What is Deschutes County Dial?
Did you know that you can look up a property online and find out who owns it and how much they paid for it? It’s true and it is really easy. Deschutes County Dial is a great online system for public real estate records managed by the county assessor. If you haven’t already used this service you will be surprised at how much information is available.
It is important to understand that we do not recommend trying to use Deschutes County Dial to determine the value of your home. Unfortunately, their system really isn’t set up to compare multiple recent sales in a given neighborhood because it is designed to look at one property at a time. If you are thinking of selling your home, call us at (541) 306-3654 and ask for a Comparative Market Analysis of your home. It is the best way to determine the value of your home without paying for an appraisal. We have access to detailed sales data through Central Oregon MLS.
What can you find when you look up a house on Deschutes County DIAL?
Sales Information
This is primarily useful when you are thinking of buying or selling a home. We give our clients prior sales information on any property they are considering purchasing because it can help determine the motivation of the seller. For example, if we find that a seller bought the house 6 months ago then they are likely trying to “flip” the house. Did they make improvements or just put lipstick on a pig? Additionally, sales information is useful if the house has been sold 10 times in the last 20 years. So many sales in such a short time would raise the question, why? Are they are a function of the location or conversely, a function of the quality of the house?
Structural Improvements or Repairs
Deschutes County almost always requires a permit for structural improvements. The county assessor records all permits and posts them on DIAL. This will tell you what was done and who did it. While the county does have to give the final stamp of approval for work done, not all contractors are created equal. If the homeowner did his own work, well…make sure to point out those repairs to your inspector so that they look at them closely.
Property Taxes
You can look up property tax statements for your neighbors’ homes. If any of your neighbors own homes similar to yours you can compare your assessed value with theirs. It is also possible to find errors in the county records. Errors in square footage or acreage can make a difference on your property taxes.
Curiosity
Sometimes it’s just fun to know how much your neighbor paid for their house. Do you wonder how big that house on the corner is or how big your neighbor’s lot is? Deschutes County DIAL will give you square footage of the house and the acreage of the lot. While DIAL won’t tell you the amount of a mortgage it will tell you if there is one or if the owner paid cash.
Do you want to look up a house on DIAL? This link will take you to the search page.