Seattle Bubble Forum Archive

How do you go about finding what a property has sold for in the past? I know that Redfin lists sales history for some properties, but it doesn't seem to for all. The King County Records website will show the date of a deed of trust, but you can't access the document online to see the amount of the mortgage.

This knowledge would be very useful to tenants not wanting an underwater landlord, or buyers looking for an advantage in negotiation.

I'm not familiar with the King County system, but Snohomish County only goes back to 1999 for sales history. Maybe King County does something similar and the houses without a sales history haven't been sold in that period? Redfin may pull their info from the county so wouldn't have a history if the last sale was prior to the cutoff. I'm just guessing.
I just tried a random house on the King County Assessor's system and found the sale history under the Property Detail tab.

Thanks, I had used the assessor's site in the past and the "get property report" feature but somehow I overlooked the property detail tab.

...And if you know someone with MLS access, they can get loan history information on the property. Shoot me an email if you want me to do a little digging. If a house for rent sold for 400,000 dollars in 2007, they borrowed all of it with zero down, then took out a home equity loan, and are renting the place for 1500, either they have deep pockets or Mr. Foreclosure Man is breathing down their neck.

Thanks Ira. It looks like the place I'm about to sign a lease in was inherited in 1982, and King County Records turns up nothing, so I guess no recent cash out refinancing. I think I'll be safe from the foreclosure man.

You can also try your favorite title insurance company's customer service department. Ask them to run a "property history report" for you. There might be a charge but it will be nominal. A few bucks maybe.