Good morning, Mr.Harrell,

I am currently enrolled in your online private investigator school with goals of becoming a Private Investigator in the next year or so depending on being able to find an internship when I am through. Forgive me for asking, I am sure that it is somewhere in your course material but I was wondering what the three most used sources used by a legal investigator are, aside from the usual sources (Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Social Security Admin., Clerk of Courts, etc.)? Would discovery and disclosure be considered a source in and of itself even though it may contain information from some of the aforementioned sources? I hope you don’t mind my inquiry. Thank you for your time! -BJ

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Absolutely! Information found in discovery and deposition documentation is vital to conducting a thorough legal investigation (including information gathered from testimony by subjects in unrelated legal matters). “Legal Investigators,” in particular, usually incorporate information culled from scene investigations, witness interviews and a gathering of the forensic facts.

Beyond discovery, here are some additional sources:

• Information Brokers and Databases such as IRBsearch, TLO, TracersInfo, etc.
• Witness Statements and Interviews
• Photographic Documentation and Aerial Imagery of Accident Scenes
• Internet, “Deep Web” and Social Networking Sites
• Motor Vehicle and Law Enforcement Generated Reports
• Forensics, Autopsy and Medicolegal Reports
• Federal and State Laws, Rules and Regulations
• Local Ordinances
• Product Safety Standards, Department of Transportation Rules, Engineering Requirements, etc

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Let’s not forget legal research techniques, too:
Tacking Legal Research Assignments for Private Investigators
Best of the Best Legal Research Sources

I can go on and on, really… It’s my pleasure to reply and best of luck in your continued studies.

-Scott Harrell

How do you find out who a mortgage co is for real property?

Sincerely,

Val

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Val,

Assuming that the property is not owned “free and clear,” in most circumstances there will be a lien holder (or multiple lien holders) on the property. A property lien is a legal claim on real property for payment of some debt or other obligation, usually for the payment to the mortgagor(s) who lent the money to the property purchaser.

Absent a tax lien, a lien on real property to secure the payment of overdue state or federal taxes, the mortgagor will be the primary lien holder. Property liens are most often filed with the civil records in the county court where the property is located, more specifically with the property deeds. Lien holder information can usually also be found at the county Tax Assessor’s Office.

Keep in mind that the mortgagor is not always a bank or other lending institution; the buyer may have purchased the property via a mortgage or private loan offered directly from the previous land owner, too.

Lastly, if you are looking for the lien holder because you or your client intend to file suit or attach the property via some other legal action, you may very well find multiple lien holders staking a claim to the property. It is not uncommon to find multiple mortgage liens, tax liens, builder’s liens, judgment liens, etc. filed against any one property. Depending upon state law, different types of liens fall into a sort of pecking order. If the court forces the sale of a property the lien holders will be paid in the order of seniority; junior liens get paid last… if there is anything left.

L. Scott Harrell

Here is a great question:

Hi Scott,

I have a question I’m hoping you can answer.  I have a case where my client’s nephew had an incident (long story) with the courts here in California which resulted in a juvenile record.  He is now 18 and his parents are considering having his record sealed, but are torn… the logic being if it shows up as “sealed” that leaves the issue to the persons imagination, but if the record is publicly available, at least there is potential to explain.  Their biggest concern, of course, is insuring it be the least hindrance to his adult success.

In an effort to make the most reasonable decision, they would like to see what people would see if they were to do a background/records check.  How would they go about doing that and what I charge them?

Thanks in advance!!!

My answer:

There is no need to “seal” a record, though that has always been a misnomer, as juvenile criminal records are neither publicly available nor are they allowed to be used in credit or employment decisions, however they are rarely, if ever, withheld from official law enforcement use.  The only records which are ever technically “sealed” are adoption and most family court records, where it usually takes a court order to access them. The only way a juvenile’s criminal record would appear in the public record is if he or she was prosecuted as an adult (not necessarily just convicted as an adult); remember, each state defines the age of majority differently when it comes to criminal matters also; in some states 17 is the age of majority, while in a few others it is 19 years of age.

If you want to know what would be found in a background investigation, just go to the county courthouse where the cases were prosecuted, search the criminal history index and see what comes up and charge your clients accordingly.  It occurs to me, also, that if the crime or conviction received any publicity in the media that the juvenile’s name may have been mentioned and could be on the Internet, which would warrant a deep web search too.

-L. Scott Harrell
CompassPoint Investigations