My friend Laura Langen of Lawyers Title is a wealth of knowledge, and has always been there for me and my clients.
Today’s column is dedicated to her, and the awesome work that she does. Laura is a true professional and expert at all things Title. And like any true professional, if she doesn’t know it, she finds out, pronto.
Sometimes, there are problems with title and vesting, and they need to be resolved before clear title to a property can be transferred in a real estate transaction. Some problems can be fixed fairly easily, but as you will see, some will take time and money.
30 COMMON TITLE PROBLEMS
- Impersonation of the true owner of the land or real property.
- Forged deeds, releases, etc.
- Instruments executed under fabricated or expired power of attorney
- Deeds delivered after death of grantor/grantee, or without consent of grantor
- Deeds to or from defunct corporation
- Undisclosed or missing heirs
- Misinterpretation of wills
- Deeds by persons of unsound mind
- Deeds by minors
- Deeds by illegal aliens
- Deeds by persons supposedly single but secretly married
- Birth or adoption of children after date of will
- Surviving children omitted from will
- Mistakes in recording legal documents
- Want of jurisdiction of persons in judicial proceedings
- Discovery of will of apparent intestate
- Falsification of records
- Claims of creditors against property sold by heirs or devisees
- Deeds in lieu of foreclosure given under duress
- Easements by prescription not discovered by a survey
- Deed of community property recited to be separate property
- Errors in tax records, e.g., listing payment against wrong property
- Deed from a bigamous couple
- Defective acknowledgements
- Federal condemnation without filing notice
- Corporate franchise taxes, a lien on all corporate assets
- Erroneous reports furnished by tax officials
- Administration of estates of persons absent but not deceased
- Undisclosed divorce of spouse who conveys as consort’s heir
- Marital rights of spouse purportedly, but not legally, divorced
As you can see, while some of these items may be rare, if they affect title to your property, they will delay or prevent the sale or purchase of real property, and sometimes can be very expensive to cure. If one or more of these issues may affect you, consult a reputable real estate attorney.
Ray “the Realtor” Kutylo is the team leader of the SCV Home Team at Keller Williams VIP Properties. The Team brings experienced and professional service, commitment and value to every transaction, whether you are a home buyer or seller. Ray can be reached at (661) 312-9461 or by email at [email protected]. The views expressed are his own and not necessarily those of The Signal. CA DRE 00918855
