County Records
Also known as: public records, recorded documents, county recorder, land records
County records are the publicly recorded documents maintained by a county recorder's office that establish ownership, liens, encumbrances, and other matters affecting real property. Every deed, mortgage, assignment, judgment, satisfaction, and lien release affecting a property is recorded here, creating a permanent public record that puts all parties on constructive notice of each document's existence. For mortgage note investors, county records are the foundation of both due diligence and post-acquisition asset management.
What Gets Recorded at the County Level
County records contain every document that affects real property interests within the county's jurisdiction:
| Document Type | What It Establishes |
|---|---|
| Deed | Transfers ownership of the property from one party to another |
| Mortgage or deed of trust | Creates a lien on the property securing a loan obligation |
| Assignment of mortgage | Transfers the lender's interest in the mortgage from one entity to another |
| Satisfaction or lien release | Confirms a mortgage or lien has been paid in full and extinguished |
| Judgment lien | Records a court judgment as a lien against the property |
| Tax lien certificate | Records unpaid property taxes sold to a third-party buyer |
| Lis pendens | Provides notice that a lawsuit affecting the property is pending |
| Quit claim deed | Transfers whatever interest the grantor holds without warranty |
The act of recording creates constructive notice — meaning that once a document is recorded, every subsequent party is legally presumed to know about it, whether or not they actually searched the records. This is why recording matters: an unrecorded mortgage may be valid between the original parties, but a subsequent buyer or lender who searches the records and finds nothing has a stronger legal position.
Why County Records Matter for Note Investors
County records serve note investors at three critical stages of the investment lifecycle:
Pre-Acquisition Due Diligence
Before purchasing a loan, investors search county records to verify that the borrower still owns the property (confirming the loan is secured), confirm the lien position of the mortgage, identify competing liens and encumbrances that affect equity, and check property tax status. This research can be done for free on county websites for most populated counties, making it the most cost-effective screening tool in the due diligence process.
Post-Closing Asset Management
After purchasing a note, the investor must record the assignment of mortgage transferring the lien from the seller to the buyer. This step establishes the new holder's interest in the public record and is essential for any future enforcement action, including foreclosure. Failing to record the assignment leaves a gap in the chain of title that can complicate or delay legal proceedings.
Resolution and Payoff
When a loan is fully paid off — whether through regular payments, a discounted payoff, or a deed in lieu — the investor must record a satisfaction or lien release at the county level. This clears the encumbrance from the borrower's property and provides public notice that the debt has been resolved.
Accessing County Records Online
The vast majority of populated counties in the United States now publish property records online through three types of portals:
- County assessor or property card page — shows current owner, property type, assessed value, and transfer history
- County recorder or clerk of court page — contains the full searchable index of deeds, mortgages, assignments, liens, and judgments
- County tax payment portal — displays current tax status, outstanding balances, payment history, and tax sale information
For investors who research loans across many counties, building a reference database of county portal URLs organized by state saves significant time. Not all counties have digitized their records — in those cases, an abstractor must visit the office in person to pull physical files.
County Records vs. Professional Title Reports
Free county record research answers threshold questions — is the loan secured, are the taxes current, are there obvious deal-killing liens? But it has limits. It does not produce a comprehensive chain of title, it may miss encumbrances recorded under prior owner names, and it requires the investor to know which county portals to search and how to interpret the results.
A professional O&E report (Ownership and Encumbrance report) consolidates everything in county records into a single organized document, typically costing $75 to $150 per property. For larger or higher-value investments, the professional report is worth the cost. For lower-value assets or initial tape screening, free county record research is often sufficient to identify the deals worth pursuing further.
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