Whats the best website to search for a someones public records?

Question

I'm getting married and moving into my brides house. I want to rent my house but I need to seach public records of applicants. I've heard you can do this on line but don't know where to start.

Answer 1

Start with the state the property is in. www.[state].gov Then look to see if the person is a known sex offender (most states will list these). There are a few options on some state websites to try, such as court case look-up or other public records. Otherwise, you will probably have to take an afternoon to visit your county courthouse. The Clerk of the District court will have the records and most will have a computer system to look up people by name. This might take a while especially if the last name is Jones or Johnson or Williams, etc. Make sure you have the right John Johnson.

There are other drawbacks to this process. It will be harder to find people if they changed their name legally. The Clerk of the District Court will not bother with misdemeanor cases; you might have to consult the lower courts if you want to be careful. Also, this will tell you of court cases in that county only. If they just moved to town, you better get in touch with the Clerk of the District Court where they moved from. More importantly, criminal records of minors are kept sealed. Your potential tennant might have done some stupid things in his youth.

The easiest way to find what you need is to ask the Clerk of The District (felony) Court to do a criminal background check for you. Most will charge a small fee (around $10-$20) for each background check you want done. This type of background check should include both misdemeanor court and criminal records for the entire state. Ask to make sure before paying them.

Now having said all that, you need to consider the landlord's rights in the state where you have your rental property. Also consider that the person might have made a few mistakes and is trying to stay on the straight and narrow. They might be the best tennants you could hope for.

One last thing, no criminal record proves only proves they have not been caught doing something illegal. They might have been lucky and never got arrested.