Whether you’re looking into insurance, considering a renovation, or planning to sell in the near future, it’s important to know your house’s age and when exactly it was built.
However, finding out when a house was built can be surprisingly difficult if you don’t know where to look. This is especially true if you’ve lived in your home for a long time and have misplaced old paperwork or forgotten previous details.
We understand how frustrating this can be for homeowners; you deserve to know all the information about your home’s history. That’s why we’re here to help. Below, we’ll cover the various methods you can use to find when your house was built.
How to Find When My House Was Built: Five Effective Methods
From checking your property’s paperwork to a dedicated address lookup tool, there are several ways you can find out when your house was built.
Review Your House’s Paperwork
Before going any further, make sure to review the property documents you already have on hand. Check your deeds, insurance records, purchase appraisal, and your home inspection and/or survey report. These documents will usually include information about when your house was built, either the exact date itself or an accurate estimate.
However, don’t feel alarmed if you’ve misplaced your official paperwork. There are still plenty of ways you can find out when your house was built.
Check the County Clerk’s Office
Your local county clerk’s office maintains all public records relating to properties within its jurisdiction. They document information such as ownership history, property transactions, building permits, estimated values, and most importantly, when houses were built.
Some offices provide their records online, but others may require you to visit in person, especially if you want to access the full records. Make sure to call ahead to book an appointment. Give the staff as much information as you can about your home, including the address and your name (or the official owner’s name).
Even if you can access the office’s records online, we still advise arranging for an in-person visit. Some documents are old and may not have yet been digitized and uploaded to their online database.
Ask Your Real Estate Agent
If you’ve just moved into your home or are considering purchasing the property, make sure to ask the real estate agent. The previous owner may have supplied them with this information.
Real estate agents may also be able to access a Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which compiles information from various sources about properties, including details like their features, square footage, and year built and/or estimated age.
Ask the Neighbors
The most accurate insight can often come from those who have lived on your street for decades.
Don’t be afraid to ask long-term neighbors if they know information about your house. While they may not know the exact date your house was built, they’ll be able to give you at least an idea of how old the house is. They may also have information about the previous owners and can help you get in touch with them.
The Most Effective Method: Address Lookup Tool
A dedicated reverse address lookup tool is often the quickest and most effective way to find out information about a property. This tool gathers information from various public records and compiles it into an all-in-one database that can be searched with ease.
Simply enter your house’s address into the lookup tool’s search engine, and wait for the results to load. Within minutes (often seconds), the tool will display all relevant information it has about your house. This often includes the property’s value, square footage, and when it was likely built.
You may need to pay a small fee to access all of the available information about your property. However, many homeowners find this fee is worth it considering the amount of time and moments of stress a quality lookup tool can save.
How to Find When My House Was Built: A Quick Summary
Finding out when your house was built can be surprisingly difficult and frustrating if you don’t know where to start. However, you can usually find out this information with a bit of patience and investigation. Review your property’s paperwork, reach out to your county clerk’s office, and ask realtors and local neighbors.
If none of these methods have worked, or you’re simply after a quick and easy solution, then remember you can always leverage an address lookup tool.
With a Master’s in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, Alexander Martin has dedicated the last 18 years to enhancing outdoor living through thoughtful and robust structure design. His career kicked off in urban planning, giving him a unique perspective on integrating structures into diverse environments. In 2019, Alexander brought his expertise to our website, offering insights into creating versatile outdoor spaces. Since then, he has been the lead advisor for our outdoor design projects and is known for his ability to merge functionality with environmental consciousness. Alexander enjoys rock climbing outside of work and participates in community development projects, activities that reflect his passion for the outdoors and sustainable design.
