“Clean Title” Is Not the Same as Simple Ownership

  In real estate practice, “clean title” is shorthand. It means the title company is willing to insure the transfer of ownership based on what appears in the public record. It means there are no known defects that would invalidate the seller’s right to convey the property. That is an important thres

All About Easements

  Do easements make you anxious? If you take nothing else from this post, take this: the existence of an easement is not a defect. Most residential properties have them. Most owners live with them without ever thinking about them. Your goal as a buyer is not to locate a property without any easement

The Preliminary Title Report: What Actually Matters (and What Rarely Does)

    For many homebuyers, the preliminary title report might as well be written in another language. It is long. It is technical. It references documents you have never seen, possibly recorded decades before you were born.  “Is this bad?” our clients ask. Or, just as often, “Do I even need to underst