Santa Barbara County Property Search
When people sell, transfer, buy, or use property as collateral for loans in Santa Barbara, certain procedures are observed in the process of such real property transactions, often resulting in the creation of property records. These property records are part of Santa Barbara County Public Records and provide valuable information about real property and facilitate the decision-making of anyone interested in real estate business and affairs within the county.
One can figure out, through property search, if the seller has legal access to the documents and papers related to the piece of property. A property search also makes it easy for potential buyers to determine if the property has any mortgages, tax liens, ownership claims, and other legal issues that may affect their purchase in the near future.
These records are typically filed and maintained by different county departments, including the Santa Barbara County Recorder, Assessor, and Tax Collector.
The County Clerk-Recorder maintains all documents that deal with establishing ownership of land in the County or as required by law, including documentary transfer tax on all property sales. (2007 California Government Code Article 4). The Assessor, on the other hand, discovers, identifies, values, and assesses all taxable real and personal property for county assessment rolls purposes. The County Tax Collector keeps property tax records and information.
Any of these offices is authorized to handle real estate matters and property records in Santa Barbara County.
Are Santa Barbara County Property Records Public?
Yes. Santa Barbara County Property Records are generally available to members of the public per the Public Record Act of California (Government Code Sections 6250, et seq) and local ordinances of the county. The PRA, however, exempts certain records from public disclosures on the premise that they contain sensitive information whose public exemption far outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.
Such restricted public records may include, but are not limited to:
- Personal information, for example, Social Security Numbers
- Property statement
- Change in Ownership
- Homeowner exemption claim
- Information Relating to Affairs of Other Taxpayers
- Pending litigation or claims to which the County of Santa Barbara is a party
- Investigative and law enforcement records
- Trade secret privileged records
Where to Perform a Santa Barbara County Property Lookup
The public can inspect a Saint Barbara County property lookup in the following manners:
- An in-person visit to the offices of the Saint Barabara Clerk-Recorder, Assessor, and Tax Collector.
- County Assessor Public Portal
- Self-Service County Clerk-Recorder Web and Historical Index
How to Perform a Property Owner Lookup in Santa Barbara County
One can perform a property owner lookup in Santa Barbara County through the office of the Clerk-Recorder. The search portal maintained by the Clerk-Recorder, for example, allows one to use search parameters like property owner’s name, grantor/grantee, and recording date.
Members of the public can also employ a title search company or real estate lawyer to find a property owner in Santa Barbara County. Third-party aggregator websites also provide property owner lookup services for free or at a nominal fee for extensive searches and purchase of official copies.
How to Find Santa Barbara County Property Records Online
There are several online search options for anyone looking to find Saint Barabara property records online. For instance, the County Clerk and Assessor's offices maintain official record search online tools to enable the public to inspect limited property information online.
The Clerk-Recorder’s Office
To find information on real property ownership, grant deeds, and subdivision maps among others at the clerk-recorder’s office, one may visit the official address during official business hours.
The County Recorder provides their archived real estate records for free to the public through public “lobby” kiosks. The public is also allowed to take photographs of these records. The Clerk-Recorder, however, does not perform searches for the public. They may explain the due process involved in using the kiosk but nothing to do with the interpretation of records or searches. One can search for real estate documents recorded in Santa Barbara County from 1850 to the present
Clerk-Recorder kiosks are located at:
1100 Anacapa Street
Hall of Records
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: (610) 891-4152
Or
Betteravia Government Center
511 East Lakeside Parkway
Suite 115
Santa Maria, CA 93455-1341
Another alternative is the Clerk’s Real Estate Records Online Indexes which contain information on documents recorded since 1931. Requesters may use either of the sources below:
- Real Estate Records Index (Official Records Search): The index contains real estate information for documents recorded since 1975.
- Historical Index: The index contains real property information for documents recorded between 1931 and 1974.
