Title Search

[Andrea Hewitt]

Has anyone ever done their own title search before?
What is involved? What are the important things to look for once you are down at the courthouse?
Are there any other important documents to ask for?

[Eric Foster]

Originally posted by "Hewitt_REI":

... Has anyone ever done their own title search before?...

To do it yourself, it is pretty difficult if not almost impossible… At least to do it right!

I know, I know, some will say “just go to the courthouse and pull the records at the recorders office”…

1st It is very time consuming… 2nd It is real easy to make mistakes… 3rd Why bother, you will not do a very good job anyway…

Most who I see that “do their own” are just wasting time, but feel like they are accomplishing something.

It is much more than simply what you can find at the county recorders office…

For example… When a title company does a title search and a title report, they will… Check the county recorders office, check the courts for pending litigation, check divorce records, check for city liens, sewer liens, city assessments, check code enforcement liens, check utility liens, check mechanics liens, state tax liens, federal tax liens, similar name search, etc etc…

Are you really going to go to all these departments and do all this? It is a lot of work!

Why does a title insurance company do such a good job checking it out in advance? Their goal is to never have title issues (claims) after they issue title insurance so they don’t have to pay claims… It’s insurance (title insurance) that their customers are buying.

Any other opinions or comments?