In my line of work, I frequently need to determine who owns a parcel of property.
In DuPage County, starting your inquiry at www.dupageco.org/gis is a great first step. There, you will find a plethora of information.
Imagine performing a search on your favorite online search engine. The map looks great and the picture is nice also, but what about parcel-specific information? How does one obtain that?
I’m glad you asked.
Where you will find parcel-specific information and much more is at DuPage County’s Interactive Map Gallery. Do you want lot dimensions? Do you want real estate permanent index number (PIN) information? Do you want to know who the taxpayer is on the parcel? What about the owner or owners next door? Do you need elevation information on the parcel or flood zone information?
The answers to these questions and many more may be found at the site. If you are a map geek like me, be prepared to spend a lot of time on that site.
It should be mentioned that finding the taxpayer for a parcel does not necessarily reveal the owner of the parcel, but you will find that information just a few clicks away at the DuPage County Recorder’s website. There, coupled with the PIN information found on the GIS site, one can easily pull the last recorded deed to any land parcel in DuPage County. A search at the Recorder’s website will reveal lots of other helpful information such as what mortgage(s) is/are recorded against the property and whether a foreclosure is pending against the property. Further, by looking at the deed and determining how much in real estate transfer taxes were paid, one can easily deduce the purchase price of the parcel.
The resources found at the various DuPage County websites are vast and awesome. I encourage you to give them a try.
