What is a Title Search? Brush Up on This Type of Public Records Search
Title, legal, lending and real estate professionals often consult public records to dig deep and uncover information about a property that helps buyers and other individuals do business the right way. Public records search tools gather info from several different types of documents to produce useful reports that feature up-to-date details and accurate historical data for easy review and use. Fundamental to every beneficial public records search platform is a title search function.
What is a Title Search?
A title search is a public records search conducted through a database and county clerk records that determines the legal owner of a property.
What is the Purpose of a Title Search?
The purpose of a title search is to confirm a property's current legal ownership and examine any back-taxes, liens or other claims associated with the property. The aim is to create a clear title that's marketable, which is achieved when outstanding claims are revealed. Completing a title search is crucial for accomplishing successful real estate transactions for properties on the market, which is why real estate professionals take advantage of the wealth of information these database searches can provide for themselves and the buyers they work with. Attorneys and title and lending professionals may also conduct title searches to approve loans and serve other means.
What is Involved in a Title Search?
When available, it's easy to execute a title search using a public records database. The database does all the heavy lifting, reviewing a range of available documents to aggregate relevant information on the title of a property and deliver an accurate title report. Buyer's agents, attorneys and other professionals, not the buyers themselves, will typically conduct title searches using their search tool of choice. A name or judgment search may follow a title search for more details. Sometimes it might also be necessary to review additional hard copy documents in order to create a complete picture of the results for a particular title search.
Items Reviewed in a Title Search:
- Chain of title
- Vested owner
- Court records
- Public records
- Property taxes
- Deeds
- Liens
- Loans
- Name indexes
- Property indexes
- Easements
Public Records Search Tools
Traditional approaches to public records searches require manual work to retrieve and deliver results to you, and even some modern solutions that utilize a web-based search and delivery function only turn around limited or outdated data. When alternatives exist, paying for methods like these doesn't turn around the most value for your money. If you're a real estate, legal or lending professional in frequent need of title searches, look for public records search tools that use an automated process that requires no manual intervention. This will produce instant, more accurate reports that remain free of human error. These are typically created with proprietary technology infrastructure and managed by a provider that offers live support.
What to Look For in a Search Tool:
- User-friendly search platform
- Fast and automated process
- Up-to-date and accurate database
- Clean and consistent results
- Accessible customer support
The CAPITALIZER™ Public Records Search Engine
State Capital's proprietary platform, the CAPITALIZER™, is the fastest public records searches service in the industry.
Search: Enter your query into the search engine
Data: Execute a rules-based search of the database
Reports: Receive a report in real time, 24/7/365
It's a simple, easy-to-use search tool that features an interactive index for finding info fast and avoiding the waste and effort of printing reports. You can download title search reports and other types of reports to your desktop or phone in seconds to make smart business decisions fast.
Want to learn more about the CAPITALIZER's capabilities? View our public records search services for more information and register to explore the platform