If you’re like me and you tend to do a lot of public records searches when you’re researching properties, you have probably noticed that King County has given their online property records a big face lift.
As far as I can tell all the same information is available as before, plus a few new bonuses such as a nifty pie chart of the tax breakdown and property photos. Unfortunately, with the makeover some of this data is harder to find than it used to be, which is why I thought it might be helpful to provide a guided tour.
Since one of the most difficult things to figure out with the new system is how to get a list of every unit in a condo building, we’ll start with that process, using Olive8 as our example.
Click below to view the full step-by-step process.
Step 1: Start the Parcel Viewer
First, head over to the main parcel search page, and click the big green “START Parcel Viewer” button in the center of the page.
Step 2: Open the Address Search
On the next page you’ll be presented with a map that you can zoom and pan to locate the property in question, but let’s assume you at least have the address. Click “Search by Address” in the upper-left.
Step 3: Enter the Address
Next, enter the house or building number and the street name (without prefixes or suffixes like “NW” or “St.”) and click “Submit.”
Step 4: Get the Property Report
Assuming you’ve entered a valid address, you’ll be looking at a zoomed-in map with your parcel highlighted in purple and a series of links on the left. Click the “Get Property Report” link to head to the details for this property.
Now we’re looking at the main info page for the property. This is where we used to be able to find information like past sales—or for condo buildings, the list of every unit with links to detail pages for each one. You’ll notice that now there is no such list. No problem, we can still find it, it will just take a couple extra steps.
Step 5: Start a New Search
Select the 10-digit Parcel Number (636400-0000 in this case), and click the red “New Search” button in the upper-left.
Step 6: Search by Parcel Number
On the search page, paste in the copied parcel number, delete the hyphen, and click “Search.”
Step 7: View Your Results
Ta-da! There’s our list of all the units in Olive8, along with links to each individual detail page.
Step 8: More Details and Quicker Searches
Speaking of the detail page, if you click the red “My Property Detail” button on the upper-right of the main info page, you’ll be brought to the details page, which includes photos of the property as well as the sales history, square footage, and bedroom/bathroom count.
A slightly quicker alternative to get the same list of units in a condo complex would be to copy the parcel number from Step 4 above and jump straight to the eReal Property Parcel Search page (Step 6) and paste the parcel number in there.
If there’s anything else you’ve been trying to figure out how to do with the new tools, let me know in the comments and I’ll see if I can figure it out.
The coolest feature is a lot of old houses have a picture from the 1930s / 1940s.
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I’ve been trying to find all the sold units at 1521 2nd Ave in downtown Seattle. It doesn’t seem to work though.
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RE: dave @ 2 – I believe that Parcel Number 2538830000 is what you’re looking for. Put that into the search box on the eReal Property Parcel Search page and you’ll get a list of all the condo units for 1521. Don’t know why it doesn’t show up on an address search. But I was able to find it by browsing the map shown in Step 2 above.
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RE: dave @ 2 –
I don’t know if this changed with the new site, but it used to take months (like up to 6) for the parcel viewer to reflect an ownership change.
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Thanks. But with that parcel number, i can’t see the sold units.. am i missing something?
with the old website, it was much easier.
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thanks! it works.
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RE: dave @ 5 – From what I can tell you get a list that’s basically the same as the old system.
The units with “OPUS NWR DEVELOPMENT LLC” in the “Taxpayer Name” column are the ones that are still unsold (or at least haven’t had their records updated yet to reflect a recent sale).
I guess from your comment @ 6 you figured it out.
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If you really want the nitty-gritty details, like mortgage holder(s), Notice of Trustee Sale, etc, and up to date ownership information, here’s how. Make a note of the parcel number(s) and click on the link to the recorders office. Click on “Records Search” on the left hand side of the page, click “Records Search”, read and accept the terms and conditions, then click on the Official Public Records Search. Now you can search by tax parcel number or a range of tax parcel numbers, which will bring up all public records related to the property (or properties).
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RE: Anonymous Coward @ 8 – I’ve also done a few posts on that subject, which can be found in the how-to archives:
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By drshort @ 4:
FWIW, I filed a quit claim deed in person a month or so ago, and it was reflected in the parcel viewer by the time I got back to my office.
