If you are planning on selling your house, there are plenty of things you need to take care of. You need to secure find a buyer, ensure financing, and deal with inspections. However, one step that some people forget to take is checking to ensure they have clear title. While it may not seem like a big deal, a failure to ensure clear title can have major legal and financial implications for sellers who are not in the know.
A property has clear title when its ownership is uncontested and unburdened by anything that would impinge upon its owner’s right to freely enjoy the benefits of that property. If there are multiple claims to the same property, for example (such as if someone else claimed to have inherited the property due to an out-of-date will), that would impinge on clear title, as would any mortgages with payments yet to be made. If a creditor placed a lien on the property due to an unrelated unpaid loan, that would also impinge on clear title.
Another issue to watch out for is the possibility of undeclared easements or covenants attached to the land, which would affect a buyer’s ability to enjoy the property. Easements are rights that someone has over someone else’s property, such as the right to traverse a property to access a road or water source. A covenant is a restriction placed on the property for the benefit of another property, such as the restrictions often imposed by Homeowners’ Associations on properties within a certain development. While the existence of easements or covenants doesn’t prevent the sale of a property, it can impact a buyer’s ability to freely enjoy the land if they are not made aware of the existence of those easements or covenants.
The reason this is a problem is because every real estate seller, by default, guarantees that the property will have clear title, and can be held legally and financially liable if it turns out there is some problem with the title. In the worst-case scenario, a seller could find themselves being dragged into court to defend a buyer’s right to the property, footing the expenses for fighting that legal battle. Therefore, prior to putting any house on the market to sell, a title check should be ordered to ensure there aren’t any surprises waiting for either the buyer or the seller. It is money well spent.
Charles Rutenberg Realty is one of New York's largest Real Estate companies with multiple offices providing a full suite of real estate services, including residential and commercial sales or leasing. We serve clients in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, