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Conduct A Title Search For Reassurance On These Issues

28 August 2020

Cody Day

If you're in the market to for homes for sale in your area, make sure you follow due process and don't skip any steps. For example, you shouldn't skip the title search process. Below are some of the issues that a title search can reveal.

Break in Title Chain

A title chain refers to the history of ownership.  An unbroken chain means the property has always changed hands legally. A broken title chain means, at some point, one of the property's owners wasn't legally entitled to the property.

A child who sells their parent's property (without the parent's knowledge) is an example of a break in the title. A title search will confirm to you that the home you want to buy has a clear title.

Liens

Liens are third party claims on a property. For example, if someone uses their property as collateral for a loan, the lender holds a lien on the property. The lender has a say on any transaction that involves the property.

Easement

A property easement is a legal right to use or enter a property without its possession. For example, a property owner can grant an easement to a utility company to lay pipes on the property. In such a case, the utility company doesn't own the property, but they have the right to lay the pipes as the easement stipulates. You need to know that before you buy the property.

Concurrent Mortgages

A property owner can have more than one mortgage at any time. In most cases, you or the property owner must clear both mortgages before the property changes hands. A title search will reveal to you the existence of the second mortgage before purchase.

Pending Divorce Proceedings

Buying a marital property during a divorce is tricky. The person whose name is on the title is not necessarily the sole owner of the property. Without a title search, you can buy such property only to learn that the other spouse also has a claim on it.

Building Code Violations

Lastly, a title search will also prove to you that a property is built to code. Remember that code violations might be both illegal and dangerous.  For example, you risk an electrical fire if you use an electrical system that is not up to code.

As you can see, you shouldn't skip a title search whenever you want to buy a home. Deal with an experienced realtor so that you don't skip any critical step of the home-purchase process.

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