Looking to purchase land

[The Bad Guy]

Karen,

Thank you for the great info. I have a friend who does appraisals so I would be contacting him about anything.

I'm still looking for land. I'd like to get at least a half acre around the Factoryville/Clarks Summit area since I will be teaching in Tunkhannock starting in September. I do not want to live in Tunkhannock because it will be too far out for my wife.

[Lavelle Appraisal Company]

Originally Posted by bldginpa

When using the pikegis site, how do you find out the parcel number to plug in when you want to see who owns property?

If you click on the 'districts' tab at the top of the page that will refresh the page and bring you to a township/borough level. I like using the tool with magnifying glass and red square to get a decent idea of what I'm looking at. Then, like Karen posted, using the info tool you can get a really good idea of what you're looking at and get yourself ready to harvest your data.

You will run into some problems in newly subdivided parcels because of some poor database design by the county mapping/assessment office but that's to be expected in Northeastern PA.

A good idea when searching by parcel number (with any of these county run databases) is to start small and then work your way towards the lot. By that, I mean start with your 'map number' (almost always the first 3,4,5,6 digits) and then add in the 'block number' (this varies by county) and then search the results to find your 'lot number'.

Good luck!

[Lavelle Appraisal Company]

Originally Posted by BLUEDIAMOND64

I would advocate getting an apprisal from the bank before offering any price. Also it is important to do a title search to make sure there are not any liens on the property.

Keep in mind that an appraisal ordered by the bank is done for that bank (i.e. they are the appraiser's client). It's a confusing concept because banks generally force the consumer to pay for something they have no right to rely upon for making decisions.

The title search would be a prerequisite to obtaining a loan from any bank but that is excellent advice for anyone paying cash for real estate.

Just ask that friend of a friend of a friend of a friend that thought they would get rich quick buying foreclosures off of the courthouse steps they're not such a hotshot now.

[BLUEDIAMOND64]

I know 2 title companies that did a search and it came out fine. Then a real estate attorney went in and found a lien. Be careful who you hire for the search.

[ki0eh]

Now, what's the opinion on whether to buy title insurance as well, if an attorney does the title search in PA?

[KarenRice]

Always, always, always ALWAYS buy title insurance.