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[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Forum Board ] [ FAQ ] Re: Complete title search?? Posted by Ward-CA- on September 12, 2001 at 9:44 PM In Reply to: Title search at the recorder's office posted by Gary C. on September 12, 2001 at 8:43 PM : Ward: : If I go down to the recorder's office and do my own search on the grantor/grantee index for the current title holders of the property, do I still need to buy title insurance? Am I missing something that would possibly prevent me from providing marketable title to my next buyer? I'm buying a condo where the seller's have only owned it 12 months. All I found was the deed, deed of trust, assignment of deed of trust....but no other liens. : Gary C. =•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•= Gary, the most accurate title record exists at the county recorder’s office. But that’s not saying that everyone who does their research at the recorder’s office is going to come up with the same title record for the exact same property. Why? Because some people are going to be more thorough than others, that’s all. And your degree of thoroughness directly correlates to how thoroughly you were trained. One major difficulty for the self-taught title researcher is to know when they’ve gone back far enough into the title record. You, for example, state that you did your search in the grantor/tee index for the current title holders only. Wow, how do you know that that’s where you should have stopped? Couldn’t the current owners have taken title from the previous owners and also, at that same time, assumed an earlier loan that their sellers had put against the property? Did you actually look at the documents you did find? Like, did you check to see that the signers on the deed of trust you found were all the owners of the property at that time? If all the owners didn’t sign that trust deed, and if it's in foreclosure, then only a partial interest in the property is up for sale, isn’t it? How about unpaid HOA dues? They could very well not be recorded yet as a lien, but like unpaid property taxes and bonded assessments, still be there—to be paid by the unwary. How about pending, unresolved lawsuits the HOA might be currently embroiled in? So my answer to your question is .......YES and NO ........ depending on the degree of thoroughness of your title record searching technique. By the way, is this deal a foreclosure or not? If it isn’t then I would insist, if I were in your shoes, that the seller provide me a title policy as a condition of my purchase of her property. Hope this helps. Follow Ups: Post a Followup: Name : E-Mail : Subject : Comments: : : Ward: : : If I go down to the recorder's office and do my own search on the grantor/grantee index for the current title holders of the property, do I still need to buy title insurance? Am I missing something that would possibly prevent me from providing marketable title to my next buyer? I'm buying a condo where the seller's have only owned it 12 months. All I found was the deed, deed of trust, assignment of deed of trust....but no other liens. : : Gary C. : =•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•= : Gary, the most accurate title record exists at the county recorder’s office. But that’s not saying that everyone who does their research at the recorder’s office is going to come up with the same title record for the exact same property. Why? Because some people are going to be more thorough than others, that’s all. And your degree of thoroughness directly correlates to how thoroughly you were trained. : One major difficulty for the self-taught title researcher is to know when they’ve gone back far enough into the title record. : You, for example, state that you did your search in the grantor/tee index for the current title holders only. Wow, how do you know that that’s where you should have stopped? Couldn’t the current owners have taken title from the previous owners and also, at that same time, assumed an earlier loan that their sellers had put against the property? : Did you actually look at the documents you did find? Like, did you check to see that the signers on the deed of trust you found were all the owners of the property at that time? If all the owners didn’t sign that trust deed, and if it's in foreclosure, then only a partial interest in the property is up for sale, isn’t it? : How about unpaid HOA dues? They could very well not be recorded yet as a lien, but like unpaid property taxes and bonded assessments, still be there—to be paid by the unwary. How about pending, unresolved lawsuits the HOA might be currently embroiled in? : So my answer to your question is .......YES and NO ........ depending on the degree of thoroughness of your title record searching technique. : By the way, is this deal a foreclosure or not? If it isn’t then I would insist, if I were in your shoes, that the seller provide me a title policy as a condition of my purchase of her property. : Hope this helps. Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Forum Board ] [ FAQ ] WWWAdmin 2.0a © 1997 Matt Wright and DBasics Software Company, All Rights Reserved

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