Have you ever driven by a certain piece of commercial property and thought how well it would work for a new business venture? If the property is for sale, then it’s simple to call the broker and proceed with making an offer on the property. If it is not for sale, however, you can still locate the owner of the property. There are several methods that can work, and depending upon the location of the property and its owner, you may need to try more than one method in order to find the owner.
Go online to the property tax records of the county where the commercial property is located. In your browser, type, "property tax records BLANK county." In the BLANK, type in the proper county name. This will take you to the website of the county appraisal district. You can also type, "BLANK county appraisal district" into the browser to get to the same web page.
Click on "Search Appraisals" and the next page that opens should offer you the ability to search through the properties listed by name, account number, street address or business name. Every county website is set up a bit differently, but you should also have an option to search through residential and commercial properties. If you don't have the complete address, you may be able to type in a range of street numbers, but you will need the street name.
Click on the appropriate property from the list that comes up, for detailed information about the property, including property owner. If you have typed in the exact address, then only one property should be displayed. If there is more than one property owner, information on each one should be displayed. This information will not contain a phone number. It will still be necessary to locate the phone number of the property owner by looking in the phone book.
Tips
If all else fails, call a commercial real-estate company and ask them about the property in question. Real-estate professionals have other ways of finding this kind of information.
Warnings
Many websites offer fee-based services to locate commercial property records. Do not pay for this information.
References
Tips
- If all else fails, call a commercial real-estate company and ask them about the property in question. Real-estate professionals have other ways of finding this kind of information.
Warnings
- Many websites offer fee-based services to locate commercial property records. Do not pay for this information.
Writer Bio
Carolyn Sorrell began writing in 1985. She has written novels and short stories, and her articles have appeared in "Letters to Our Mothers" and "Southern Living." In 2009, she ghost-wrote a book about the Obama campaign for a client in Washington. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English.