Follow-up to our earlier notice about changes to the Maryland property database import

In our earlier announcement, we let you know that Maryland changed the parcel extract we've relied on for years and that owner and grantor names were no longer included. Several agencies came back to us with questions and suggestions, and those inquiries pointed us toward a better answer. Thank you—this fix came directly from those conversations.

The short version: PatTrac now pulls property information from Maryland's open data platform API, and we have been granted permission to use the dataset that includes owner names. We've completed the rollout at one agency, and we begin rolling it out to additional agencies this weekend.

This is a different approach than what we did before, so there are some visible changes. Here's what to expect.

1. New "Maryland Property View" button

When you open a property, you'll see a new button at the top labeled Maryland Property View.

Clicking it opens a view showing the current SDAT information for that property, pulled live from the API. You can compare it side by side against what PatTrac has on file and see whether anything has changed.

To bring your record current, click Update Property. That applies the most recent SDAT information to the property you're looking at.

This also solves a problem many of you have lived with: the old SDAT link has been broken for about six months, since the state redesigned their website. The API gives us that information directly.

2. Monthly update of all properties

We're also implementing an automatic monthly update that runs on our workflow server. It will refresh all properties—not just the ones someone has opened or touched in PatTrac.

The new data source brings in more than the old import did:

• Owner names, which the old extract no longer provided

• Non-arms-length transactions. The previous sales data only included arms-length transactions. This pulls in the rest.

• New properties as they're added by the state

Properties no longer in SDAT. If the monthly update can't find a property in the API — meaning the account no longer exists — the property is flagged Account Removed and shown with a strikethrough. It is not deleted. Any applications, complaints, or other history attached to that property stays exactly where it is. The flag simply tells you the account was removed on the state's side.

What will look different?

We originally built the property import around the SDAT field layout as it existed more than 25 years ago. Since then, the state has added fields and removed others, so you'll notice some changes in the property detail views.

• Some attributes are grouped differently. A few property attributes may not be arranged the way we'll eventually want them. We'll keep refining the layout—tell us what feels out of place.

• The old SDAT link is gone. It's been replaced by the link provided in the API. In most cases, that link opens the Google Maps address for the property, based on its coordinates.

• Real latitude/longitude is now available. The API includes actual lat/lon coordinates, which is what most people expect and use. We still retain the state plane coordinates.

Who gets this, and when

This feature is part of the new PatTrac Security Update. If your agency hasn't received the Security Update yet, you won't see the Maryland Property View option until we've applied that update for you.

Rollout to additional agencies begins this weekend, followed by the monthly workflow process that keeps all properties current.

Questions

If you run into anything unexpected or have questions about how this works for your agency, let us know. The feedback we got on the original notice is what got us here.