The Minnesota records that decide what a home really costs and what the seller has to tell you: disclosure law, property-tax reset, the official registry, and the FEMA flood map — sourced, with the county offices that hold the files.
Check the records behind the address before you offer.
Check any address — free previewThe legal standard: Before signing an agreement, a seller must make a written disclosure, in good faith and to the best of the seller's knowledge, of all material facts the seller knows that could adversely and significantly affect an ordinary buyer's use and enjoyment or a known intended use (Minnesota Statutes 513.55).
Get the written disclosure before you sign, not after. Minnesota law also allows two alternatives — a qualified third-party inspection report or a written waiver by both parties — so if you are offered either instead of a disclosure, understand you are giving up the seller's statement. Separate disclosures can also apply for septic systems, wells, radon and meth production.
Our research did not confirm whether Minnesota law specifically requires flood-risk disclosure. Ask the seller directly, in writing, whether the home has ever flooded — and check the official flood map yourself (next section).
Sources: revisor.mn.gov · nolo.com · revenue.state.mn.us · revenue.state.mn.us · scottcountymn.gov · dps.mn.gov
Your bill follows the January 2 estimated market value, classification and whether the property is classified as your homestead, not the seller's bill. If the seller had homestead benefits or a valuation exclusion for improvements, confirm with the county assessor what survives the sale and what you must apply for yourself.
Homestead: Homestead classification can give a Homestead Market Value Exclusion: for a homestead valued at $95,000 or less the exclusion is 40% of market value up to $38,000, then it phases down by 9% of value over $95,000 and reaches zero at $517,200.
Minnesota Predatory Offender Registry is run by Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). Search it by the home's address before you offer — and search again before closing, because registry data changes as people move.
Open the official Minnesota registry
You can also search every state at once through the federal National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW). A CurbFacts report shows the registry count for the home's ZIP — the same public data, organized for the decision.
The only flood map that decides a lender's insurance requirement is FEMA's — the National Flood Hazard Layer behind the official FEMA flood map viewer. Listing sites license private models that can and do disagree with it; when they conflict, the FEMA map is the one your lender and insurer use.
Check the exact parcel, not the ZIP code: flood-zone boundaries cut through streets, and two houses side by side can sit in different zones.
Minnesota's seller disclosure materials warn that a valuation exclusion for home improvements terminates upon sale and the property's estimated market value for tax purposes shall increase — a buyer can inherit a higher taxable value than the seller's current bill suggests.
The BCA page states information about people required to register is not public except for non-compliant registrants (over 16 and non-compliant over 30 days) and registrants subject to public notification through the Department of Corrections — an empty public search does not prove no registrant lives nearby.
What the Minnesota disclosure does and does not cover, section by section, and the questions it never answers.
Read the guideHow to run an address through the official Minnesota registry, and how to read what comes back.
Read the guideRecords live at the county level — assessor, recorder, permits. Pick the county for its records checklist.
Every CurbFacts report pulls the public records behind an address — flood determination, registry, tax reset, price history, permits, and what's planned nearby — and shows its sources.
Check any address — free preview