Real Estate Attorneys & Business Attorneys | J. Perez Legal, PA
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    • Juan J. Perez - Founding Partner
    • Juan Blandino - Associate Attorney
    • Yanet Macias - Senior Real Estate Paralegal
    • Berenice Leyva - Legal Assistant
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WHAT DOES TITLE MEAN IN REAL ESTATE?

The words “title” and “deed” are often confused or used interchangeably when it comes to real estate. If you’re here, you’d probably like to know their definitions or the difference between the two. Luckily, we’re here to tell you both. 

Title means the legal right of ownership. When it comes to real estate, title means the specific rights a person has to own or possess a piece of property. Having title to real estate means that you can access the property and generally, make any changes to the property you’d like. Title also means that you can transfer your interest or portion that you own in the property to other people. A deed, however, is the legal document, or the piece of paper, that states the title a person or people have with regard to that piece of property. For example, if you own a home, your name likely appears on the property deed, which states the title you hold in the property.  

WHAT IS A TITLE SEARCH?  
A title search is a search performed by a title examiner to ensure that title to the property is “clear” and that there are no issues when purchasing the property. The title search will help determine that the seller actually has the right to transfer the ownership of the property. When performing the title search, the examiner will: (1) look through decades of public, and other land records; (2) look for any other claims to the title that may affect the property purchase, and; (3) generate an “abstract of title” for the property. 

An abstract of title is a document that lists the property’s previous owners and any encumbrances (a restrictive title that prevents someone from having clear title to a piece of property; in other words, someone else has some sort of interest in the property). Typical issues that arise during a property search include: existing mortgages and debts against the property; a previous owner’s failure to pay taxes; liens on the property from unpaid contractor debts; mistakes and omissions in property deeds; forged documents, and; other undisclosed owners, heirs, or conflicting wills. The abstract of title will also list any limitations on the property’s use, like easements, restrictions, and rights-of-way.

It is important that these documents are reviewed prior to closing to ensure that any and all discovered issues are resolved. If it is found that seller of the property shares ownership with other individuals, then those individuals must sign the closing documents as well before the sale can be complete and valid. Additionally, all outstanding mortgages, liens, judgments or delinquent taxes must be paid at closing before a clear title is received. The seller typically has the responsibility for resolving any issues with the title. However, this only discusses the discovered issues with a property’s title, which is why there is the need for title insurance. 
TITLE SEARCH
Q: What is the title search?
A: "The title search is essentially the search or the study that a title agent or a closing agent will use in order to ensure that there's no outstanding obligations or outstanding issues that will affect the title to the property."

WHAT IS TITLE INSURANCE?
More often than not when you a buy home, either the buyer or seller will purchase title insurance. There are two types of title insurance: (1) owner’s title insurance, which will protect the buyer if any problems are later discovered and provide coverage in the amount the buyer pays for the property, and; (2) lender’s title insurance, which protects the lender (usually a bank). Both owner and lender insurance policies are meant to protect individuals or entities from any issues or encumbrances. If there is an issue, the insurance company will obtain legal assistance and pay any valid claims. Title insurance is usually part of the closing costs will provide protection for as long as you own the home.

This is a broad overview of the real estate title process. At J. Perez Legal P.A., we have over twenty years serving Broward County residents in their real estate transactions as both real estate attorneys and title processors.  Please call (954) 450-2585 today to schedule a consultation with experienced real estate attorneys. J. Perez Legal P.A. handles a variety of cases, so call now if you have any other questions related to real estate including mortgage, foreclosure, modification, etc.
TITLE INSURANCE
Q: What is title insurance and must I have it?
A: "Title Insurance is exactly as the name implies, insurance for your title. You should always have title insurance if you're going to buy a property to make sure that what you are buying is in fact clean, good, and marketable title, and the title insurance policy will ensure that very thing.:

MEANING OF "GOOD TITLE"
Q: What is meant by the term good title?
A: "When you have a property that has good title, it essentially means that there are no liens, there are no outstanding encumbrances, there are no outstanding debts. In other words, the property, the title is clean. There's no outstanding issues and it's the type of title that you want to be purchasing."
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  • Home
  • Practice Areas
    • Real Estate >
      • REAL ESTATE AGENTS
      • Selling Home without a REAL ESTATE Agent
      • Seller's Legal Representation
      • BUYER'S LEGAL REPRESENTATION
      • CLOSING COSTS
      • CLOSING DOCUMENTS
      • POST-CLOSING MOVE-IN
      • SELLER'S BREACH OF CONTRACT
      • PROPERTY TAXES
      • EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT
      • REAL ESTATE PROPERTY SURVEY
    • Title Insurance >
      • Real Estate Title
      • TITLE COMMITMENT
      • TITLE INSURANCE COSTS
      • Types of Property Interests
      • Types of Deeds
    • LOAN MODIFICATION >
      • LOAN MODIFICATION ADVANTAGES
      • LOAN MODIFICATION QUALIFICATIONS
      • LOAN APPROVAL DURATION
      • NON-PRIMARY RESIDENCE LOAN MODIFICATION
      • PRINCIPAL BALANCE ADJUSTMENT
    • SHORT SALES >
      • SHORT SALE TAX CONSEQUENCES
      • SHORT SALE DURATION
      • SHORT SALE DEFICIENCY
      • SHORT SALE HARDSHIP
    • FORECLOSURE >
      • FORECLOSURE PROCESS
      • FORECLOSURE OPTIONS
      • FORECLOSURE - THE SUMMONS
      • DEFICIENCY JUDGEMENT
      • POST FORECLOSURE & CREDIT
    • Landlord/Tenant Law >
      • EVICTION PROCESS
      • EVICTIONS GENERALLY
      • Evictions - Public Records
      • 3-Day Notice: Failure to Pay Rent
      • 7-Day Notice: Tenant to Landlord
      • 7-Day Notice: Landlord to Tenant
      • 15-Day Notice: Termination of Verbal Lease
      • 15-Day Notice: Rent Increase
      • Security Deposit
      • Holdover Tenant
      • CDC Evictions Moratorium
      • LANDLORD SELF-HELP
      • LANDLORD LEASE TERMINATION
    • Small Business Law
  • Meet the Team
    • Juan J. Perez - Founding Partner
    • Juan Blandino - Associate Attorney
    • Yanet Macias - Senior Real Estate Paralegal
    • Berenice Leyva - Legal Assistant
  • Contact Us
  • Online Payment
  • Title Calculator