General
Real Estate/Sheriff Sales
Other Public Notices
General
What does it mean when I see XXX in a street address?
If you see XXX in place of the street address, you do not have access to that particular public notice. Subscribers only see public notices from the publications to which they subscribe. For more information on subscriptions, you can click on the 'Subscribe' button or you can contact subscription services at 800-451-9998 (mention code WZPNDB) or click here for subscription options for St. Paul Legal Ledger.
How do I export my real estate search into Excel?
- On the "Search Results" page, click on the Green Excel icon in the upper right corner.
- You can also find the print icon in the upper right corner to print your search results as well as the email option.
Can I change the fields exported into the Excel spreadsheet?
No. The export fields are predetermined and cannot be modified
How do I search for a notice using the order number from my newspaper?
- On the Home page, select "All Real Estate" or "All Other Notices" from the drop-down menu
- Click on the red arrow next to the drop-down menu
- On the Search Page, enter the newspaper order number in the "Full Text" field
- Click the "Continue" button in the lower right corner
- Please note, that only notices that are real estate will be found under the "Real Estate" starting search and only other notices will be found under the "Other Public Notices" starting search
How do I search for more than one type of public notice at a time?
On the Home page, click on the first public notice category you’d like to search
- For a range of items, hold down "Shift" on your keyboard and click on the other categories you’d like to search.
- For specific items, hold down "Ctrl" on your keyboard and click on the other categories you wish to search.
Once you’ve selected all your search criteria, click on the red arrow button next to the drop-down menu
I don’t see the public notice category I used to search in this database.
We did change the names of some categories to standardize our database between publications. For a listing of the old and new public notice categories to help you find your information: Click here for a list of all publications and how they are now mapped to the online database.
How do I search for all first-run notices?
- On the Home page, select the public notice category you want to search from the drop-down menu under "Other Public Notices" or "Real Estate".
- Click on the red arrow next to the drop-down menu
- Note that the default value under 'Date' is 'New Today'
- Choose whether you want to search for notices in a single publication or multiple publications from the drop-down "Publication" menu on the right side
- Click on the "Continue" button in the lower right corner
Real Estate/Sheriff Sales
How do I search for more than one county or zip code at a time?
- On the Real Estate Search Page, click on the first county or zip code you want to search
- For a range of items, hold down "Shift" on your keyboard and click on the other counties or zip codes you’d like to search.
- For specific items, hold down "Ctrl" on your keyboard and click on the other counties or zip codes you wish to search.
- Once you’ve selected your search criteria, click on the red "Continue" button in the lower right-hand corner
How do I make sure I see all the real estate listings for my search?
Currently, you can only view the top 200 results for a search. To view all the search results for your criteria, conduct a strategic search. One example is to divide your search criteria between two county groups:
- In the county drop-down menu on the Real Estate search page click on Anoka
- Hold down the "Ctrl" button on your keyboard and select Carver, Dakota, and Hennepin
- Click the "Continue" button in the lower right corner
- This search will show all the real estate notices for those four counties
- Export this search to an Excel spreadsheet by clicking on the green icon in the upper right-hand corner
- Save the Excel spreadsheet
- To find the notices for the remaining counties go back to the Real Estate Search Page
- Click on Ramsey in the county drop-down menu
- Hold down the “Ctrl” button on your keyboard and select Scott and Washington counties
- Click the “Continue” button in the lower right corner
- The search results for these three counties will be listed on the next page
- Export this search to an Excel spreadsheet by clicking on the green icon in the upper right-hand corner
- Copy and paste this search into your previous search’s Excel spreadsheet
PUBLIC NOTICES
I want to search for public notices that are not real estate. Where do I find them?
On the Home page, you will find all other pubic notices under "Other Public Notices" on the right-hand side. Here you will find:
- Bids Notices
- Business Notices
- Government Notices
- Individual Notices
- Personal Property Notices
- Probate Notices
Scroll through the drop-down menu under "Other Public Notices" to find the specific public notices you need. You can search all the public notice listings by selecting "All Other Public Notices" from the top of the drop-down menu
Click on the red arrow next to the "Other Public Notice" drop-down menu
What types of notices fall under these different groups (Bids, Personal Property, etc) ?
Here is a list of each grouping which fall under the 'Other Public Notice' search and descriptions of the types of notices you will find therein.
Bids
Bids are submitted from the following places: City, construction outfits, County, contractors, architects, private parties, specialized services. Advertisement for Bids is an agency’s search for qualified bidders on a public project or construction project. The notice usually includes information about the project and provides the public with a contact name for details about solicitation, rules for submissions of bids, and awarding of the contract.
Business
Includes any notice which primary affects a business such as an incorporation, license requests, LLC, LLP, & LLLC, etc.
Individual
Any notices which is tied to an individual but doesn't have a real property component. Includes things like divorce summons, adoption notices, name changes, etc
Government
Any notice that is published by the government or public meetings or minutes.