Documents on the Real Estate Record Index are typically indexed under the property owner’s name. Thus, inquirers need to have: the name of the party(ies), document title, or document number to find county property records online.
The Historical Index, on the other hand, requires a grantor or grantee and an individual name or business name to perform a search. While searches may be free, ordering copies or certified copies may come at a nominal fee. For example, copy Fees cost $10 per document and $2 per document for certification. The website bears more helpful information on how to use the historical index and order copies.
The Assessor's Office
The Assessor’s Lookup Tool provides free searches for property ownership, parcel details, value notices, and assessor map lookups. One may only find the county assessment office's property records. Searches can be conducted with a parcel ID, unit number, street name, or house address. Assessor map lookup is also available.
How to Find Property Owner by Address for Free
The Assessor’s lookup tool is the most convenient place for Interested individuals to find property owners by address for free in Santa Barbara County. As explained above, one needs to have the house address, or street name to perform a search. If no results occur, enter just the name of the street or partial name and exclude words like Street, Avenue, and Boulevard.
Santa Barbara County Property Tax Lookup
Property tax lookup is an advantageous opportunity for several parties, for example, real estate buyers, realtors, appraisers, and even homeowners. Conducting this search arms one with an adequate understanding of a property's tax history, assessment, taxable value, tax exemptions, and liabilities.
Thus, the interested party is able to weigh the odds and responsibilities related to the piece of real estate.
Property tax lookup in Santa Barbara County is typically done via the county's Online Property Tax System. Individual taxpayers and tax service agencies may use this website for free research purposes and copayment of property taxes.
Online searches are typically done using the following parameters:
- Secured parcel number
- Secured parcel address
- Secured bill number
- Unsecured property number
- Unsecured address
- Unsecured bill number
The system currently offers information on thirty years of unpaid bills and ten years of paid bill history online. The website features a search bar at the top of the page to make it easy to access property tax information and bills from one location.
Here is how to perform a tax lookup:
- The search bar contains a drop-down search menu and a text box next to the search menu.
- Simply hover the cursor over the property search box (Search By?)
- Click to select a search type from the drop-down list
- Enter the search criteria into the search text box located next to the search menu
- Click the "Enter" key.
When one performs a search, the website returns a single property record and all the bills associated with that property. There is one row for each bill listed in order of bill date. Each bill row contains a first and second installment column.
How to Find Santa Barbara County Property Appraiser
Interested individuals looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate business may employ the services of a property appraiser in Santa Barbara County for several reasons. Property appraisers, for instance, conduct real estate inspections and evaluations on real property to determine its average market worth with written reports of their findings.
These appraisal reports, thus furnish the homeowner or buyer with an adequate guide for property purchases, sales, mortgage, insurance applications, estate planning, property assessments, and even resolving inheritance matters and real estate disputes.
Members of the public can find Santa Barbara County property appraisers via the California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers (BREA) website.
Here is a quick rundown to find a property appraiser:
- Simply click on the Online Services provision
- Choose Search for an Appraiser from the dropdown menu.
One can carry out this search with an appraiser’s name, company name, mail city, mail zip, county, license number, license level, license status, current license valid search range, and license renewal valid search range.
Santa Barbara County Property Assessor
The Santa Barbara County Assessor is charged with the responsibility of discovering, valuing, and assessing all property within the County as mandated by law. The assessment roll delivered by this department is the base upon which local property taxes are levied, collected, and distributed to the cities. The office also provides public information services to assist taxpayers with questions about property ownership and assessment.
The Assessor, however, does not:
- Establish property tax rates.
- Compute property tax bills.
- Mail out tax bills.
- Collect property taxes.
- Establish property tax laws
The County Assessor's office is located at:
105 East Anapamu Street
Room 204
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: (805) 568-2550
Fax: (805) 568-3247
Or
Assessor - Santa Maria
511 Lakeside
Suite 115
Santa Maria, CA 93455-1310
Phone: (805) 346-8310
Fax: (805) 346-8324
