Owner Unknown: Your Guide to Real Estate Treasure Hunting

Provides practical information and resources for acquiring owner unknown land, with step-by-step instructions for identifying the land, finding the owner, and acquiring title

Veteran property hunter Segel seeks to show readers how to find and acquire "owner-unknown" land. He describes the process of finding parcels of untitled land that are untaxed (because local taxing authorities have been unable to determine who the owner is), locating the last known owners and their heirs, and acquiring a marketable title to the land. Segel writes clearly and enthusiastically. But, with just 68 pages of text, this can only be an introduction to the topic. Some of the extensive appendixes, particularly the "Selected Resources by State," will help readers gain access to more detailed sources necessary to begin their research. To his credit, Segel warns the reader of the amount and complexity of the research involved, but then negates these warnings by providing an extremely simplified sample case. He is also far too optimistic about the chances of successfully completing such complicated transactions. Segel acknowledges that the amount of owner-unknown land is getting smaller and that it is concentrated on the East Coast. Only public and special libraries in this area with strong patron interest in both genealogy and real estate need consider buying this book.
- Jonathan Miller, Rochester Inst. of Technology, N.Y.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.