To understand title policy insurance in America, let’s look at chain-of-title and how title companies search the public records. Title insurance companies aren’t really concerned with where dinosaurs once roamed, whether our ancestors trekked across the Bering Straight or where American Indian tribes settled. Title searches begin with when the United States government stole the land, I mean claimed it — from the U. S. patent — and move forward from that point.
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 Continue Reading…
