Title & Property Reports
Generally, you need to research a property title if you are purchasing a home, a parcel of land or a foreclosure property. That used to mean spending hours flipping through pages and pages of record books to find the information.
Property records are saved in the county records office as individual documents, such as deeds, mortgages, and liens. Each document represents an event that occurred in history on the property. For a particular property, there may be dozens of documents spread out over time which change the status of a property. These documents are not all in one place, as they are stored in different books based on the day and month that the event happened.
A title abstract report is an official report created by a professional title abstractor, which displays the results of these records. A title abstract document is not available from the county records office, and it is not available electronically.
An official title abstract must be prepared by a professional title searcher. Creating the title report requires knowledge of title documents and the recording system. A title report is a recital of the records found to be located in the title records, with obvious presumptions made such as mortgage refinances and lien releases. A title abstract does not offer legal advice, or title opinion which can only be provided by a qualified attorney.
When obtaining property records information, be sure to determine if you will be receiving just raw property records, or a professional title abstract report.
What are Involuntary Liens?
Real estate liens fall into two general categories; voluntary and involuntary. A voluntary lien is simply another name to call a mortgage. This lien is placed "voluntarily" by the property owner, as security to get a mortgage.
Involuntary liens are the type typically thought of when looking for property liens. These are liens such as tax liens, mechanics liens, judgment liens, etc., which are placed on a property against the will of the property owner, or "involuntarily".
