Property Records: So Where Are They?

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Video Transcript:

So where do you look to find title records on a property? This is Dave at AFX Title, Certified Title Abstractors. When you're doing a title search, you have to look in several places to find all the possible documents which could affect title. Usually it starts with the Tax Assessor's office and the Clerk of Recorder or Recorder of Deeds office. But in addition to that, you're going to find documents in these civil court records, things like judgment liens. You may also find records and documents in the probate office. Beyond that, the UCC records held at the Secretary of State may have information as well as state records on environmental liens. But even go beyond that. At the local or town level, there may be permit or zoning information, which is important to know about that property to see if it's commercial or residential or what other types of restrictions are on that property. In addition, a non-public records source, such as MERS, the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, may have information about mortgage assignments, and even the current service holder of that mortgage. So beyond the core title records you may find at the Recorder of Deeds there are many other sources that can contain documents, information, and records, which can affect that title just as much. In one case, we even found records at the game warden's office because the game warden had issued a certificate to allow certain type of activity on that property and also to restrict activity on the property. So a proper thorough search of all the pertinent records is important on putting together a proper real estate title search. If you have questions about researching documents on real estate, you can reach us at our website title search dot com.