Title Search News

There are many different types of titles: job titles, book titles, name titles (Mr., Mrs., etc.), car titles and house titles. A title search, in regard to house titles, refers to the official process of identifying who has legal ownership of a property and whether or not that property can be legally sold to another person. While this process can be done by anyone, it is most beneficial if you hire a title company to comprehensively perform this process. Title searches can get very complicated; if every nook and cranny is not explored, something important may be overlooked. If that happens, you may be at risk of losing the house you want to purchase – or you may be hit with unforeseen expenses.

What things could be overlooked in a title search?

Liens. If the previous owner owed money to another person or company, the creditor could place a legal claim against the property. The lien must be paid off in order to clear the title to the property. For example, if the previous owners had a new roof put onto the house but didn’t pay the roofing company in full, and that outstanding debt was not discovered during the title search, you, as the new owner, would be responsible for paying the debt. One way to avoid this disaster is by getting title insurance as part of your home-buying process.

Distant, out-of-the-picture owners. If there are actually multiple owners of a property, but only one owner is making the sale, the other owners could come out of the woodwork after you purchase the home to take back what is theirs. For example, if three estranged siblings inherit their parents’ home but only one attempts to sell it, a […]

We wish all of our customers a Happy New Year!  We look forward to helping you with your title search services throughout 2021.

A Title Search is the process of retrieving documents evidencing events in the history of a piece of real property, to determine relevant interests in and regulations concerning that property.

In the case of a prospective purchase, a title search is performed primarily to answer three questions regarding a property on the market:

• Does the seller have a saleable interest in the property?
• What kind of restrictions or allowances pertain to the use of the land? These would include real covenants, easements and other servitudes.
• Do any liens exist on the property which need to be paid off at closing? These would be mortgages, back taxes, mechanic’s liens, and other assessments.

A title search is also performed when an owner wishes to mortgage his property and the bank requires the owner to insure this transaction.

A professional title searcher (also called Abstractor) is hired to perform a title search. Documents concerning conveyances of land are a matter of public record. These documents are maintained in hard copy paper format or sometimes scanned into image files. The information within the documents is typically not available as data format as the records are descriptions of legal events which contain terms, conditions, and language in excess of data.

The process of performing a title search involves accessing the official land records for the subject property. Each record is a document evidencing an event which occurred in the history of the property. A deed records an event of property transfer, a mortgage documents the collateral interest of a home loan, and a lien documents a claim against the property in favor of another, such as a creditor, vendor, or tradesman. The objective of the title search is […]

CONNECTICUT RECORDING FEES (Effective July 15, 2013)

Recording fee for the 1st page of a document with no nominee: $53.00 for the first page and $5.00 for each additional page of the same document.  For a document with a nominee (e.g. MERS):  $159.00 for the 1st page and $5.00 for each additional page of the same document. 

***EXCEPTION, For Assignment of Mortgage and Release of Mortgage with a nominee (e.g. MERS):  $159.00 flat fee with no additional funds for subsequent pages.

CONNECTICUT STATE CONVEYANCE TAX

State Conveyance Tax, payable to the Commissioner of Revenue Services, is due on transfers in which the consideration is $2,000 or more.  The tax rates vary depending upon the type of property being transferred, and there are various exemptions from the tax.   Form OP-236 must be filed with every transfer of property in the state, whether or not Conveyance Tax is due.  Form OP-236 lists the various rates and exemptions.

Form OP-236 is not downloadable over the internet, but may be ordered from the Department of Revenue Services by phone at (860) 297-5962 or via the Internet at www.ct.gov/DRS

CONNECTICUT MUNICIPAL CONVEYANCE TAX

Municipal conveyance tax is due in addition to state conveyance tax, and is payable to the town clerk of the municipality.  A separate conveyance tax form must be provided for the Municipal Conveyance Tax unless […]