A title review is a background check on a piece of real estate: a careful read of public records to confirm the seller legally owns the property and to surface anything that could stop a clean transfer to you. The examiner traces every recorded deed, lien, and claim tied to the land, often going back decades. If you’re financing the purchase, your lender will insist on one before approving the loan. Cash buyers aren’t required to order one, but skipping it means taking the seller’s word that nothing is wrong.
What a Title Review Looks For
The central task is tracing the chain of title, the chronological sequence of ownership from one deed to the next. Each transfer should connect cleanly to the one before it. When a link is missing, forged, or recorded incorrectly, the current seller’s right to sell can be called into question. The examiner pulls recorded deeds, court records, tax records, and other public filings to piece that history together and flag any gaps.
Beyond ownership itself, the review hunts for liens, which are legal claims someone else holds against the property, usually for unpaid debt. The common ones:
- Mortgage liens from the existing lender, which must be paid off at closing.
- Property tax liens for unpaid local or county taxes, which attach to the property automatically.
- Federal tax liens, which attach to all of a delinquent taxpayer’s property, including real estate, once the IRS has demanded payment.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6321 – Lien for Taxes
- Mechanic’s liens filed by contractors or suppliers who worked on the property and weren’t paid. These can lead to a forced sale if left unresolved.
- Judgment liens, which are court-ordered debts attached to the property after a lawsuit.
Every outstanding lien has to be cleared before the seller can hand you clean title. Buyers who skip the review can inherit someone else’s debts.
Easements and Restrictive Covenants
The review also surfaces easements, which give someone other than the owner a right to use part of the property. Utility easements are the most common, letting power or water companies reach their infrastructure. Easements can also grant a neighbor a right-of-way across the land or give a municipality drainage access. An undiscovered easement can kill a renovation plan or limit how you use the backyard.
Restrictive covenants are the other recurring find. These are recorded rules that limit what you can do with the property. A covenant might restrict the property to single-family residential use, prohibit certain structures, or require architectural approval for changes.2Fannie Mae. Restrictive Covenants They’re common in planned communities and subdivisions, and they run with the land, meaning they bind every future owner whether or not that owner personally agreed to them.
Mineral Rights and Boundary Problems
In parts of the country where oil, gas, or mineral extraction is common, the review should reveal whether mineral rights have been separated from surface rights. When mineral rights are severed, someone other than the surface owner holds the legal right to explore and extract from beneath the property, sometimes without the surface owner’s permission. Those rights are considered dominant over surface rights, and the holder can authorize drilling or mining activity. If the deed doesn’t clearly address mineral rights, additional research into local records may be needed.
Boundaries round out the picture. The examiner compares the property’s legal description against prior deeds and, where available, survey records. Fences, driveways, or structures that cross property lines create encroachment issues. These often require a current survey to sort out and can delay or derail a sale.
Who Handles the Review
In most of the country, a title company does the search, acting as a neutral third party that reviews public records, assembles the ownership history, and identifies defects. The title company typically also serves as the settlement agent that conducts the closing.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Shop for Title Insurance and Other Closing Services
Roughly a dozen states, concentrated in the Northeast and South, require an attorney to handle all or part of the closing process.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Shop for Title Insurance and Other Closing Services In some, the attorney must examine and certify the title; in others, the requirement extends to supervising the whole transaction from contract to recording. Whether or not your state requires one, a real estate attorney can read the search results, explain what any defects mean for your purchase, and advise on how to resolve them before closing.
Cost and Timeline
A standard residential title search typically costs between $75 and $300, with complex properties or those with a long ownership history pushing the fee higher. The search fee is one component of the broader “title service fees” that appear on your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, which also include the title insurance premium and other costs tied to issuing the policy.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Are Title Service Fees?
Most residential searches take one to ten business days. Straightforward properties in counties with digitized records often finish in a day or two. Long ownership histories, multiple past owners, or records stored only on paper can take considerably longer. If the search turns up problems that need resolution, add weeks or months depending on the severity.
