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Char the Explorer’s Guide to the County Courthouse!
I can’t tell you how many times I had to call Mark to ask him once again what department I needed to go to ask my questions! And many times I was redirected to a different area. Understanding what they do and don’t do will save you and them time. Every county/ state is different but hidden behind a department name you can often find the same functions.
The four basic departments are the Clerk’s Office, Assessor’s Office, Treasurer’s Office and the Planning and Zoning Department
The Recorders aka Clerks, Register of Deeds Office
It is their function to make sure that every document presented to them, such as a deed or death certificate, is recorded in a way that allows one to easily trace for many years to come. This is usually done by a stamp being placed or hand written on the document that says Date, Book and Page. Different terms are used to describe exactly which information is placed on these documents.
I have spent many hours digging through the records office for chains of titles on properties as well as looking for recorded subdivision/plat maps. Often I find the original plat maps here that show lot dimensions. You can pay to have copies made.
Modern day technology uses scanners and other imaging devices to record these documents. In the early days these documents were hand written word for word in ledger books with the same book and page system used today. These books are still part of the recorder’s office today although sometimes the old documents have been transferred to centralized government facilities where temperature controls and fire safety preserve these books. I myself have researched these old books many times.
It is not up to the Clerks office to decide if the document presented to them is correct. I have seen deeds filed that did not belong to the person trying to sell it, deeds filed with incorrect legal descriptions, missing signatures, etc. Start searching through county files and you will be surprised at what you find! These records are open to the public to search and they will teach you how to research it yourself because most of them will not do the search for you. Title companies will also search the records for you for a fee. You can also pay them to interpret the information for you that is recorded and they will guarantee the information is correct. That’s called title insurance.
So do call the recorder’s office if you mailed a deed to be recorded and have not received it back in a timely manner. You can also call them to inquire about the cost of recording documents and to find out if they have any special requirements or forms. These days you can also find many of their fees listed on their county website.
In many counties the information they received is then turned over to the assessor’s office for ownership records to be updated.
Assessor’s Office
The assessor’s office is responsible for discovery, identification and location of taxable property within their area. They usually set the value of the property and notify property owners of proposed valuations.
They keep records of who owns particular properties, legal descriptions, improvements to the property, and assessed values.. The assessor is concerned with value, not collecting taxes. If you want to know about taxes call the treasurer. If you want to know who owns a particular piece of property, the assessed value, or the legal description you can usually get it at the assessor’s office.
A note about assessed values: We hear different terminology when inquiring about the assessed value of a piece of property. When we ask for an assessed value and are told a number we usually ask if that is the full assessed value or the taxable value. This comes from the fact that in some areas you only have to pay tax on a percentage of the full assessed value.
The assessor’s office can be a wealth of information if you know the right questions to ask. These are the people out looking at land in their jurisdiction and setting the land values accordingly. Often they have easy to read maps to show locations of properties. These are often different than the actual plat maps filed when subdivisions are originally recorded and have been redrawn based on the recorded maps to include the assessor identifying numbers.
We assume the records they keep for the county to be accurate yet as in all jobs human errors occur. We rarely find errors though. A typical scenario we have found is a property was jointly owned by a husband and wife and one is now deceased. After several years of repeatedly calling the county to let them know their spouse is deceased, someone just removes their name from the tax roll. However no paperwork is filed at the clerk’s office. It now appears there is only one owner of the property if you look at the assessors or treasurers notices. But a search through the clerk’s office will show the last deed put it into two names. This can be corrected but it can also cost money to do so.
Treasurer’s Office
The treasurer’s office is responsible for collecting taxes. They mail notices to all property owners when taxes are due or delinquent. They are often responsible for collecting, safeguarding and disbursing the funds. A quick phone call to the treasurer’s office will let you know if taxes are paid current or delinquent and how much the annual taxes are.
Some counties generate their tax notices for the current year and others generate their notices for the coming year. That means that you could be paying for next years taxes or paying for the taxes that are occurring this year. Either way though they are due when the treasurer says they are.
Planning and Zoning
The planning and zoning department usually regulates the land development regulations and zoning ordinances. Here you will find people to help you understand things like what the zoning is on a piece of property and what that means, what are the regulations on the land like minimum size for development and information on septic and well. I often find county road departments as a part of this group.
Depending on the complexity and size of the local government you might find some of these things covered by another department or even at a different government agency. For instance water is often regulated by a state agency or you might find the road department in charge of maps. In these cases, planning and zoning will usually know who you need to call and refer you in the right direction.
It really can be nerve wracking to go into a county court house for your first time. Still today I get butterflies in my stomach before I enter a new one as you can get told no many times before you find what you are looking for. Other times you walk in and are immediately handed what you request. Don’t assume that one department knows what the other ones does or has in their records. It’s up to you to hunt for what you are looking for. There are many good people in these public positions. Some are elected officials and others are hired staff. Knowing who you need to talk to before you enter the courthouse will help keep those butterflies to a minimum!
Sincerely,
Char the Explorer : )
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