Where can you obtain a free title search on property?

Answer 1

All of the title insurance underwriter as well as many many title agencies have websites that can direct you to a local agency in your state/county/community.

Simply keyword into your web browser: title insurance search, title insurance, or title insurance companies. Many title insurance underwriters and agencies will pop up.

A title search or Report on Title is a search and compilation of filed public records.

A title insurance POLICY insures against acts & deeds of previous owners up until the time you take title/deed to the property.

Answer 2

Your county assessor may have a website with the data on all properties in the area. Once you know the address, you can look it up and find all of the pertinent information, including its taxable (NOT market) value. This is not going to be what the bank needs to lend money. The tax assessor's records will likely not include any liens on the property, or it will include the purchase money lien only.

Answer 3

If you wish to do some informal research into the history of your property or another property then you can do it in the local land records office. The staff will show you how to track the land back through the grantee records for recorded land or through the land registration records.

Many non-professional hobbyists do that type of research. Every deed has a grantor who is the one conveying the land and a grantee who is receiving it. Most deeds have a clause at the end of the description that states where the grantor acquired their interest. That clause would provide information regarding the next deed back in time or in some cases it may be a probated estate. If there is no reference as to where the grantor acquired their interest then their name can be checked in the grantee index and their deed can usually be found. You would follow that step for every owner- backwards in time.

When there is no title reference in the deeds and you can't find where the grantor acquired their interest then it will take some more complicated detective work and you would need to get some advice from someone with more experience.

On the other hand, if you want to do your own title examination for legal purposes or for land you may purchase, the task is much more serious. Therefore, in order to perform a "title search" you would need to know enough to determine the quality of the title and the quantity of land actually conveyed.

First you would need some professional status as a title examiner and an attorney who would accept your work. You cannot obtain a mortgage or title insurance without that. You would need to track the land back in the land records and you would need to know how to confirm the validity of each transfer. You would need to check each owner in the grantor index to determine what happened to the land while they owned it. You would need to be able to explain any gaps in the chain of title. Before embarking on a mission of that magnitude you should consider the following.

• You must check all the descriptions going back to confirm that the present owner does indeed own all the land described in the deed as well as all the interest in the property. Sometimes an earlier owner conveyed portions and the deed keeps repeating the old description with no indication that some of the land was sold. Sometimes the seller only owns a half-interest.
• Now this can be a tricky part, if your property comes from a larger parcel, you may need to draw out the description of the larger tract. Then you need to examine the descriptions for any parcels sold from the larger parcel prior to yours. You need to be positive that none of the earlier sellouts affected your parcel. In Massachusetts, a title examination must cover a period of 50 years. If the developer didn't get the land over 50 years ago then you may need to determine how the developer acquired all the land that made up the subdivision. That type of research is extremely complicated and takes professional skills.
• You would need to be familiar with the statutes that affect the ownership of real property and what happens to the title when the owner dies. You would need to know the consequences of various tenancies and what happens when a co-owner dies. You would need to know how to ascertain the validity of any instruments that affect or transfer the title. Who must sign legal documents for a corporation? Can the administrator of an estate sell the real estate? Does the trustee have the authority to sell the real estate? You would need to know how to recognize any title problems in the chain of title. You would need to know where to look to find answers to legal questions regarding what you find.
• You would need to know the statutes of limitations for various liens to determine if they are still active. You may need to know what liens can affect after-acquired property and when/how you should look for them. You would definitely need to know how to recognize whether a release of a lien is valid. You would need to know the effects of various takings both in fee and takings of easement rights. You would need to understand what "fee simple" means. You may need to know what to look for when someone has a Power of Attorney. You may need to know what makes a foreclosure valid if there is a foreclosure in the chain of title and you may need to know trust law in your state if the property passed through a trust. Many trusts are invalid even though they were drafted by lawyers.
• You need to know all the steps you must take and all the sources you must check to be able to say with confidence that you have examined the title. There are title standards promulgated by real estate bar associations in most jurisdictions. They should be followed.
• If you feel comfortable performing the "title search" then you proceed to examine the land records for the property to determine the legal status of the title. You would need to examine all deeds, liens, encumbrances, mortgages, probates, future interests, etc. You must do that for the time period that is standard for your jurisdiction. You must confirm that all past interests have been properly conveyed or probated forward. You must determine that all the instruments that affect the land are properly drafted and properly executed.
• This is only a brief description.