Remsen Street in Brooklyn, New York, about 1900. Photo courtesy of New York Public Library
If you’ve been curious about your home’s history, you probably already know you can find basic details about it on sites like Zillow or Redfin. Even your home’s title report, which you or your agent should pull in escrow, contains useful information. But what if you want to dig deeper? There are some tools that can help you research your home’s original owners, interesting events that may have happened in or near your property, and even what it used to look like—so get digging.
Property Listings
A good place to start your search is Trulia’s Property Sitemap, which includes a bit more detail than a standard Trulia search. If that doesn’t yield much—and you’re still in touch with the agent who helped you buy the house—there’s always the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database (it’s typically restricted to use by real-estate agents). “The list of ways to discover the history of a house is endless,” says SRES-certified Realtor Chantay Bridges. “We search out an address and can see tons of history including pictures, zoning, even maps with boundaries and ownership of varying properties.”
DiedInHouse.com
Okay, yes, it’s a little morbid. But the website DiedInHouse.com will tell you (you guessed it) whether anyone has died in your home. There are instances in which real-estate agents have to disclose this information, but many states don’t require it. So if you don’t ask, you might not know.
For $12, the site will compile a report that tells you whether a death has occurred in your home and when it happened. Beyond that, it will also tell you if there have been any fire incidents or meth activity in the house.
Historical Maps of Your City
Some cities have historic maps that you can search by address. There’s no guarantee they include photos of your home, but it’s worth a shot. You can look up historic photos of interest near you using WhatWasThere.com, for example. Otherwise, you’ll have to run a search for historic maps specific to your city. Here are a few maps for major U.S. cities:
New York City
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Los Angeles
And while it’s not exactly ancient history, you can look up your home’s Google Street View history, too: Just search your address in Google Maps, click on the photo of your home to access Street View, and then look for the timeline, which goes back to 2007. You can also try searching for your home’s address in Google Images to see what pops up.
Public Records
To find your home’s previous owners or purchase history, you’ll have to search your county tax assessor’s office, county recorder, or your city hall. “At times we may search them all,” Chantay says. “It depends on the type of search and what information you are seeking—you can discover property deeds, previous owners, any encumbrances on the house, lawsuits, etc. You can even see personal history, such as if an owner is in bankruptcy or divorced.” Yes, really, that kind of thing is a public record!
Your local library may also have resources to help you in your search, and your city’s Department of Building and Safety may even allow you to look up the names of the home’s contractor or architect. A good place to start is the Public Records Online Directory.
Neighbors
And on a less technical note, learning about your home’s history might be as simple as checking with your neighbors. (Duh!) If they’ve lived in the area a while, they can clue you into things you may never find in public records. “Many of them know everything there is to know about an area, a house, and previous owners,” says Chantay. “You’ll be surprised at what you can uncover from the person right next door.”