FAQ 109 How do I find out the contact details of an owner?
The very first thing to understand is that there are different entities which may own a property.
They are:
a) INDIVIDUALS – Either as single persons, joint tenants or tenants in common.
b) COMPANIES – Either as single companies or tenants in common
c) TRUSTS – Either as single trustees or trustee tenants in common
Layered over this are state privacy laws which restrict public access to owner information. The best way to find out about the state laws in force is to contact the Department of Consumer Affairs for your applicable state and simply ask ‘How do I find out who the owner of a property is?’
With c) above there is an added complexity. With these entities the trustee may be a person or a company. In cases of personal or corporate trustees the only way to discover the name of the person or entity is to apply to ASIC for an extract which provides limited information. This information may provide the address of the registered office in the case of a company or corporate trustee, however the registered office may be that of an accountant or lawyer tasked with providing this service.
This then leaves just the possibility of writing to the office address and asking for your letter to be relayed to the directors of the trustee or company.
in most cases you may discover the names of decision makers but not their addresses or phone numbers.
This is certainly the case if one applies for a duplicate title at the state titles office.
REMEMBER – That privacy is important to many people and they guard their whereabouts. Please respect this when undertaking to discover who owns what. Do not be surprised at a rebuff.
