There are many ways to check the validity of a property address.
In this economy, real-estate transactions occur with buyers that are located states away. Popular auction and classified sites list real-estate deals to buyers all over the country. Online sales are convenient but can also be a perfect vehicle to scam an unknowing buyer. If you want to make sure that indeed a particular property does exist, there are a few ways to do this on and offline.
Instructions
1. Go to the assessor's office in the county where the property is supposedly located. The county assessor is responsible for evaluating the worth and assessing property taxes for each property in the county. If you are unable to find the property by address, it is very likely that the property doesn't exist. You can visit the county assessor's office in person, call the office by phone or search for the property on the assessor's website.
2. Visit the county recorder. The county recorder is responsible for storing all documents in reference to a particular parcel. If the property was sold, was transferred, had a lien was placed against it or demolished, the recorder will have all of these documents and records. Some recorders allow you to assess these records by parcel number or owner's name online, or you can visit the office in person or call by phone.
3. Enter the address into Google Earth. Select the "Street View" option and Google Earth will zoom into the address. Google Earth is not live and may not show a vacant lot, if say, the property was demolished within the last week. But it will indicate if at some point a property did exist at that address.
4. Type the address into the U.S. Postal Service's ZIP code lookup tool. Enter the exact street address of the property, plus the city and state. If the street address doesn't exist, the USPS tool will be unable to fulfill your search request.
