Researching a home through public records

The assessor’s record

Every city and town has an assessing department, and most publish their records online. In Boston, the city’s Property Lookup shows the assessed value, location, ownership and tax information for any parcel. You search by address or by the city’s parcel ID; it does not search by owner name.

Assessors value property as of January 1 each year, so the assessment can trail recent sale prices. The more useful comparison is with the listing itself: living area, year built, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and the lot size. A listing with more rooms than the assessor records may include a finished basement or attic that was never assessed, and possibly never permitted. Ask about it. The tax figure may include an exemption the seller receives; the guide to property tax explains how exemptions work.

The Registry of Deeds

Deeds, mortgages, discharges, liens, easements and condominium master deeds are recorded at the Registry of Deeds for the county or district where the property sits. Some counties have more than one registry; the Secretary of the Commonwealth publishes a list of which registry serves each town. Most registries can be searched through masslandrecords.com, which links to each registry’s database. A property search by street number and street name is usually the quickest way in.

The most recent deed names the current owner and the date of the transfer, and the documents recorded after it show mortgages taken out and paid off. Older deeds and recorded plans can show easements and rights of way. Some parcels are registered land, which is indexed separately from recorded land, and some owners hold title through a trust or a company. Use what you find to understand the property and the seller’s timeline. It is not a substitute for the title examination your attorney or the lender’s attorney will order.

Permits and zoning

The local building department keeps permit records. Compare them with what you see: a new kitchen, a finished basement, a deck, new windows, a replaced boiler. Work done without permits is not unusual in older housing, but it is a question for the seller, the inspector and your attorney. In Boston, historical permit records can be searched by address; the data search covers permits issued after December 15, 2009, and building plans require an in-person visit to Inspectional Services.

Zoning matters if you plan to add space, finish a basement as living area or create an additional unit. Boston’s Zoning Viewer shows the zoning district, sub-district and article that apply to a parcel, along with any overlay districts. The city notes that the signed code maps are the official reference where they differ. Other towns publish their zoning bylaw and map, and the zoning or building office can explain what applies to a specific lot.

Lead and environmental records

The state’s Lead Safe Homes database shows whether a property has had a lead inspection, whether hazards were found and whether a letter of compliance exists. The current version may hold copies of the documents. For a home built before 1978, a letter of compliance or interim control can change your plans and your budget, especially if a child under six will live there.

MassDEP’s Waste Site and Reportable Release look-up lists reported releases of oil or hazardous material, searchable by town and street; the agency notes that mapped locations are not field-checked. EPA’s Cleanups in My Community map shows federal cleanup sites. Flood zones are on FEMA’s flood map, as covered in the single-family due diligence guide.

Where to look, at a glance

Most of these searches take a few minutes. Do them once a home is a serious candidate, and bring anything unclear to your agent and attorney before the offer deadline.