Title objections are the buyer’s formal, written notice to the seller that specific problems in the property’s recorded history have to be fixed before closing. They are raised during a short review window set by the purchase agreement, and the usual targets are liens, boundary conflicts, easement restrictions, and recording errors that could limit how the property is used or sold later. Miss the deadline and you generally accept whatever is there.
The process has three moving parts: identifying what’s wrong, telling the seller in writing within the contract’s deadline, and deciding what to do if the seller can’t or won’t make it right. Each part has its own pitfalls.
What Counts as a Defect Worth Objecting To
A marketable title is one free from claims, disputes, or a reasonable threat of litigation over ownership.1Legal Information Institute. Marketable Title When a seller signs a purchase agreement, they implicitly promise to deliver that kind of title at closing. The title review period exists so the buyer can test that promise against the public record.
Problems usually fall into three groups: financial claims against the property, physical conflicts on the ground, and clerical defects in the chain of ownership. Each one calls for a different fix, but they share one feature. Left alone, they follow the property to the next owner.
Liens
A federal tax lien is the government’s legal claim against all of a taxpayer’s property when a tax debt goes unpaid, and it reaches real estate, personal property, and financial assets alike.2Internal Revenue Service. Understanding a Federal Tax Lien If the seller has an outstanding IRS debt, the lien will show up on the title commitment. Clearing it from the specific property means the seller has to apply for a certificate of discharge using IRS Form 14135.3Internal Revenue Service. Application for Certificate of Discharge of Property from Federal Tax Lien That takes time, so a federal tax lien is worth flagging the moment you see it.
Mechanic’s liens work differently. When a contractor or subcontractor finishes work and doesn’t get paid, most states let them file a lien against the real estate itself. A $12,000 lien from an unpaid kitchen remodel sticks to the property, not the homeowner personally, so a buyer inherits it unless it’s cleared first. Filing deadlines vary by state, and some liens may already have expired by the time the title search picks them up.
Judgment liens come from a creditor winning a lawsuit against the owner and recording the judgment in the county where the property sits. Once recorded, the judgment attaches to every piece of real estate the debtor owns in that county. The debt itself may have nothing to do with the house. A car accident lawsuit or a defaulted credit card can produce a lien that only surfaces during the buyer’s title search.
In communities with a homeowners association, unpaid HOA assessments can become liens too. Roughly 20 states give these HOA liens a “super priority” status, meaning the association’s claim for a limited amount of past-due assessments jumps ahead of even the first mortgage. If you’re buying in an HOA community, confirm assessments are current before you close.
Boundary and Easement Problems
Boundary encroachments happen when a physical structure crosses a legal line. A neighbor’s fence sitting three feet onto the subject property, or a garage built partly over a setback, creates a dispute that clouds the title. These are often invisible from the public record and only turn up when a surveyor walks the lot.
Easements give someone else the legal right to use part of the land for a specific purpose, usually utility access or a shared driveway. Recorded easements appear in the title commitment. The harder case is an unrecorded easement, like a utility company that has maintained underground lines across the property for decades without formal documentation. If a high-voltage line runs beneath the backyard, plans for a pool or an addition can die before they start.
Recording Errors and Competing Claims
Clouds on title often trace back to clerical mistakes: a wrong lot number, an incomplete legal description, a missing signature on an old deed. These errors create a gap between what the record says and what the parties intended. Missing heirs from a prior owner’s estate can also surface years later claiming a fractional interest.
When these defects can’t be fixed through negotiation or a corrective deed, the standard remedy is a quiet title action, a lawsuit that asks a court to declare who actually owns the property and eliminate competing claims.4Legal Information Institute. Quiet Title Action Uncontested quiet title cases typically run three to six months, though tracking down unknown heirs through published notice can stretch that out considerably.
Reading the Title Commitment
The title commitment is the single most important document in this process. The title insurance company issues it as a conditional promise: we will insure this title, but only if these requirements are met and only with these exceptions. Everything you’ll object to lives in this document.
Schedule B has two parts, and confusing them is where many buyers go wrong. Schedule B-I lists requirements, the things that must happen before the title company will issue a policy. Paying off an existing mortgage, recording a missing deed, obtaining a lien release. Schedule B-II lists exceptions, the matters the title company will not cover even after it issues the policy. Easements, restrictive covenants, and mineral reservations commonly land here. If you don’t object to an exception in Schedule B-II, it stays in the final policy and the insurer bears no responsibility for it.
Each exception references a recorded document in the county records. Pull the actual document behind each one. The one-line summary might read “easement recorded in Book 412, Page 88,” but the underlying instrument could show a 30-foot utility corridor running through the middle of the lot. The summary alone won’t tell you that.
Using a Survey to Catch What the Commitment Misses
An ALTA/NSPS land title survey goes beyond a basic boundary survey. Under the 2026 minimum standards, the surveyor locates buildings on the property, identifies walls, fences, and improvements near each boundary line, and notes evidence of encroachments.5National Society of Professional Surveyors. 2026 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys The surveyor also maps visible evidence of easements and signs of use by someone other than the property’s occupant.
The value shows up when the survey sits next to the commitment. A recorded easement that looked minor on paper might cut across the only buildable part of the lot. A fence that everyone assumed sat on the line might encroach two feet onto a neighbor’s land, raising a potential adverse possession issue if it’s been there long enough. Optional “Table A” items can also be requested, including flood zone, zoning setbacks, and underground utility locations. They add cost but can prevent expensive surprises after closing.
Writing and Delivering the Objection Letter
The objection letter is your formal record of what needs to be fixed. It should reference the property’s legal address, the specific contract provision that gives you the right to object, and the exact exception numbers from Schedule B. Vague complaints like “there are lien issues” accomplish nothing. Each objection should identify the exception by number, describe it, and say why it’s unacceptable. A well-drafted entry reads something like: “Exception No. 7 reflects a mechanic’s lien recorded on [date] in the amount of $8,500. Buyer objects and requires seller to obtain a full release of this lien prior to closing.”
Delivery matters as much as content. The purchase agreement spells out how notices must be sent. Some contracts require certified mail to the seller’s attorney or broker; others allow email to a specified address. Follow the contract’s method exactly. A perfectly written letter delivered the wrong way can be treated as if it never arrived. Keep proof of delivery. Disputes over whether the seller received timely notice are more common than they should be.
The deadline is firm. Most agreements give the buyer somewhere between 10 and 15 days after receiving the title commitment to raise objections, though the exact number varies by contract. Once the deadline passes, later objections carry no contractual weight. Order the title commitment early and review it immediately. That gives you time to investigate problematic exceptions and draft thoughtful objections rather than a rushed list.
How Sellers Resolve the Defects You Raised
Once the seller has the letter, a cure period begins. The length depends on the contract, commonly five to fifteen business days. During this window the seller decides which defects to fix, which to negotiate, and which to refuse. Not every objection creates a standoff. Most financial liens get resolved routinely as part of closing.
Paying Off Liens
The simplest fix for a financial lien is paying it. Once a loan is repaid, the lender provides a recordable lien release, which has to be filed with the same recording office that holds the original mortgage or deed of trust.6Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Obtaining a Lien Release For mortgages paid off from sale proceeds, the title company usually handles the payoff and records the release at closing. Mechanic’s liens require a satisfaction or release from the contractor who filed, which sometimes involves negotiating the amount. Judgment liens require a satisfaction of judgment from the court or creditor once the underlying debt is paid.
Federal tax liens take more paperwork. The seller applies for a certificate of discharge from the IRS, submits a professional appraisal, and shows that the government’s interest will be covered from the sale proceeds.3Internal Revenue Service. Application for Certificate of Discharge of Property from Federal Tax Lien A seller who waits until the cure period to start this is already behind. If you see a federal tax lien on the commitment, raise it early and confirm the seller has initiated the discharge application.
Boundary and Easement Fixes
Boundary encroachments are harder than liens because money alone doesn’t solve them. If a neighbor’s structure extends onto the property, the seller might negotiate an encroachment agreement that acknowledges the situation and sets terms for its continued existence. In some cases the structure gets physically removed. If neither works, the title company may agree to insure over the encroachment with an endorsement, effectively promising to cover losses if it ever leads to a forced removal.
