Title Search... Necessary???

Every time I sell a home I have to remember to provide my buyer with a special form of guarantee that there are no liens or problems in its legal history. And despite the fact that these things aren't very interesting, they are actually very important to everybody involved in a sale of real estate property. Lawyers and title companies get paid to research the legal history of a property for the present owner when a property is being sold to a new owner.

Everyone involved in a sales transaction needs to have confidence that the "chain of title" has no flaws. Chain of title means the whole legal history of the property as it changed hands between buyers and sellers over the years.

I'll explain things a little more in this article because although it isn't very interesting to most people, title problems can block a sale if they aren't resolved. The chain of title refers to the history of a property going all the way back to the original owner, usually the owner of a much larger plot of land such as a farm or the original land grant from the US government. A chain of title goes back as far as recorded documents exist in the county records where the property is located.

Sellers and their title companies have lawyers who research county records looking for filings that could "cloud the title", meaning legal documents that may not have been signed properly, mortgage notes that were not released, or debts that were not paid and now create a lien on the property. Of course there are many things that can affect the title to real estate, but they don't really matter unless they become an issue with your own property when you get ready to sell.

Let's say for example, a seller, a man whose wife had died, and his new buyers, a husband and wife, were involved in a sales transaction. The man signed his deceased wife's name to the deed when he sold the property. Even though all parties involved knew that his wife had already passed away, and that both spouses must sign a deed if both spouses owned the property together, what he did by signing for a deceased person will cause problems in future sales transactions. When a person owns real estate and that person dies, additional documents are required to prove who actually inherits the property from the deceased person.

In other words, in this example, the deceased woman may or may not have left her half of the property to her husband. Another heir could pop up someday and claim ownership. It can get pretty complicated, can't it?

Lawyers and legal assistants who are trained to research the chain of title to a piece of property always checks it on my behalf whenever I sell a home. I want to know, and of course my buyer wants to know that I have clear title so that everybody is protected. Be sure you have a title search whenever you are getting ready to sell a home.

Leo Kingston has the solution for those with the question, "How can I sell my home?. Leo is based in Oklahoma City and has over 3 decades. He pays cash for homes and has no closing costs or other fees which he charges the house owner.