transfers that took place previously. All the information about the original owners, past owners, and current owners is available in the title documentation. The title search reveals a lot about mortgages, taxes, levies, and much more.
F. Go for the Geographic Information Systems Data
Geographic Information Systems or GIS is a website that provides online databases that allow users to find the house and its details. The site reveals many things such as the construction year of the house, the current owner of the house, lot size, basement construction info, architectural type, and a lot more. This is one of the popular methods of how to find the history of a property online.
4. What are the Ways to find Property History by Address Free?
A. Researching the Sale History of a House
Multiple listing service is the usually the primary place people usually resort to start a basic history search for a house. The MLS gives you the details of when the property was sold and how many times it was sold previously. The access to MLS makes it easy for you to search the historical records of the house. This is the most common way of finding Property history by address free.
B. Reverse Address Searches for a House
There are few services on the web that allows you to access information about the people currently living in a house. These online resources also inform you about the sales transaction, the monetary value of the house, and safety in the neighborhood. You can also find out the sanity of the neighborhood. This is the most common way of finding Property history by address free.
C. Visit the Local Building Department
While searching for the history of a house you will probably visit a local building department to confirm whether or not proper permits were attained to complete the construction work of the house or building. Where the house is not that old the architectural plans for such houses in also available from the local building department.
D. Visit the Local Library for Historical Information About the Home
Your public library holds a lot of information and it is very surprising to know that the library is one of the best ways to find the history of a house. The local history books and newspapers contain additional information. The historical maps show information about which you’re completely unaware.
E. Land ownership records
Finding information about the previous owners can be very helpful in finding the history of the house. These entries contain information about who has purchased the property and when and at what price. It also reveals the exact title transfer of the house. The records also contain land entry case files. (See How to find House Facing Direction in Google Maps?)
In the above article, we discussed how to find the history of a property online, how to find the history of a house, the history of my house by address, and property history by address free. There are some simple and quick links on the internet that can reveal the long history of a property. You can use the traditional ways as well to learn about the history of a property, but that task will take time and more effort. We now hope that the methods provided in the blog will help you to decode the ways how to find the history of a property online.