Unexpected easements can sometimes be limited or clarified through negotiation with the easement holder, but outright removal is rare. A utility easement isn’t going away. The realistic question is whether the scope and location are acceptable given how you plan to use the property.
Insuring Over a Defect
Not every defect has to be eliminated. The title company will sometimes issue an endorsement that provides affirmative coverage for a specific listed exception, meaning the insurer agrees to cover losses if that defect causes a problem. The exception stays in Schedule B, but the endorsement promises payment if it produces a covered loss. This is common for minor encroachments, old restrictive covenants of questionable enforceability, and liens that are likely invalid but haven’t been formally released. The title company usually requires an indemnity agreement and sometimes escrowed funds before agreeing, so it isn’t a free pass.
When the seller cures the objected items, the title company issues an updated commitment with those exceptions removed, and the transaction moves on under the original terms.
When the Seller Won’t Cure
If the seller can’t or won’t fix the objected defects within the cure period, you have a decision to make.
One option is to waive the objections and close anyway, accepting the property with its existing problems. This can make sense when the defect is minor, like a cosmetic restrictive covenant no one has enforced in decades. It’s risky for anything that affects value or usability. Waiving a significant lien or an unresolved boundary dispute can come back to bite at resale.
Another option is to terminate the contract. Most purchase agreements say that if objections aren’t cured within the specified timeframe, the buyer can walk away and recover the earnest money deposit in full. This right typically has to be exercised within a few days after the cure period expires. Track that calendar carefully. Letting the window close without acting can be treated as a waiver.
A third path, which the original negotiation sometimes opens, is a price reduction. If the defect is quantifiable, like a $15,000 judgment lien the seller refuses to pay, you might agree to close at a reduced price and handle the lien yourself. That requires amending the contract and usually involves the title company’s input on how the lien will be addressed at or after closing.
The Owner’s Policy as Your Backstop
Even careful objection work can’t catch everything, which is why the owner’s title insurance decision belongs in this conversation. Most lenders require a lender’s policy that protects the loan amount if a title defect emerges after closing.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is Owner’s Title Insurance? That policy does nothing for you personally. If someone successfully claims ownership of the property after closing, the lender’s policy pays back the bank; you lose your equity and your home.
An owner’s policy protects the buyer’s investment if someone later sues claiming a right to the property based on something that happened before the purchase.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is Owner’s Title Insurance? Coverage generally lasts as long as you or your heirs have an interest in the property, unlike the lender’s policy, which ends when the mortgage is paid off. The premium is a one-time payment at closing, and the CFPB notes that shopping around for title services can save borrowers hundreds of dollars.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Shop for Title Insurance and Other Closing Services
Both policies can be tailored with endorsements that cover specific risks otherwise excluded, such as survey disputes, unrecorded liens, or access problems. If the objection period surfaced issues that were resolved but left some residual risk, an endorsement can fill that gap.
If a Defect Shows Up After Closing
Even a thorough title search can miss things. A forged deed deep in the chain of title, an undisclosed heir, or a lien filed in the wrong county can surface months or years after you’ve moved in. That is what title insurance exists to cover, but the process has its own requirements.
Notify the title insurance company in writing as soon as the defect becomes apparent. The policy doesn’t impose a rigid statute of limitations starting from the closing date; the clock generally starts when the owner discovers or reasonably should have discovered the problem. Waiting too long after discovery can give the insurer grounds to deny coverage for failing to comply with the policy’s prompt-notice terms. Gather the deed, the title policy, and any related correspondence before contacting the insurer.
For problems that stem from clerical errors rather than competing ownership claims, a corrective deed filed in the public record may resolve the issue without litigation. For genuine ownership disputes, a quiet title action is the standard remedy, and the title insurer generally covers the legal costs if the claim falls within the policy.4Legal Information Institute. Quiet Title Action Buyers who declined an owner’s policy at closing have no insurer to turn to and bear the full cost of defending their ownership.