So, you need a title search on your potential home, because you need title insurance. Before embarking on this voyage of legality and public records you want it to be explained. We know you’ll have so many questions, we had them once too.
What is a “title search”? A title search involves reviewing public records to figure out the legal owner of the property you would like ownership of. The timing of this “search” is after the seller accepts an offer on the property. The records that are reviewed are property deeds, mortgage documents, property tax records, legal documents, bankruptcy court records, county land records, and probate information. The title search is completed in five different steps:
Chain of Ownership: This is a list that runs from the seller, or current owner, to the first buyer of the home. This is a line that is established from the transfer of property from one owner to the next. A chain of ownership is typically located in public records that can be attained through the county clerk’s office. This could be a difficult find for homes that are 80-100 years or older because they could be incomplete. For older homes, the requirement is a little bit facilitated because of their expanse history, so they require the chain of title to go 40-60 years back. With a complete chain of title, you will find that the current seller is the owner of the property you are purchasing and can transfer legal ownership to you.
Tax records: You will find, within the tax records, if there are any unpaid property taxes. If there are any indications that there are taxes due on the property a lien can be applied. This lien will need to be taken care of prior to the title being transferred to you.
Inspection: An inspection of the property is made, all encroachments and easements would be noted and brought to the buyer’s attention within a report.
Judgments: If there are judgments made against the ownership of a property and they have not been cleared up they will need to be resolved before a transfer of the property to the new owner could be made.
Once all of the searches and title processes are completed, if no clouds are found, the seller and buyer can move toward closing the real estate transaction. If you find yourself needing Gables Title Group’s services, we can truly make the difference between closing or losing the deal.
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