If you have found the home you want to buy and the seller agrees with you on the price, you are now entering into a new phase of the buying process. Known as due diligence in some places, the time prior to the closing day is filled with important tasks for you to accomplish. One important task is performed behind the scenes and can be somewhat mysterious to some buyers. To learn more about what a title search is and why it's so important, read below.

What Can A Title Search Do For Me?

A title search determines who the legal owner of the home is. Without such a search, buyers could settle into a home only to find out that it belongs to someone else. When the owner is not the seller you've been dealing with, your entire buying experience has been for nothing. The money spent on home inspections, appraisals, and more is now wasted. Moreover, you now have no home to live in.

The second good reason for performing a title search has to do with liens. A lien is a financial action taken upon a property that essentially freezes the home for the time being. When a lien exists, the home cannot be legally transferred to anyone until it's satisfied. Liens may be placed by the court when the owner of the property owes money or for other reasons. A title search will turn up any issues with liens on the property. These two issues point directly to the importance of performing a proper search on a home's title.

When Issues Emerge

You might understand a lien but legal ownership issues can be confusing. Homes, in some cases, can be many years old and could have been owned by many before you. It's not always about fraud when a title search alerts you to problems, though that does happen occasionally. You certainly want to make sure you are not being tricked into buying from someone that is not the legal owner. However, some cases involve disputes after a death or property involved in a lawsuit. Those wishing to purchase such properties might want the option of backing out of the deal and being refunded their deposit. If a lien is holding things up, the seller or the buyer could pay off what is owed and the deal could potentially go through. Other issues with titles include clerical errors, lost titles and court records, and more.

Along with the title search is the title insurance that pays the cost of litigation should a problem come up later on. To find out more about title searches, speak to your real estate agent.