The Title is a sentinel of property ownership’s integrity in real estate transactions. This is especially crucial because, at times, titles and the record systems designed to support them are infallible.
That’s where Title Examination plays a vital role! In this post, you will learn everything you need to know about examination title and its relevance to real estate deals.
What is a Title Examination?
In simple terms, Title Examination thoroughly investigates records related to a specific property title. This critical process includes examining aspects like tax history, the sequence of ownership, updates in local regulations, and various other relevant factors.
The primary objective behind conducting a document examination is to ensure the title is clear, making it eligible for sale without any complications. It safeguards against potential issues, helping prevent them from arising.
Why Examining the Title is Important?
A title exam is essential to ensure that the seller owns the property and that no one else has a claim. It also uncovers the people who own the rights of property. Additionally, the title description helps check the legal description, as a missing number can make a huge difference.
Other issues, like finding liens, identifying easements, tax debts, and other debts, may also impact the property’s value. The process also helps to ensure that the seller has the right to transfer the property to the buyer.
The Process of Title Real Estate Examination
It can be intimidating to take a Title exam. However, the following steps can complete the process quickly and easily. Indeed, talking to your title company or client is suitable to get the best idea for the process.
1- Evaluating Restrictions
A critical step involved in this examination process by the title company is the evaluation of restrictions associated with the property title and determining the chain of titles. These restrictions can be found in legal documents like covenants, zoning regulations, deeds, or specific limitations on how the property can be used and developed.
Subsequently, these can encompass a wide range of issues, including restrictions on building height, whether the property would be residential or commercial, or even guidelines associated with the aesthetics.
Assessing these restrictions is vital to ensure the property aligns with the buyer’s intent to use and developmental plans. If you fail to do so, it can lead to property devaluation, problems with property being transferred, and legal complications.
2- Identifying Easements and Their Impact
Easements grant specific access or rights to entities or individuals other than the current owner. This factor highly impacts the ownership and property use.
Furthermore, these rights may include utilities, pathways, or a neighbor’s right to property use and neighboring property-related issues. The digital advancements in the process have made it easier to analyze a specific property.
This aspect is crucial as it impacts property value, land use, and developmental potential. Disputes can hinder developmental plans and impose maintenance obligations if these issues are not appropriately acknowledged. Therefore, careful title checking must be conducted to evaluate easements to comprehend their impact on the property.
3- Evaluating Encroachments
Another pivotal task in the examination practice is assessing the encroachments. Technically, an encroachment occurs when one portion of real property, like a fence or a building, is extended from its legal boundary and forced onto the adjacent property.
Identifying these encroachments is essential to determine whether these encroachments can lead to legal disputes or affect the property’s value in the future. Buyers have the complete right to know about these encroachments that can impact their plans, while sellers must inform them beforehand to avoid any inconvenience in the deal.
Typically, resolving these encroachments requires property line adjustments, negotiations, or sometimes legal actions, making their evaluation a critical yet tricky step. The process requires continuous updating from time to time to keep updated with the revised formats.
4- Legal Descriptions and Their Relevance
Title of examination services are not completed without evaluating the legal descriptions by the title examiner. These descriptions provide precise information about the property’s boundaries and dimensions in a legally recognized format.
Typically, these descriptions are written accurately, often using metes and bounds, lot and block numbers, or government survey systems, depending on your state laws. They are known as Legal description errors.
These legal descriptions are essential to develop ownership rights, avoid boundary disputes, and ensure that the property is free and clear, meaning a title insurance company can insure it. Inaccuracies in the legal descriptions can lead to legal complications, making it crucial to scrutinize them during the examination of title documnets. This is vital to safeguard the interests of sellers and buyers during a transaction and its ownership implications.
Title Examination Cost
The examination cost for title documents varies significantly depending on several factors. Usually, it encompasses charges for professional services rendered by a company or real estate attorney who engages in exhaustive research of public records to verify the property’s chain of title and ensure the attainment of a marketable title, free from any potential issues that could impede a transaction.
Furthermore, the complexity and location of the property may also influence the cost of the title search as properties with lengthy ownership history require more work and extensive research. A title insurance policy is issued after the company issues an examination report.
To get an exact idea about the process, connecting with a trusted title company like US Patriot Title is essential. We offer competitive services with the most experienced title attorney to ensure you get authentic and correct information about the real property.
Conclusion
Title examination is a crucial step in property transactions. It serves as a safeguard for both the parties, sellers and buyers. Determining that the property is clear from the issues and legally sound is vital. You must get a professional title attorney to ensure the process is done correctly.
Moreover, this process conducts precise research and analysis to evaluate the potential issues related to the encroachments, easements, restrictions, and inaccuracies associated with the subject property.
Nonetheless, this process mitigates the risk of legal disputes and enhances the property’s marketability of titles and value. While title service is a costly process, it benefits in terms of legal protection and peace of mind.