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I Remember back when all the Information Was Public, I liked that much better than what they currently Cover Up.
It seems that the Direction things go in tend to almost create more Opportunity for Crimes to Be Covered Up.
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Had a Friend at work make an Offer on a Shot Sale about 3 months ago.
Problem is he didn’t Realize that the Home had 5 Liens/Loans on the Property, which you don’t have almost a Snowballs Chance in Hell of Closing. Its going short about 200,000. in Loans… try closing this One~!!
Try getting 5 Creditors agreeing on this one- 4 probably aren’t going to profit off the Short at all.
To bad that information wasn’t made more public in King County, if they just left there Site that Mirrored Snohomish County it would of been much better in my opinion.
If I was involved in Mortgage Fraud, I sure would like the Way King County displays the Lack of Information.
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Short Term Real Estate Flippers/Mortgage Fraud and there is Multiple applications. Easy Access to Mortgage/Loan information also disempowers the Buyers.
Having Loan information can help determine if you can also get creative in Purchase Agreements. (Wrap around Loans etc.)
Also if your renting… its nice to know the Landlord is in Good Terms with the Bank/Mortgagee.
It would be nice if they gave made this type of information Public information the moment they fell behind. Renters shouldn’t be bound to there contract if the Landlord/Mortgagor falls behind in Obligations to the Bank/Mortgagee.
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Correction: Not having easy access to Loan information disempowers the Buyer.
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RE: Ron Nelson @ 14 – Ron, you can always ask your local escrow firm for any public information that King County does not provide via their online website. We have access to multiple sources of public records and courts. It may not be instantaneous, but you have resources available.
PS. while I don’t’ know the circumstances of the subject property you refer to, getting lien holders to release the lien so the subject property can sell may or may not be all that much of a hassle. For example, worked on releasing a Federal Tax Lien on a property to the tune of tens of thousands. The IRS has other ways to collect vs. a lien on a single family home with zero equity.
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Thanks for posting the tour. After the redesign, I had no idea how to find lists of units at a condominium.
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Yes- I realize there is within the Real Estate industry different sources of Information.. Title Company etc.
My comments are based simply on the Public Website that Used to give much more detailed information.
I think they my as well take down the Website since there not really suppling any information anyways who they kidding.
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S-Crow
You work within The real estate industry?
Basically my comment is reference to Short Sales:
Hypothetically…
If I go out and Borrow Money from 4 Separate People, And can only come up with enough money to pay back Part of the Money to 1 person you think that maybe Im going to have some problems have all 4 Parties agree to the Same terms?
Thats part of the Problem with many of the Short Sales not Closing.
The Short Sales with too Many Loans are almost Impossible To Close…
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RE: Ron Nelson @ 18 – Ron Nelson,
Your scenario is solvable: All down chain/subsequent lien-holders are essentially wiped out. They agree to do two things: 1) either agree release their lien or 2) foreclosure will do it for them. Releasing the lien does not mean they are relieving the debt owed absent other legal steps a seller may take.
This is not legal advice, but a response to your “hypothetical” situation.
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You can’t really determine loan information from the public records, unless perhaps they are so in default that a notice of trustee’s sale is filed, or obviously if the deed of trust has been reconveyed. You can make educated guesses about the loan levels, but that’s all they are and sometimes your guess will be way off. I’ve had two transactions this year alone where I thought the seller was a bit tight on having funds to close where they weren’t because one of the loans had been paid down (or not fully drawn out).
BTW, this is a big part of the reason why studies on percent underwater are BS.
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RE: Ron Nelson @ 18 –
True, all lien holders have a claim. The house up the street from me was taken over by the contractor who supplied the cabinets on a remodel. He had a claim, a mechanics lien. He refused to release the claim, negotiated with the other lien holders, and ended up with the house.
You’re right, you just never know.
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[...] given plot has more than one (e.g. – search for Olive 8).Give it a try yourself (here’s a walkthrough of the old Parcel Viewer), and be sure to fill out their online feedback form with your thoughts.Posted in Local, News | [...]
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