Title Search Types and Definitions

A residential property title search is exactly as it sounds. It's a title search on a residential property. Whereas a commercial property title search is a title search on a commercial property, which also typically includes residential complexes of 4 or more units. Commercial and residentially zoned multi-unit properties typically have more complex ownership structures, and thus will require additional resources to complete due diligence, research, and abstract findings into a report.

The county where the property physically resides can influence price. Many counties have migrated to databases with records available online, but not all. There's still a large number of US counties that still only make their records, or copies of recorded documents, available via an in person visit.

Depending on your title search needs, you may only need a most recent copy (a scan) of the current recorded deed. But you may need copies of some or all other referenced documents, like any open encumbrances; mortgages, liens, judgments, etc. Copy fees will range from county to county, but it's common for that fee to be around $1 per page! Thus just one mortgage, that may be 30-50 pages long or more, could dramatically affect your costs. You can decrease these potential copy costs by ordering a title search with pertinent pages. You can eliminate copy costs altogether by ordering a title abstract only (no copies). The title abstract will report the important information found in relevant recorded documents.

Certain title search types will search back to whatever date is necessary to achieve the search, without influencing price. A current owner search is an example. A title researcher will search back however far is necessary to obtain the most recently recorded deed transfer, be it 1 month back or 50 years, without price change. But other search types will be heavily influced by the search back date. Chain of Title Searches and Full Searches are examples of this. A '50 Year Chain of Title' will be notably cheaper than a 'Chain of Title to 1932'.

When performing a title search, a title researcher will typically be searching for open encumbrances -items that currently encumber the property title; they are unsatified. Depending on the search type, this could be unpaid mortgages, unpaid taxes, and unpaid judgments & liens. However there are cases where you may need a search that also reports on satified items -encumbrances that are closed.

We have a video on pertinent vs full page copies here. Pertinent pages reduce the copy costs paid to the documents provider (typically the county of the residing property). Pertinent pages is the process of obtaining only pages of a recorded instrument that contain highly relevant information about the transaction/recording, rather than superfluous pages of what is usually legal jargon (full pages). Take a mortgage for example, the full document may only contain a couple of pages of highly relevant information pertaining to the research. It's often entirely useless to have the additional pages of legalese included in the recorded mortgage document.

A current owner search, also known as a 'one owner search' or 'ownership and encumbrances search' (O&E search), is the process of researching officially recorded public records, on a specific property parcel, with the goal of abstracting two things:

1. the most recent transfer of ownership (current owner). This is typically a deed, or several deeds, if more than one current owner exists.
2. any open encumbrances. Open encumbrances are items that will affect property value, use, or transferability. Open encumbrances typically consists of two types:
   • Voluntary encumbrances, typically a mortgage or deed of trust.
   • Involuntary encumbrances, usually a judgment or lien.

In addition to these two goals, a current owner search may also provide a tax status.

A current owner search report, also known as a 'title abstract' or 'title report', will abstract data found from a current owner search into a report, and may include copies of deeds, mortgages, and liens referenced in the current owner report.

A two-owner search provides nearly the same purpose and information as a current owner search. Instead of searching back only to the most recent transfer to the current owner, however, it will search back to the transfer to the prior owner(s) as well; when the prior owner(s) obtained possession of the property. In other words, a two-owner search searches back 2 owners; current and prior. This creates what is called a deed chain; the historical recorded transfer of property from one owner to the next to the next.

A full search is similar to a current owner search in the types of documents to abstract; eg, deeds, mortgages, and other encumbrances like liens and judgments. However, unlike a current owner search, a full search will be performed for a set block of time, starting at present and proceeding back into the past; 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, etc. The resulting abstract will report on all owners, along with all other scoped documents found, within that period of time.

An update search, also commonly referred to as a 'Bringdown Search' or 'Date-down Search' is the process of rerunning a prior title search on a specific property to bring it's effective date and abstracted data current to the most recent available data made available from official public records sources. An update search typically applies only to specific title search types: Current Owner Searches, Two-Owner Searches, Full Searches, and prior Update Searches.

Update searches typically cost less than the original search. They are commonly offered for a minimum of 6 months and up to a year or two from the prior search's effective date, but this is entirely dependent upon on the title abstract company. Some firms will not offer update searches, nor honor an update search on a prior search that was not originally executed by them; cannot guarantee the quality of the original work.

There are many reasons update searches are purchased, but they are most commonly used in banking for pre and post property and construction funding.

A chain of title search is the process of searching public records on a specific property for the transfers of ownership of that property (commonly via recorded deeds) over a period of time; typically from current to a specified date back in time (also known as the back-to date, search-back date, or look-back date). Standard chain of title search back-to dates are specified in decades, eg 50 year or 60 year, or by date, eg 1940.

The transfer documents found, when abstracted into a report, usually result in what is known as a deed chain or title chain; the transfer of property owners from one to the next to the next.

A judgment and lien search, or sometimes more specifically referred to as a 'judgment search' or 'lien search', is the process of searching official public records offices for any open involuntary encumbrances on a specific property parcel and/or person(s) and entities. Common liens types are tax liens, mechanic's liens, court judgments, HOA liens, child support liens, and municipal liens.

There are many reasons an involuntary lien can be levied against a person or property, which depending on the lien, can encumber the property owners from exercising certain rights with that property.

A UCC search is the process of searching for filings made under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to determine if there are any existing liens or security interests filed against a person or business's personal property. This search is critical for lenders, creditors, and businesses to assess risks associated with lending or engaging in some other financial transaction.

