If you are thinking of buying a home, imagine finding a residence you want and putting in a bid to buy it, only for unforeseen circumstances to delay or even thwart your bid entirely. That is why executing a title search is important. The process of checking out the title of a Trenton home can uncover problems that could prevent the residence from being legally sold.
Homelight explains that a title search of a home is like conducting a background check. You as a home buyer need to know that there are no legal issues that can prevent the sale from proceeding. These issues usually consist of other claims on parts of the home by creditors, unpaid debts from the current or previous owner, or ownership claims on the home by other parties. Here is a look at some issues that a title search may reveal.
You may learn through a title search that there are liens on the home. Some liens are placed by local governments for unpaid property taxes. To sell the house, the taxes must be paid off first. Other liens can be placed by a home contractor. If a mechanic or contractor was not compensated for work on a home, they may place liens against the title of the home for the unpaid amounts.
You also want to know that no part of the home you want to buy encroaches on the land of a neighbor. Some title searches reveal that a garage or shed is actually partially on the grounds of a neighboring property. In other cases, a neighbor may have encroached on the property you want to buy. These complications need to be resolved, or the sale could fail.
Title searches can also alert you to ownership complications. There may be heirs listed in a will, or people who are possible heirs, who may contest a sale, believing the home should be theirs. Sometimes a title search reveals an unknown owner on the title who has never been contacted about the sale. All of these issues can derail a sale and must be worked out before the sale can proceed.
These are just a few issues that a title search can uncover. It helps to know what you are getting into before you purchase a home, as you may end up with legal problems if you buy the home only to uncover some of these problems later on. Keep in mind that this article is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney; it is only provided as general information.