When Problems Appear
When a review turns up issues, the property has what’s called a cloud on the title. A cloud is any recorded claim, lien, defect, or gap in the ownership chain that raises doubt about the seller’s right to convey. Common examples include an unreleased mortgage from a previous owner who paid off the loan but never recorded the satisfaction, an heir who wasn’t included in a probate proceeding, a misspelled name on a deed, or an outstanding judgment lien.
Most clouds get resolved without going to court. The fix depends on the defect. A corrective deed can repair errors in the original, like a misspelled name or an incorrect legal description. A lien release, recorded by the creditor, confirms a debt has been paid and removes the claim. An affidavit, sworn by someone with personal knowledge, can clarify facts about the property’s history, such as confirming that a deceased owner’s estate was properly settled.
When those tools aren’t enough, a buyer or seller can file a quiet title action. This is a lawsuit asking a court to declare who owns the property and extinguish competing claims. The process involves filing a complaint, notifying anyone with a potential claim, and obtaining a court order that settles ownership. Quiet title actions can take a few months to over a year and typically cost between $1,500 and $5,000 in legal fees depending on complexity and location. Most transactions never get here, but when they do, the deal usually pauses until the court rules.
From Clear Title to Closing
If the review turns up nothing problematic, the title is considered “clear” or “marketable,” meaning it’s free from defects that would prevent a buyer from taking full ownership. Every real estate sale carries an implied promise from the seller to deliver a marketable title.
Before you reach the closing table you’ll receive a title commitment, which is the title company’s promise to issue a title insurance policy once certain conditions are met. The commitment has two parts worth reading carefully. Schedule B-1 lists requirements that must be satisfied before closing, such as paying off the seller’s existing mortgage. Schedule B-2 lists exceptions, which are recorded items the title policy will not cover. Common exceptions include existing easements, restrictive covenants, mineral reservations, and property taxes not yet due. Anything on Schedule B-2 is your problem, not the insurer’s, so review it closely and push back on any item that looks incorrect or removable.
Why You Still Need Title Insurance
Even a thorough search misses things. A forged deed from decades ago, an unknown heir, or a recording error buried in the county clerk’s files can surface years after closing. Title insurance covers past problems that weren’t known at the time you bought the property.5National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The Vitals on Title Insurance – What You Need to Know
There are two policies. A lender’s policy protects only the mortgage lender’s financial interest, and most lenders require one as a condition of the loan. Its coverage decreases as you pay down the mortgage and disappears when the loan is paid off. An owner’s policy protects your equity for as long as you own the property, covering up to the purchase price plus legal costs if a title dispute arises after closing.5National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The Vitals on Title Insurance – What You Need to Know You aren’t legally required to buy an owner’s policy, but going without one means absorbing the full cost of any title claim yourself.
Title insurance is a one-time premium paid at closing, not a recurring charge. The cost is typically a fraction of a percent of the purchase price. In many transactions the buyer pays for the lender’s policy while either side pays for the owner’s policy depending on local custom and negotiation.
Your Right to Shop for Title Services
Federal law gives you real protection in choosing title services. A seller cannot require you, as a condition of the sale, to buy title insurance from a specific company when you’re using a federally related mortgage. A seller who violates this rule is liable to you for three times the charges imposed.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 2608 – Title Companies; Liability of Seller
The law also prohibits kickbacks and referral fees in the title insurance process. No one involved in your transaction can receive compensation simply for referring you to a particular title company or settlement service provider.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation X 1024.14 – Prohibition Against Kickbacks and Unearned Fees If your real estate agent or lender steers you toward a specific title company, they may have a financial affiliation with it. Get quotes from more than one provider. Your lender is required to give you a list of companies in your area that provide title services, and you can choose a company not on the list if the lender agrees to work with it.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Shop for Title Insurance and Other Closing Services