Question about deed transfer in Indiana

[Brian Hunt]

There's one section on the deed paperwork that I'm not sure about.  After the "Commonly known as", "Parcel Identification", and "Source of Title" there's a section that reads "THIS CONVEYANCE is made subject to:"  What is suppose to go there?  I can't find anything in the instructions on the paperwork that might elude to what that is.  Anybody know?  Source of Title would have to be found out from the records office that recorded the deed last, correct?

[Jon Holdman]

Hopefully you're not trying to prepare a deed by yourself. Normally these are done by a title company.  You can do it yourself, but any errors will create a cloud on the title, potentially creating problems or even lawsuits in the future.

This clause probably refers to any loans or other encumbrances taken subject to.  That is, encumbrances that are not being cleared as part of the transfer and so still exist on the property after the transfer.  Normally, all encumbrances are cleared off as part of the transfer.  But not always.  The most common exception is an existing mortgage when buying a property subject to.  But could be anything.

A title company would find all existing encumbrances during the title search.  These would either be dealt with or explicitly called out in the deed as still existing.  If you're doing a DIY deed, you will still want to do a thorough title search.  If you miss something, it's going to be your problem.  What could happen if you miss something, and acquire a property without title insurance and then the holder of that encumbrance comes after you, you will end up having to pay them off.  If you sell and give a warranty deed (which most buyers will require), and the cloud is discovered after the sale, the new buyer's title insurance will take care of it for the buyer.  But they will turn right around and come after you.