Photo Scanner: Title Search

Thursday, 8 November 2012

Title Search

A title search is a process that is performed primarily to determine the answer to three questions: Does the seller have a saleable interest in the property? What kind of restrictions or allowances pertain to the use of the land (real covenants, easements, or other servitudes)?, Do any liens exist on the property which need to be paid off at closing (mortgages, back taxes, mechanic's liens, or other assessments)?, Anyone may do a title search. Documents concerning conveyances of land are a matter of public record. These documents are maintained in hard copy paper format or sometimes scanned into image files, The information within the documents is typically not available as data format as the records are descriptions of legal events which contain terms, conditions, and language in excess of data. It is often the case that people choose to contact a title company or attorney to conduct an exhaustive title search. The process of performing a title search involves accessing the official land records for the subject property. Each record is a document evidencing an event which occurred in the history of the property. A deed records an event of property transfer, a mortgage documents the collateral interest of a home loan, and a lien documents a claim against the property in favor of another. In each recorded event, the document indicates parties of grantor and grantee. The grantor is the party transferring away property rights, and the grantee is receiving property right. In the case of a deed the grantor would typically be the property seller, and the grantee the buyer. A mortgage grantor is the borrower of the loan, since they are giving away property rights to the lender, or grantee.