To find out who owns the land behind your house, start with your county assessor’s online parcel viewer or property search: click the lot on the map, and the record will show the owner of record and a mailing address. In most cases that takes a few minutes and costs nothing. When the deed lists an LLC, a trust, or someone who has died, you’ll need to follow the trail into a few additional public records, and occasionally a title company or attorney.
Gather a Few Details Before You Search
The single most useful piece of information is the Assessor’s Parcel Number, sometimes called a parcel identification number or tax map number. Your own APN appears on your property tax bill and mortgage statement. Once you have it, you can locate your lot on the county map and identify the parcel behind yours by clicking on it or reading the neighboring lot number.
If the land behind you is undeveloped, it probably has no street address, which is exactly why the APN approach works better than an address search. GPS coordinates or a quick look in Google Earth will also help you pinpoint the right lot before you pull formal records.
Your title insurance policy is another resource. The Schedule A section contains the legal description of your property using lot numbers, subdivision names, or metes-and-bounds references. That description lets you identify the adjacent parcel in the recorder’s records even without an APN.
Use the County GIS or Parcel Viewer First
Most counties publish a free interactive GIS (Geographic Information System) map through the assessor’s or planning department’s website. These tools draw parcel boundaries over satellite imagery, so you can see the land behind your house and click it to open an ownership record. A typical viewer lets you search by address, APN, or owner name.
Clicking a parcel usually opens a panel showing the owner of record, the mailing address where tax bills go, the assessed value, parcel dimensions, and the zoning designation. Some viewers add layers for flood zones, easements, and recent sale prices. Detail varies by county, but even a bare-bones viewer should give you a name and a mailing address.
If your county’s map doesn’t display ownership, the assessor’s website almost certainly has a separate property search where you can enter the APN from the map and pull up the same information.
Confirm with the Assessor and Recorder
County tax assessors and recorders of deeds hold the official ownership records, and those records are public. Every state has an open-records or sunshine law that requires local governments to make property data available, and most counties publish searchable databases online.
Entering the APN or address into the assessor’s search tool pulls up a property profile listing the current owner of record, the mailing address for tax correspondence, the assessed value, and the tax history. The mailing address is often the most practical piece of information you’ll find, because it tells you where to send a letter.
If the online database is incomplete or older records haven’t been digitized, you can visit the county clerk or recorder’s office in person. Staff can help you locate the recorded deed by its book and page number, and copies are available for a small per-page fee.
Reading the Deed
Pulling the most recently recorded deed gives you the definitive answer. A deed names two parties: the grantor, who transferred the land, and the grantee, who received it. The grantee on the latest recorded deed is the current legal owner. Older deeds in the chain of title show previous owners, so be sure you’re reading the most recent one.
The deed also carries the legal description that defines the parcel’s boundaries. Some descriptions reference lot and block numbers on a recorded subdivision plat; others use metes and bounds, tracing the perimeter with compass directions and measured distances. You don’t usually need to decode this yourself, but it’s there if a surveyor ever needs it.
Plat maps are the visual companion. Filed with the recorder when a subdivision was created, a plat map shows how the block was divided into lots, with dimensions, street frontage, and shared boundaries. Comparing the plat to what’s actually on the ground is a quick way to check whether the fence between your yard and the parcel behind you follows the legal line or sits a few feet off.
Watch for Easements
Review the deed and plat map for recorded easements. An express easement, created by a written agreement and recorded with the deed, gives someone the right to use a portion of the land for a specific purpose: a utility corridor, a shared driveway, drainage. Easements run with the land, so they survive changes in ownership. A utility easement along your shared boundary affects what either owner can build there, regardless of who holds title.
When the Owner Isn’t an Individual
Not every deed lists a person. If the parcel is owned by an LLC or corporation, the deed shows the entity name but not the humans behind it. To find a real contact, search the entity name in the Secretary of State’s business database for the state where the LLC or corporation is registered. The filing typically names a registered agent (the person or company designated to receive legal correspondence) along with a business address and sometimes the names of managers or officers.
Trusts work differently. The trust agreement itself is private and won’t appear in public records, but the deed usually names the trust and its trustee. If the deed reads “John Smith, Trustee of the Smith Family Trust,” John Smith is your contact. When the trustee’s identity isn’t clear from the deed, check the land records for other filings by the trust, or look for related probate filings that reference it.
Deceased Owners and Heirs’ Property
Sometimes the owner of record died years ago and no one updated the title. That happens often with heirs’ property, where land passes informally from one generation to the next without probate. When no probate occurs, the land records never reflect the new owners, and after a few generations many people may hold fractional interests without appearing in the county system.
If your search turns up an owner who appears to be deceased, check the county probate court for an estate filing under that name. If probate was opened, the case file names an executor or personal representative with authority over the property. If no probate was filed, there may be no single person with clear authority to decide anything about the land. A title company or real estate attorney can help trace the heirs, though it takes time and money.
When to Hire a Surveyor or Title Company
Public records usually answer the ownership question on their own. Professionals come in when boundaries are disputed, records are missing, or the chain of title looks tangled.
A licensed land surveyor physically marks the boundary between your property and the parcel behind you using the legal description, recorded plat maps, and field measurements. Surveyors also identify encroachments, such as a neighbor’s shed crossing the line, and can spot unrecorded uses that might ripen into legal claims. A residential boundary survey typically runs $1,200 to $5,500, higher for larger lots, wooded or hilly terrain, and rush jobs. Some surveyors bill research and travel separately.
A title company does something different: a deep search through the chain of ownership that uncovers liens, encumbrances, and gaps in title history. A basic ownership search typically costs $75 to $300, and a full title search with a detailed report runs $300 to $500 or more depending on complexity. These reports are especially useful if you’re thinking about buying the land behind you or need to confirm that whoever claims ownership actually has clear title.
Why It’s Worth Knowing Sooner Rather Than Later
Adverse possession is one reason to figure out who owns the land behind you before an issue arises. The doctrine lets someone who openly occupies another person’s land for a long enough period eventually claim legal title. The required time varies widely by state, from as few as five years in some jurisdictions to twenty or more in others, and the possession must be continuous, open, and without the true owner’s permission.
This cuts both ways. If someone has been treating the land behind your house as their own, mowing it, fencing it, building on it, and the real owner hasn’t objected for years, an adverse possession claim could eventually succeed. On the other hand, if you’ve been maintaining a strip you assumed was yours, you want to know before the situation becomes a legal problem. Identifying the owner and keeping clear communication about the boundary is the simplest way to head off trouble.
Reaching the Owner Once You’ve Identified Them
How you approach the owner depends on why you were looking. For routine matters, a shared fence, an overhanging tree, a drainage question, a polite letter or conversation is the right opening move. Use the mailing address from the tax assessor’s records. Include your name, your address, a description of the issue, and what you’re proposing. Keep the tone cooperative. Most boundary and maintenance questions get resolved between neighbors without lawyers.
When the issue has legal weight, like a boundary dispute, an encroachment, or a formal demand for shared fence costs, send the letter by certified mail with return receipt requested. The receipt gives you proof the owner received your communication, which matters if the dispute reaches court or mediation. Some states require written notice before you can take certain steps, such as repairing a shared fence and billing the neighbor for half, so documenting your outreach protects you.
If the owner is unresponsive, lives far away, or the property is held by an entity with no obvious contact, a real estate attorney can draft a formal notice and advise on next steps. A few hundred dollars of legal guidance early can prevent a boundary issue from turning into a lawsuit that costs far more.