Video Transcript:
What's the difference between a title search and a legal opinion on title? This is Dave at TitleSearch.com. A title search or a title abstract is a process where a certified title examiner will go through paper documents, all the property records, and create a certified title report that will lay out what records exist on that property. What are the liens? What are the mortgages? What are the judgments? Who's listed on the deed? A legal opinion on title is where an attorney will take that title search, which they have to have first, and form a legal opinion about the title status. That'll probably cost an attorney two or three hours' worth of their billing time to produce that. And the question becomes, as a user of that search or as a consumer, do you need that legal opinion in order to take action? It's usually good to start with the title search, see if the understanding of it is straightforward. A title search by itself can't form a title opinion or a legal opinion. If you can look at that and analyze what the records might mean or what the document might mean, that may be sufficient. If you do need a more legal opinion, an attorney can certainly take that title search and give you a written legal opinion of title that might be more helpful. If you have questions about title research or document retrieval on real estate, you can reach us at our website at title search dot com.