Straight from the assessor
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, March 18, 2006
STEP 1
Here’s the portal page for the Snohomish County Assessor’s Office property information search, which can be found at http://web5.co.snohomish.wa.us/propsys/asr-tr-propinq/prpinq01 -entry.asp. Type in the address or the property’s county parcel number.
STEP 2
Once the system finds a property in the database, you can either look it up on a map or view the parcel information. The parcel data usually includes a link with details and a photo of the home on the property.
STEP 3
The county’s mapping program can display an electronic map with parcel numbers of each lot in the area. A click on any of the lots will bring up the property information. Another click on the map page will highlight – with the sales price – recent property transactions in the area. An aerial photo of the area also can be brought up by clicking another box.
By Eric Fetters
Herald Writer
There was a time, not that long ago, when the hunt for the perfect home was conducted without any help from the Internet.
Basically, there were precious few Web-based resources a decade ago.
With countless real estate Web sites today, it makes sense to use them. For example, looking online through homes listed for sale can save time and fuel over driving aimlessly around in hopes of spotting “for sale” signs.
When researching a property’s value, ownership and history, there are several options. But the most reliable information can be found for free on the Snohomish County assessor’s Web site.
It’s not always the most user-friendly site, but it’s thorough. With an address, you can usually look up virtually everything you need to know about a property, including owners, legal descriptions of properties, sales transactions in the past few years and assessed values.
It’s valuable information if you’re looking to buy a property or if you’re just snoopy about the ownership and value of your neighbor’s lot.
The Web site is well used, said Kent Barbeau, geographic information systems for the assessor’s office. He said the department’s real estate property search site averages about 100,000 users a month, according to his latest figures.
For more information, go to www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/ departments/assessor and click on “Assessor Services.”
