The Title basically refers to the rights arising out of lawful ownership of property. A clear title is conclusive proof of ownership. So whenever a real estate transaction takes place a thorough title search is done to ensure clear and marketable title because a defective title may land you in legal and financial trouble. The Search Report traces the history of that particular property, whereas Title verification is a process of checking and verifying property documents for ascertaining the legal ownership of property and determining any defects in the title of the property. It shall be obtained from a real-estate advocate who after visiting the registrar’s office and inspecting the property documents, issues a title certificate. Generally, a title search is conducted for a time period ranging from twelve to thirty years, which can be extended or reduced as per the objective of the party and nature of the transaction.
The following points need to be checked
Ownership details (Documents to prove ownership of present owner)
Chain of title (Verification of Title of Present and Past owners)
Nature of the right of the transferor (If the transferor has legal right to transfer or not)
Nature of Property (Private or Public Ownership)
Derivatives of Property (Will, Power of Attorney)
Development and construction (Licenses to Develop & Construct, OC, CC etc.)
Encumbrances (Identification of encumbrances, charges, liens or mortgage)
Title Search Report contains a historical record of the title of the property and gives accurate legal description of property as to how the property is transacted over a period of time and whether there are any risks involved in the transaction, which may adversely affect the title of property, so that you are sure that you are investing in a legitimate property.
To conclude, the Title Search Report is very important for any prudent buyer in order to ascertain if the property is fit to buy or not. But it will be wrong to assume that the usefulness of title search report is limited to an individual in any sale and purchase transaction. A property derives its value from the title itself. A property with a defective title holds no value, only a clear title can set a seal on the fact that you have an explicit right to own the property and sell it further. So, while investing money into real-estate it becomes crucial to scrutinize whether or not you will have a clear marketable title, which determines that ownership rights are free from any doubts, risks and clear of any kind of claims, encumbrances and defects.