Researching Court Documents
Judgments, Divorces, Case Numbers, Legal Filings... all these could be headaches for a closer, buyer or seller.
When considering entering into a purchase contract for real estate, or any legal contract, it's important to do your research. Background checks, digging up public documents, it all takes time but knowing the places to go gets you off to a good start.
If people have passed away and property ownership is in doubt, anything you can find that might help you decide who the sellers are or need to do before closing will save you time later. This is also good to use when thinking of doing a Contract for Deed, especially if you do not know the other party.
The State of Minnesota has an online searchable database for court records that is publicly accessible found here: