However, every business has its own pros and cons. Here are a few pros and cons of the real estate business.

Pros of Real Estate

• Buying property and homes on foreclosure is very profitable as the rate would be lesser than the worth of the property. These foreclosed homes can be renovated spending a little money and put up for mortgage, rent or sale once again. This is one of the best real estate investments that would fetch you enough income.
• A better way of making a lucrative profit is by buying a property or a home after seeing the condition of it. You are able to scrutinize the amount that should be spent on repair and modification before you set the price for the home. This is helpful as you have a choice of the lowest price.

Cons of Real Estate

• When opting to buy a foreclosure sale of property you are obliged to accept the house in an ‘as is where is’ condition. This leaves you with no other option if the property has a lot of repairs that you will have to spend for. Ultimately in certain times you may spend more money than you expected to on repair work. The repairs may work up to more than the value of the property.
• It is the same case with the fixer-upper buying of property. Sometimes in your haste you will not notice certain major repairs that are needed for the home and you will purchase the property. When repair jobs are undertaken you will be spending more than the estimated amount on repairs.

In order to avoid circumstances like these you should be smart enough to have a thorough check up of the property, know the owner, compare the rate and then decide to settle for the paper work into buying the property.

**Don’t forget to comment below and let us know what you think. Or even better, share your experiences.

• Make a plan of your home according to your living standards. Do you require an independent house or an apartment on the ground floor, the number of bed rooms, whether you require a garage or a garden etc.
• Surely you will opt for a loan to buy a home, in this case choose the genuine lenders who do not take very high interest rates. See that you have a small amount saved so you can pay at least a minimum of 10% of the value of the home initially.
• Seek the sound advice from family or friends who have experience in real estate business or find a genuine Real Estate Agent, speak contract fees and use the solicitor to find you the home of your choice.
• The Agent will show you a few prospective properties. You can negotiate a proper rate through your Agent, but at the same time if you feel the rate offered is worth and don’t want to lose the place just ask your Agent to start the legal paper work to buy the property.
• The Agent will start the survey and the report will be sent to you in due course and the contract can then be signed and finalized confirming you as the owner of the property legally.

This is very simple but effective information on buying a home of your own. The legal contract should be obtained by all means before entering into any payment or contract signing deals.

Because humans are involved in recording deed transfers and plotting land parcels, a lot can go wrong. You want title insurance because it will protect you against defects and human error.

Property Searches and Public Records

* Property transfers were first recorded alphabetically in separate Grantor and Grantee books.
* The books are heavy to lift and dusty.
* County records are often maintained at local courthouses or the Clerk of Registrars.
* Today, most records are stored on the computer.

Division of Land

* Early deeds involved large chunks of land known as Townships.
* Townships contain 36 sections and are six miles by six miles.
* Sections measure one mile by one mile and contain 640 acres.
* Half of a section is 320 acres.
* 1/4 of a section is 160 acres.
* 1/4 section of 1/4 section is 40 acres.
* An acre is 43,560 square feet

Title Search Basics

* Title searches start with the most recent deed, searching the grantee’s name (the person now holding title) backwards in time, until the deed when the grantee acquired the property is located.
* That grantor’s name is then searched backwards in time in the grantee’s book to find when the grantor acquired title as a grantee.
* This process continues, and over time, the property description involves larger and larger parcels of land.
* Eventually, the searcher finds the U. S. Patent.

Other Factors Affecting Title

Deeds establish chain-of-title, but sometimes those chains are broken. In addition, title searchers also look for reconveyances (proof that the encumbrances are paid off), and they look for easements, rights-of-way, CC&Rs, other elements affecting title to the property. Here are more records that are searched to piece title together:

* Marriage records
* Death certificates
* Tax sales

Title Insurance Coverage

Depending on the title company, consumers can choose among a variety of options, but the top three choices are Owners, Lender’s and Extended Coverage.

* Basic Owner’s Title Policy Coverage:

1. Clear title to the property
2. Incorrect signatures on documents
3. Forgery, fraud
4. Defective recordation
5. Restrictive covenants
6. Encumbrances or judgments

* Basic Lender’s Title Policy Coverage:

1. Mechanic’s liens and unrecorded liens
2. Unrecorded easements and access rights
3. Defects and other unrecorded documents

* Extended Owner’s Coverage

1. Building permit violations from previous owners
2. Subdivision maps
3. Covenant violations from previous owners
4. Living trusts
5. Structure damage from mineral extractions
6. Variety of encroachments and forgeries after title insurance is issued

Who Pays For Title Policy Insurance?

* This depends on your local custom.
* It can differ from county to county, but it is also negotiable in the purchase offer.
* Sometimes sellers and buyers split the fee for the owner’s policy.
* Typically, the buyer pays for the lender’s coverage.

How Long Are Title Policies Good For?

Forever, theoretically. If you are planning to resell the property within a couple years, ask your title company about “binder” coverage. Most companies will sell you a binder policy for 10% more. A binder is good for two years, often can be extended beyond that time, and the fee charged for the new buyer’s policy will be the difference between what you bought the property for and the price at which it sold. In other words, you will get a credit for the amount of coverage you purchased under your own Owner’s Title policy.

How Often Are Title Policy Insurance Premiums Paid?

Once. The fee is due when you buy. You will never pay it again. Title policy insurance is the best insurance policy you can ever buy.

Reported from http://homebuying.about.com/od/homeshopping/qt/TitleInsurance.htm
Author: Elizabeth Weintraub