Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#1

Post by ginkoutest » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 7:43 PM UTC

I get a lot of letters in the mail, texts, and phone calls from real estate investors trying to buy one of my rental properties. I know they found my info by checking county assessor offices, but why is this information publicly published by every county in the US?

I recognize that this data is super valuable, particularly to brokers and wholesalers, so I'm curious why websites like Zillow don't also publish the name of the owner of a property, yet they publish all other information about the property and its history?

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#2

Post by LinuxBender » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 7:48 PM UTC

I do not have an answer for your specific question and I am not an expert on this but for what it's worth one can purchase properties in the name of a trust or a business. It will still be public but a trust can be anonymously named in some states. This can have property tax implications depending on the type of trust and the state so review the options in your location with a lawyer knowledgeable in trusts and property taxes.

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#3

Post by uberman » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 7:49 PM UTC

I think one reason is historically, if you and I own property next to each other but you pay twice the property tax that I pay, the public might have an interest in knowing who I was and how I got a sweetheart assessment.

If you want to obfuscate your ownership i imagine you could create a trust or LLC and transfer and sell your direct ownership to the new entity. This might have some short and long term tax implications and I would consult a tak expert.

Many ranches were i live are now owned by family trusts i assume for inheritance reasons.

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#4

Post by giantg2 » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 7:49 PM UTC

Why would they publish names? It's really no value to home buyers to see the name associated with a listing. In some cases, there are antidiscrimination laws that limit what information should be disclosed to sellers and buyers. Name might be one of those.

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#5

Post by beardyw » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 8:09 PM UTC

Because people have been living in houses for millennia and such an idea of privacy would only have emerged in the last few decades.

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#6

Post by Digory » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 8:32 PM UTC

1. The Public needs to know if they are permitted to be at a place or not. Or even if they can claim it. Homesteading in the US (claiming public land as private land) only ended in 1986.

2. Because police need to know who belongs at a place, and who to exclude.

3. The government wants to know who to tax for the land.

4. Generally, we think the government's information should be publicly available, not hidden.

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#7

Post by prepend » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 9:00 PM UTC

I don’t think the name is important for Zillow site visitors so they don’t publish it. The value and features are important.

I imagine Zillow sells marketing databases with actual names.

And of course you can just go to the county assessor to look up the name. But I don’t think Zillow even links to their source.

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#8

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 9:12 PM UTC

Digory wrote: post #6

1. The Public needs to know if they are permitted to be at a place or not. Or even if they can claim it. Homesteading in the US (claiming public land as private land) only ended in 1986. 2. Because police need to know who belongs at a place, and who to exclude. 3. The government wants to know who to tax for the land. 4. Generally, we think the government's information should be publicly available, not hidden.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#9

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 9:37 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Why is home property information so public?

#10

Post by a_square_peg » Sun, Sep 03, 2023, 9:51 PM UTC

The United States has a policy about government data - including weather (e.g. NOAA) and GPS, to be made freely available to the public. Your property data, collected at the county level, falls under this category so they are accessible to everyone.

However, I think Zillow would be prevented from publishing the owner name, since it would probably be classified as Personal Identifiable Information (PII).