Start with the county assessor — it's free
Every parcel of real property in the United States is indexed in a county assessor or appraisal district database. These databases publish the parcel ID/APN, legal description, current owner of record, assessed value, structures on the lot, and tax history. Larger urban districts have fully searchable web portals — Harris County's Central Appraisal District and Records portal are good models. For a multi-county view, TexasFile consolidates Texas deeds and mineral records.
Pull the deed history from the county clerk
The County Clerk or Recorder of Deeds is the official custodian of every recorded transfer, mortgage, satisfaction, and lien against the property. Harris County's clerk site (Harris County Clerk Real Property Search) is searchable free of charge; certified copies are paid. The national aggregator USLandRecords.com covers Pennsylvania and other participating states.
Permits and code violations — the planning department
The municipal planning or building department issues building permits and tracks code violations. Permits are public records by statute in nearly every state. Open online permit portals exist in most cities of 50,000+ population. If you find no permit for a major addition, that's often a red flag — unpermitted work transfers liability to the new owner in many states.
Title report — the gold-standard private document
A title company will produce a property profile that consolidates ownership, liens, loans, easements, and encumbrances. Most title companies will provide a basic preliminary title report for free if you're a serious buyer; they recoup it from the title-insurance premium at closing. This is the document professional investors and attorneys rely on.
CLUE report — what insurers know
The Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) report shows insurance claims filed on the property in the last 7 years — water damage, fire, theft. Only the current owner can pull it. Always request a CLUE report from the seller before closing. A property with multiple water claims or a recent fire claim should change your inspection strategy.
Seller disclosures
Most states require sellers to disclose known defects (foundation, roof, plumbing, electrical, lead, asbestos, flooding). California, Pennsylvania, Texas, and New York all impose formal disclosure statutes. A handful of states also require disclosure of deaths that occurred at the property. Read the disclosure form carefully — what the seller chose not to check is sometimes more revealing than what they did.