Personal Property
These sales are sometimes called Sheriff Sales (not to be confused with real estate sheriff sales) because they are held by a sheriff. Usually they take place at the location of the storage companies, moving companies, or a mechanic shop. They are held when a bill has gone unpaid and all attempts to collect have not produced payment. Goods are then sold to fulfill the debt.
Probate
Probate notices involve the estates of deceased individuals or the appointment of adult conservatorships and minor guardianships. These notices can provide advance notice about a change in the disposition or ownership of certain assets or properties. In deceased estates, creditors are alerted to file their claims. The appointment of a conservator or guardian provides information about who will be responsible for that individual’s affairs.
My question isn’t answered here.
Call or e-mail your questions to our customer service department at 1-612-584-1534 or customerservice@finance-commerce.com.
How do I search for a specific public notice?
You may search a limited date range of basic listings for free.
To benefit from unlimited search capabilities, the ability to export records to a spreadsheet with one-click, and access to all of our archived notices you will need to subscribe. Call 800-451-9998 to subscribe and gain full access to the enhanced public notice database.
- Start your free search by selecting a category – click on the circle to the left or on the category name itself – (e.g. Bids, Business, Government, Individual & Family, Personal Property, Probate, and Real Estate). The numbers to the right of the category represent the number of notices published in today's issue of the newspaper. Note: if the newspaper doesn't publish on the day you're visiting the site all categories will show (0) until you extend the date range.
- The "Start Date" and "End Date" is automatically set to search the database for notices first published during the date range. To expand the search timeframe, click in date rectangle next to "Start Date" and "End Date" for a calendar to pop-up. Click on the date(s) you wish to search.
- PLEASE NOTE: To search dates beyond the available date range you see on the calendar, you will need a subscription to the newspaper. As a subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited search capabilities, the ability to export records to a spreadsheet with one-click, advanced search functions, and much more. Click here to subscribe now.
- Search for specific information contained within a public notice using the "Ad Text" search field. You can search for any word or phrase related to the public notice (bank name, debtor name, address, etc.).
My search came back with hundreds of notices that I have to look at one at a time. Is there a faster way to get all the information?
Yes. Become a paid subscriber to get one-click exports, advanced search features, enhanced listings – as well as access to all the stories, databases, etc. throughout the website. To subscribe, simply call 800-451-9998 to activate the export feature as a subscriber.
What types of notices fall under the different categories (Bids, Personal Property, etc.)?
Bids
Bids are submitted from the following places: cities, construction firms, counties, contractors, architects, private parties, specialized services, etc. The notice usually includes information about the project and provides the public with a contact name for details about solicitation, rules for submissions of bids, and awarding of the contract.
Business
Includes any notice which primary affects a business such as an incorporation, license requests, LLC, LLP, & LLLC, etc.
Individual
Any notice which is tied to an individual but does not have a real property component. Includes things like divorce summons, adoption notices, name changes, etc.
Government
Any notice that is published by the government or public meetings or minutes.
Personal Property
These sales are sometimes called Sheriff Sales (not to be confused with real estate sheriff sales) because they are held by a sheriff. Usually they take place at the location of the storage companies, moving companies, or a mechanic shop. They are held when a bill has gone unpaid and all attempts to collect have not produced payment. Goods are then sold to fulfill the debt.
Probate
Probate notices involve the estates of deceased individuals or the appointment of adult conservatorships and minor guardianships. These notices can provide advance notice about a change in the disposition or ownership of certain assets or properties. In deceased estates, creditors are alerted to file their claims. The appointment of a conservator or guardian provides information about who will be responsible for that individual’s affairs.
Real Estate
Real estate notices are related to home and land including: sheriff sales, condemnation, partition sale, postponement, redemption notice, summons, and trustee sale.
How do I search in multiple public notice categories at one time?
A basic free search limits you to searching one category at a time. If you’d like to search multiple categories at once (bids and government notices), you will need subscriber-only access to the enhanced public notice database. To subscribe call 800-451-9998 and mention code WZPNDB for unlimited access to the database.
How do I access more than one notice at a time?
You may access all public notices published in the newspaper on our basic free public notice website (subject to limited date range). However, you are only able to view one notice at a time.
In the enhanced public notice database, you may search and access a complete list of all notices published in the newspaper at one time. You can also export the notices into an Excel spreadsheet. To subscribe and access the enhanced public notice database, call 800-451-9998 and mention code WZPNDB.
Can I export my public notice searches?
Subscribers may export any search from the enhanced public notice database into an Excel spreadsheet for easy, customizable sorting.
Users of the free basic public notice website are not able to export any notices into Excel.
Subscribe to access the enhanced public notice database by calling 800-451-9998 and mention code WZPNDB to activate the export feature as a subscriber.
My question isn’t answered here.
Please contact our customer service department at 612-584-1534 or send your question via email to: customerservice@finance-commerce.com.
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