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The last thing anyone wants is to purchase property and then discover there is a problem with or “cloud” on the title. A title dispute of any kind calls into question the alleged owner’s ability to actually convey the property and can lead to legal problems and lost money. Fortunately, performing a title search can help clear the matter up and give you the confidence you need to proceed with the closing. If you are in the market for a home or other property, don’t sign the papers until consulting with a qualified real estate attorney. That’s where LaFountain & Wollman P.C. comes in.
What Is a Title Search?
Performing a title search on property is crucial to determining whether there is any issue that invalidates the stated ownership of the property before you buy it. If the party wishing to sell the property does not have good title to it, then you will not either. There may be disputes over who actually owns the property as well as liens, encumbrances, and other relevant details about it. Put simply: you need to know exactly what you are (or are not) buying, which is why a title search needs to be conducted.
A real estate attorney often handles the title search by reviewing public records to find out the above information about the property in question. After completing the search, the attorney usually creates an abstract that contains a summary of the data gathered about the property. This includes information about current and former owners and anything that may be a cloud on the title. This enables the seller to resolve any problems with the title before the sale can be completed.
Common Defects Uncovered in a Title Search
Although you are unlikely to uncover a problem with the title to the property you wish to purchase, it’s always better to conduct a title search than deal with the legal consequences of such issues as:
- Clerical errors: Any time humans are responsible for handling records of any kind, clerical errors are possible. Real estate documents sometimes do not get properly recorded, or they can get recorded out of order, or have missing pages. This creates headaches that can impede transfer of the property.
- Illegal deeds: The deeds uncovered in a title search may appear on their surface to be legitimate. However, there could be problems that render the documents invalid, such as forged signatures, signature by a minor or incompetent person, signature under duress, and so forth.
- Boundary problems: Deeds contain legal descriptions of a property and its boundaries to ensure it is distinguishable from adjoining pieces of land. Without these intricate details the boundaries may be unclear, leading to disputes. A detailed survey can resolve such problems if they should arise.
- Heirs: A property owner may die, after which ownership transfers to his or her heirs. The heirs may then sell it without a problem. But occasionally a previously unknown heir will step forward to claim partial or total ownership of the property and dispute transfer of it to others.
Hire A Lawyer For Your Title Search
Although it’s certainly disappointing to uncover defects like those above, the alternative is purchasing a piece of property to which you won’t have proper title. And by discovering these problems you can allow the seller to either correct them or you can walk away from the deal knowing you would have been buying into legal problems. Get started with your title search by calling LaFountain & Wollman P.C. today.