What Your Property Deeds Reveal That Could Save You From A Costly Nightmare

Property Deeds are used to convey real estate property from a seller to a buyer. There may have been a long list of transactions since the property was built, and there may have been many conveyances of the land. Establishing full ownership of the property can therefore be a complex business.

Several documents

First of all, a real estate title consist not only of ownership but also many other possible interests and rights to use the property, such as minerals, crops, fixtures, water and air space. All of the rights that affect the property as well as the main ownership of it should ideally all be bundled together with the ‘Property Deeds’. An ‘Abstract of Title’ is a list, drawn up by a lawyer, of all the relevant documents for that property. These are usually also recorded at the Land Registry for each state.

State Records

Each state will have their own recording systems and the US Land Records Website is a convenient starting point for searching the records.

Title Insurance

Sometimes, particularly in rural areas, all of the documents affecting the property may not have been recorded. Furthermore, mistakes may have been made or a seller may have taken out a last minute loan against the property just before completing the sale to you, and before it is recorded. For this reason, it’s common for buyers and sellers to take out Title Insurance, so that they are covered financially for any defects in the title that has been transferred.