A mortgage assignment chain search is the process of searching official public land records, and in some cases 3rd party public databases (like MERS), for legal recordings and filings pertaining to the sequence of ownership transfers of a mortgage loan from one party, commonly a financial institution, to another party via legal transfers. An abstracted mortgage assignment chain documents these series of assignments of a mortgage from the original lender onto subsequent holders; typically lenders, investors, or other loan servicers.

A legal and vesting search is the process of searching public records offices for the sole objective of abstracting all current owners of a specific property. Property can be owned by more than one person or entity (like a corporation), thus a legal and vesting search will go back in time however far is necessary to determine 100% of all current property owners.

A deed retrieval search is a type of document retrieval, but is specific to a recorded deed. A deed retrieval search will search the local recorder's office of a specified property (or an owner's name) for one or more recorded deeds, depending on the objective of the request.

A document retrieval search is the process of searching official public records offices, on a city, county, state, federal level, to obtain a copy of a specified document or set of documents. On occasion, the research may even include searching third party records available to the public as a service, such as the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS). A document retrieval search is typically done for a specific property, a on person's name, or entity's name. Common document retrievals are for a copy of a deed, mortgage, deed of trust, mortgage assignment, mortgage release or satisfaction, court case filing, power of attorney, lien, judgment, or plat map copy.

An easement search is the process of searching official public land records offices, typically on a county level, to identify any encumbrances on a property in the form of an easement, or covenant, condition, & restriction (CC&R), or right of way. These are legal rights, separate from property ownership itself, that allow a person or entity (usually not the current property owner) to use a part of the property for a specific purpose. They can affect property ownership, land use, and property value.

A common condition of this search is a time-frame upon which to search. It will be very costly to search for all of recorded time, but when done may also reveal very old rights that have been separated from the property owners in a long-ago recorded deed or separate recorded instrument.

For more information on easement searches, visit easementsearch.com.

A mineral rights search, also commonly referred to as a 'sub-surface rights search' or an 'oil and gas lease search', is the process of searching official public land records offices, typically on a county level, to identify any encumbrances on a property in the form of property rights that have been granted by a current or prior owner to another person or entity regarding the right to access, usage, and/or ownership of specific minerals, water, oil, gas, etc found on the surface or subsurface of the property.

For more information on mineral rights searches, visit mineralrightssearch.com.

A environmental lien and AUL search, also commonly referred to as just an 'environmental lien search', is the process of searching official public land records offices, and in some cases private third party databases available to the public, for any environmental liens or activity and use limitations (AULs). An environmental lien is a legal instrument filed against a property parcel, typically when the property has been exposed to harmful toxins. AULs are legally filed restrictions commonly utilized to prevent exposure to environmental contamination or for environmental contamination risks.

For more information on environmental lien searches, including research to 1980 that meets the latest ASTM E1527-21 standard, visit environmentalliens.com.

A home owners' association (HOA) search is the process of searching public records based on the name of the HOA entity, rather than on a specific property. Although property may be owned by an HOA, as revealed in a title search, that is not necessarily the case. It may only be that the HOA as a legal entity has debts and/or rights to administer regulations over property owned by others.

Searches like these exist to ensure there are no outstanding HOA-related debts or liens, identify the HOA's rules, regulations, and restrictions (CC&Rs), inform buyers/lenders about any financial obligations, special assessments, or future fees, and thus to protect buyers from unexpected financial liabilities or legal issues associated with the HOA.

The same search and concepts apply to entities similar to HOAs, like 'Condominium Owners Association' (COA) and 'Property Owners Association' (POA).

A foreclosure title search can vary in both meaning and scope of search within the title search industry. Generally speaking, a foreclosure search, also known as a 'pre-foreclosure title search', will be treated the same as a current owner search, researching the current property owner and any open encumbrances. This is useful during the pre-foreclosure stages of a foreclosing property, up-to the point of auction. Whereas when a ordering or executing a title search post foreclosure, a 'real estate owned title search' (REO search), which is effectively a two-owner title search, should be performed. In such cases, public records are searched for ownership information on both current and prior owner(s) as well as searching for all open encumbrances. This is because post-foreclosure, if not purchased at auction, the lending institution that foreclosed will be the current owner, and you'll be wanting to seek encumbrances outstanding for the prior owner.

You can read more about our foreclosure title searches here, along with our foreclosure video series here.

A bankruptcy title search is the process of searching official public records for legal recordings and filings pertaining to a specific individual or entity bankruptcy. This includes court records. Various documents may be found in such a search, such as initial bankruptcy filings, liens, and court ordered judgments.

A cell tower title search is the process of searching official public records for legal recordings and filings pertaining to cell towers, the property they reside on, and their ownership. This type of search takes several forms. It may be a current owner search, two-owner search, or full search depending on the requirements and goals of the research.

A utility title search is the process of searching official public records for legal recordings and filings pertaining to utility companies whose rights may affect a target property. Easements, CC&Rs, and even mineral rights or leases may be present which grant utility companies specified rights to access and use parts of a property.

A small business administration title search (SBA title search) is the process of searching official public records for legal recordings and filings for the purpose of an SBA loan or SBA provided disaster relief funding. Depending on the conditions sought by the SBA for funding, this may require a release of collateral (or release of lien, ROL) or a 30 year look-back on a title chain.

For more information on small business administration title searches, visit sbatitlesearch.com.

A plat map copy search will research public records for a plat map and retrieve a scan of it. Plat maps are legally recognized diagrams of lot lines (property divisions) of property parcels within a specific region; county, city, suburb, development, or smaller subsets. They are typically generated and/or updated when a property is subdivided.