Spartanburg lawyer focused on real estate, Wills, and small business corporations.

The simple answer is "to make sure, as much as possible, that you will own the property after you pay for it". There can be mortgages, judgments, state tax liens, federal tax liens, and legal actions which can prevent you from having clear ownership of the land or home which you are buying. Lawyers check for the following items:

First, lawyers go back to make sure that ownership of the land or home was legally transferred from one person to another and to make sure that all people who have an interest in the land or home have properly conveyed their interest. Because of errors or even fraud, the true owners of land or a home may not have signed the Deed conveying the land or home. You and your lawyer do not want anyone coming up and claiming an interest in your land or home simply because that person or that person's ancestor did not sign a Deed.

Second, lawyers check to see if there are any outstanding Mortgages against the land or home. A Mortgage is a legal document whereby the land or home is pledged as security for a loan. If the loan is not paid, then the person or lender holding the Mortgage can foreclose and ultimately take the property. You do not want to loose your land or home in foreclosure to pay off some else's debt.

Third, lawyers check to see if there are any judgments, state tax liens, federal tax liens, and legal actions which affect the land or home. By law, these items automatically attach to the land and homes of the person against whom the judgment, state tax lien, federal tax lien, and/or legal action is filed. Again, you do not want to loose your land or home in an action to pay off some else's debt.

There are some defects which a lawyer cannot or will not discover. There can be fraud, forged signatures, unrecorded documents, as well as other defects. A title search normally detects these defects, but sometimes these defects are hidden. You can and should obtain "Title Insurance" to cover you in case there is something hidden and missed by no fault of your lawyer. Most lawyers who handle real estate matters also write title insurance for one of the several companies licensed to sell title insurance in South Carolina. Title Insurance has a one time fee and covers you for that particular parcel of land or home as long as you live.

If you have further questions, please the Bingman Law Firm.