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The DIY Investigator: Finding Property Tax Records

7/18/2022

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The Do It Yourself Investigator in Colorado Springs
As a full-service, professional private investigation firm in Colorado Springs, one with over 30+ years experience, we get a lot of calls to the office on a daily basis from individuals inquiring about our services. Many callers have never hired a private investigator and have no idea what it cost to hire a professional investigator. We understand that not everyone can afford to hire an experienced investigator and many have very little money at all but still desperately need help. It's with that in mind that we've decided to publish self-help tips for those who need information, but have no money with which to hire an investigator. We're calling it "The DIY Investigator" and it's just our small way of giving back to our community. If it only helps one person out there find the information they need, we'll consider it time well spent.

Our search today is to find property tax records for an individual or particular property. We're searching in El Paso County, Colorado, but this type of search can be conducted in every state. Some states won't have as much information as others and you may have to go down to the County Assessor's office in person, but this should give you a general idea of how to conduct this type of search. We'll start our search by going to Robert Scott's, a well-known private investigator, site known as Black Book Online: www.blackbookonline.info/USA-States.aspx which will take you to this screen.
Colorado Springs Investigations
Next we'll click on Colorado but, as you can see, every state has public records listed.
Colorado Professional Investigator
Clicking on Colorado takes us to the page above. You can see there are all types of "Free" Colorado Records and the same is true for any state you pick. For this exercise we're going to click County Public Records which takes us to the screen below. We'll then click on Property Tax Search
Investigations in Colorado Springs
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Once we've clicked on that we'll be taken to the El Paso County Assessor's Real Property Search page.
Colorado Springs Private Eye
Once on the Assessor's page we'll put the name of the subject we're looking for or their address. For demonstration purposes I randomly typed in the last name Wilson as shown below and clicked on Wilson John L Jr, Wilson Laura M.
Professional Investigator in Colorado
As you can see below there is a wealth of information, free information, that the searcher now has at their fingertips.
The DIY Investigator
Colorado Investigations
Private Eye in Colorado Springs
This type of search is just one of hundreds of different type of searches one can conduct using Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) that just costs one time. Professional investigators who've been in the business for awhile, have all types of OSINT they use as well as proprietary databases available only to the profession.

I hope this helps show the possibilities when conducting investigation into a person or property. Please feel free to leave a comment or, if you have a question, shoot me an email at rlwalters@excaliburlegalsupport.com

Lee Walters
President
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
Colorado Springs, CO
​719.208.4088
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PART VI: REAL ESTATE SCAMS

3/11/2022

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Real estate scams investigated by Colorado Springs private investigator
In our newest post on scams, some sobering statistics from the FBI in regards to real estate fraud:

Total financial loss in 2020: $213,196,082

Total United States victims in 2020: 13,638

Yes, you're reading those numbers right. Over $213 million lost to real estate scams in 2020 alone with over 13,500 victims. What type of real estate scams are the most prevalent? 

Loan flipping: it's a predatory practice that happens when a lender
convinces a homeowner to repeatedly refinance their mortgage, accruing high
fees and points with each refinance.

Escrow wire fraud:  where scammers, many times in other countries, infiltrate a legitimate real estate transaction and cause monies to be wired to accounts they control as if they are the closing company when, in fact, they aren't. Victims have reported that everything looks real, has the right names, numbers, addresses, etc, yet the account number for the wire transfer has been changed. Most victims never receive the lost funds back so this is one everyone should be aware of.

Escrow wire fraud investigated by private investigators in Colorado Springs, Colorado

SerRental scams: in this scam the conman places a rental listing on various real estate rental websites and takes a deposit for either a vacation or long-term rental for housing. There's been many cases where the renter shows up thinking they have this nice place to stay, only to learn that the occupants/owners have no idea what they are talking about. 

Moving scams: moving scams are also classified as real estate scams and they take many forms. We've seen so-called moving companies hold a truckload of household goods hostage for additional payments over and above what their "estimate" was. Make sure you use a well-known, stable company with a track record whenever moving from point A to B, even if it may cost you a little more than the ad on Craiglist you saw.

Homebuyers and real estate agents should be especially diligent. Keep
personal information secure, use licensed lenders and realtors for all
transactions, never pay upfront fees for home services, and educate yourself
on how to spot a scam. Be aware of anyone pressuring you to make quick
decisions, and be wary of improper documentation and requests for wire
transfers of large sums of money.

Never resist the temptation to not follow up when you have a funny feeling about something or when any large sums of money are involved. Check and double-check and get on the phone to verify everything or, better yet, go in person to make sure you don't become the victim of one of these real estate scams.

Lee Walters
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
​719.208.4088
​Serving all of Colorado and beyond
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