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This type of research may seem complicated initially, but once you learn the basics, you will be able to find records any time you need them. Hopefully this Organizing Toolbox will help you gain a general understanding and offer you some hints for where and how to efficiently find the information you are searching for in land and property records.

Where to start

The first step to finding your desired land record is knowing where to look.

Some people use land records to do genealogical or historical research. If you are doing genealogical research or looking for very old land records dated before the Civil War, check with the Library of Virginia, which holds most of the existing pre-1865 records in the state.

If you have web access, the site: www.lva.lib.va.us/collect/localrecs/locrecs-listing.htm will give you a listing of the records that they have available for each locality. You can also call the Library of Virginia at (804) 692-3500.

Otherwise, the majority of your research can most likely be done at the local level. In Virginia, every locality�s Clerk of the Circuit Court should oversee the records for that jurisdiction (or at least direct you to where they are kept).

To get started, simply call the Circuit Court Clerk and ask where the land records are stored. For a listing of each jurisdiction�s Circuit Court Clerk, their office hours and phone numbers, go to www.courts.state.va.us/courts/ courts.html. Once you learn where the records are held, find some paper and something to write with and head over to the records room to get started. Also, remember that all these records are public unless they can prove otherwise.

Once you�re in the records room

One of the most important things to do when you start researching land records is to get to know the people who work as staff in the records room. Most records rooms consist mainly of walls of books (which contain the information you�re looking for), and the key is finding which one to look in. The staff can make your research much easier by helping you get started, directing you to what you are looking for or at least pointing you in the right direction. The staff person can also explain to you the system they use in their specific records room.

You must start your research with a good idea of either the address or the name of the owner of the property you are researching. Most systems in records rooms (computerized or not) will ask you to search for the property by: owner, house number, street name, parcel ID, or another designation. The entry you find for the piece of property you are researching will likely contain information such as: date the record was last updated, sale date, sale type, the deed book number, the deed page, etc.

The key pieces of information here will be the deed book number and the deed page (often called book and page). The book number will tell you which of the books on the walls contains the record you are researching, and the page number will coincide with the pages in that book.

The most common type of information you will find will be a deed of some sort. Deeds will tell you the information you are searching for, such as: the names of the grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer), their addresses, a description of what is being sold, the amount of money paid, the location of the property, the property�s boundaries and any limitations on the property being sold. You will also find any other documents connected to the property such as loan or regulatory agreements. Finally, the deed you find will also reference you to other deed books and pages for more information about the property.

Two other things are important to know about: grantor books and grantee books. Every records room should have these two types of books, which are categorized by the name of the buyer or the seller of the property. These books are also categorized by date and letter of the alphabet (A-G for 1990-Present, for example).

The last names are alphabetized down the left side of each page. Across the top you will find listings for: grantor, grantee, deed book, deed page, recorded date and property description. If you know the name of the individual or company who bought or sold the property you are researching, and the time the transaction occurred, these books are probably the best tools for finding the land record.

Make copies

Land records usually take up most of the space in these rooms, but most likely there are many other kinds of records stored there as well. Other sources of information you will find in most record rooms include: plat books (showing maps of pieces of property in the area), wills (held in books similar to deed books), documents about charters, documents for partnerships, marriage documents, financing statements and various judgments of the court. As with land records, the records room staff people will be able to inform you of how to research these documents.

Conclusion

This Organizing Toolbox provides you with a good start on how to do land record research. Once you begin researching records you will find it interesting, relatively easy and hopefully beneficial to your work. Good luck.