Property records - Title search

How to access to property records when shopping for a home.

 In the age of streaming information available online, today’s investor and first-time home buyer can benefit greatly by accessing online property records  prior to writing an offer and putting the deal into escrow. This can be done relatively easily by accessing county recorder records to view any liens, encumbrances, judgments and existing mortgages against the home. It is also imperative to know what is against a property if a buyer is entertaining creative financing such as an owner carry or a contract scenario where the seller is going to carrying the financing for a term.  Maybe the property is in default and already in the process of foreclosure. Maybe the property owner is upside down and owes more than the current market value. Knowing the sellers equity position as well as any liens against the property can prevent unnecessary efforts and out of pocket expenses when entertaining a purchase.  What if there is a notice of default filed and the home is going into the foreclosure stage. Maybe the property is “free and clear” and has plenty of room for negotiation.

 Title companies typically charge $200 to $500 for a preliminary title reports (if the purchase is not in escrow with them) and can take up to a week for documents. This is unless you know someone in that department that may pull some strings for you. But even in this case there is a limit to favors and usually a time frame involved for delivery. There are a several good web sites one can visit to access property records. These sites usually have proprietary data base to access the County Recorder’s office in most states. Of course some records can be accessed through the county recorder website. Most mortgage and lien records can be accessed via county recorder by means of monthly subscriptions or member access. The alternative is to physically go down to your county recorders office and browse through files and micro film for public property records.

 Having internet access to property record data is an efficient and invaluable tool when buying property with conventional or creative financing.


www.UsTitleRecords.com