How to Get a Street Address for Your Land | 8 Steps You Should Know
There are several ways to get a street address if you have land you’d like to sell or lease. There are drawbacks and benefits to each approach, highlighted below so you can choose the one that works best for your situation. Ultimately, your choices will be based on what buyers want, how much flexibility you need, and how easy it is to administer an address change after its implemented. Let’s start with the basics of how addresses are assigned in the first place.
How to Get a Street Address for Your Land
Step 1: Set up your property
You need to have your property assessed by an appraiser. The appraisal fee is usually between $250 and $400. Find an appraiser online or ask someone you know who’s done it before for a recommendation. Make sure they’re accredited by SAMSA, which helps ensure your appraisal will be accepted by local governments and lenders.
Step 2: Sign up with a local government
Before getting your street address, you’ll need to register with your local government and obtain an account number. To do so, you will need basic information about your land, like its tax parcel ID (publicly available information) and its specific location. If there’s anything unusual about your property—for example, in an exclusive community or remote area you may also need permission from landowners who surround you before proceeding. Check with your county assessor and local municipalities regarding their specific policies on addresses.
Step 3: Use an assessor
Another option is to hire an appraiser to assess your land. Appraisers will typically do a formal inspection of your property and assign it an official tax value. This means you’ll need to pay taxes on your land and any property taxes you might also owe (those vary by region).
It’s not cheap, either—you can expect a bill that runs between $300 and $1,000, depending on where you live. And if you end up putting money into making changes on your lots—such as building fences or parking lots—you may need another appraisal down the line if you want accurate information about what your land is worth.
Step 4: Keep in touch with your assessor
The assessor will notify you of your property’s value in March and June. You are entitled to be present when your assessment is done and may request an independent appraisal at your own expense.
Also, feel free to contact them with any questions about taxes, exemptions, or reassessments. If you are not satisfied with their response, you can always appeal.
These are extremely important things if you’re looking into purchasing property, so make sure that before anything else happens, you have everything in place regarding who will pay what kinds of taxes on what kind of properties at what times.
Step 5: Regularly check the progress of your application
Before you can even consider applying for your street address, you’ll need to file paperwork with your local council. Each region has different processes, but generally, you’ll want to file an application called Appointment of Agent.
It doesn’t cost anything and will be filled out by one of your councilors; simply take it in, fill out any blanks (street names or letters) and submit it. You may be required to provide additional documentation such as proof of ownership or a map of where your land is located.
Step 6: Find out if you’ve been approved.
You can check whether your street address is available on BC’s land title office website (select legal description and enter your property details). If it isn’t, you’ll need to devise an alternative. A postal code will not work because it only comes with a specific street address; if your property has no address, it also has no postal code.
Step 7: File paperwork in your local council
Once you have confirmation that your property is outside of council boundaries, start an official process by filing paperwork with your local council. That’s it! You’ll now be officially recognized as landless in your area.
Alternatively, if you’re buying land with no existing street address and want one assigned, follow these steps: Fill out a postal service request form. If all goes well, you should have an official street address in about a month. The U.S Postal Service says it’s best not to mail any mail until you get your permanent address in writing from your city or county, though!
Final step – receive your street address certificate.
Securing a street address is essential whether you’re selling or leasing your land. A street address allows potential buyers or renters to easily find your property, and it looks much more professional than GPS coordinates (in case there ever needed in legal documents). You can have someone do it on your behalf, but don’t bother; it’s easy enough that you can do it yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides on an address?
The Postal Service neither allocates nor classifies addresses as private residential. Your local authority office can provide information on land use and zoning. The local authority office that has judicial power over the region where the roads are situated creates street addresses.
How do I find the location of a plot of land?
The location of the lot or property in question can usually be found in deed or real estate tax records using the legal description. The address can also be found in public records if the lot is in a village or town and you understand the subdivision title and lot number.
What is the location?
An address is a piece of information used to identify the exact location or location in addition to receiving mail. A complete street address that includes a house number, street name, city, state, zip code, or a postal box number is part of an address.
An address may also have a single physical location or multiple locations managed by different individuals, businesses, or families. When choosing an address, selecting one that represents your brand is critical. This establishes legitimacy and builds customer trust and loyalty.
Why does your house require an address?
If you own a house, you probably don’t need convincing that it does have a physical address. However, if you do not own estate or live in rental accommodation, you may be unaware of why your home requires one. You undoubtedly want a street address that makes sense, don’t you? It knows your address is 123 Bogus Street when you can’t get it is pointless.
How can I receive an address for the new house I’ve purchased?
Your purchase agreement will include an address if one has been assigned. If you bought the land that didn’t come with an address, you’d need to apply for one through your county – the specific department differs by county. It could be the Department of Public Works, the assessor, or a Zoning Officer. You’ll have to look into it in your county.
How can I receive an address for the new house I’ve purchased?
My husband and I purchased a piece of property in a well-established community. We had a lot of numbers but no address. We had to travel to the US Post Office to get the address because the Post Office assigned home numbers in my neighbourhood.
They’re also extremely odd. My address is 1009, and my next-door neighbours address is 1045! Check with the Post Office if the government assessor’s office does not have an address.
Conclusion
You can get a street address of your land by either directly signing up with a local government or getting the help of an assessor. You have to request the address of your land, get the request approved, and then wait to receive your street address certificate.