INTERNET RESOURCES FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS

I. Internet resources for Real Estate Professionals are increasing on a daily basis

A. Some counties and title companies have their records online

1. In the future there will be less need to check records in the courthouse

2. Field landwork will be limited to acquiring necessary instruments in the field and indexing instruments in the County Clerk’s office

3. The bulk of record checking will be done in your own office

II. Public Records currently available

A. State Links to Counties

1. Texas: www.state.tx.us/

2. New Mexico: www.state.nm.us/state/city_county.html

3. Colorado: www.state.co.us.gov/gov_dir/countygovs.html

4. Oklahoma: www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/county.html

5. Wyoming: www.state.wy.us/government.html

6. North Dakota: www.discovernd.com/government/county.html

7. Louisiana

a. State: www.state.la.us/gov_local.htm#govrelated

b. Lafayette Parish for entire state: www.lafayetteparishclerk.com/district.html

8. State and Local Government on the Net, links to counties across the country

a. www.netronline.com

b. www.yblost.com

c. www.oiltrash.com

d. www.statelocalgov.net/index.cfm

B. County Appraisal District Records in Texas:

1. Allows Real Estate Professionals to locate surface owner by legal description

2. locate address for landowners

3. Access addresses for landowners

4. Internet locations for County Appraisal District Records

a. www.taxnetusa.com/

b. www.txcountydata.com

C. County Treasurer/Assessor/Appraisal District

1. Oklahoma County, OK: www.oklahomacounty.org.assessor/default.htm

www.oklahomacounty.org/cotreasurer/default.asp

2. Harris County, TX: www.hcad.org

3. Fort Bend County, TX: www.txcountydata.com/

4. Galveston County, TX: www.galvestoncad.org

5. Chambers County, TX: www.chamberscad.org

6. Brazoria County, TX: https://brazoria.tx.ezgov.com/property/index.jsp

7. Montgomery County, Texas: www.mcad-tx.org

8. Jefferson County, TX

a. Tax Assessor: http://co.jefferson.tx.us/taxoffice/taxsearch.htm

b. Appraisal District: www.jcad.org

D. County Clerk’s Records

1. Allows Real Estate Investor to check records in office

2. Reduces out of town overhead

3. Increases speed by eliminating travel

4. Access

a. Some counties are online for free

b. Some counties are available by fee by the county or private providers

5. Records accessible

a. Probate

b. Marriage

c. Assumed Name

d. Uniform Commercial Code

e. Official/Deed Records

6. Commercial Providers

a. http://countyrecords.landata.com/coverage.asp: Bexar, Brazoria, Collin, Comal, Dallas, Denton, Fort Bend, Galveston, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Kendall, McLennan, Montgomery, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson, Medina and Nueces Counties, Texas

b. CourthouseDirect: www.courthousedirect.com/Image.asp:

Imaging selected urban counties from across the country

c. Landtitle USA: www.landtitleusa.com/ : Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata, Webb Willacy and Cameron Counties, Texas

1. Plats & Maps

2. Name Search

3. Real Property Records Search

4. Legal Description Search

5. Runsheets

d. TitleX: www.titlex.com : Anderson, Bastrop, Brazoria, Burnett, Cherokee, Calhoun, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Harris, Jackson, McLennan, Montgomery, Victoria, Rusk, Tarrant, VanZandt, Wharton, Williamson and Wood Counties, Texas

8. Public Provider

a. Fort Bend County, Texas:

www.ccweb.co.fort-bend.tx.us/opr/oprDefault.asp

b. Harris County, Texas: www.co.harris.tx.us/cclerk/

E. Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Records:

1. National

a. Death: www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/vital/ssdi/main.htm , Social Security Death Records

b.Birthdays: www.Anybirthday.com

c. Obituaries: www.arrangeonline.com

2. Texas:

a. Death: http://userdb.rootsweb.com/tx/death/search.cgi

b. Birth, Death, Divorce and Marriage indexes from the Bureau of Vital Statistics: www.vitalsearch-ca.com/gen/tx/tx_.htm :

III. Surface Maps

A. Aerial Maps: www.terraserver.microsoft.com/default.asp

1. helps locate surface improvements, obstructions, etc.

2. useful when writing Use and Possession Affidavit

3. helpful when selecting surface location

B. Topographical Maps: www.topozone.com/

IV. Translations: many times old instruments are in Spanish, including Mexican and Spanish Land Grants, and a translation is needed

A. http://world.altavista.com

V. People Locators: many times it is difficult to locate an individual or entity, therefore a Real Estate Investorman can conduct a more global search using several search engines:

A. theultimates.com/white/

1. Locate by name

2. Locate by address

3. Locate by phone number

B. www.whitepages.com

1. Reverse address

2. Reverse phone number

C. www.publicdata.com (for pay)

1. Drivers License Records

2. DMV Records

3. Selected Civil & Criminal Records

VI. State Agencies

A. Texas: Texas General Land Office:

www.glo.state.tx.us/

B. New Mexico: New Mexico State Land Office: http://nmstatelands.org/landoffice/Start.asp

C. Oklahoma: Land Office: www.state.ok.us/~clo/

D. Louisiana: State Land Office: www.doa.state.la.us/slo/default.htm

VII. Federal Agencies: Bureau of Land Management: www.blm.gov/nhp/index.htm

A. Links

B. Job Bank

C. Member Chat

X. Sources of Links

A. Oil Trash.com: www.Oiltrash.com

B. CourthouseDirect.com: www.courthousedirect.com/FreeDB.asp

C. www.skipease.com

XI. Non Internet Resources

A. Kanes Oil and Gas Forms: www.kanesforms.com

1. Oil & Gas Leases: Lease Riders

2. Affidavits

3. Assignments

4. Easements, Rights of Way, easements

5. Ratifications

6. Deeds

7. Escrow Agreements

8. Subordinations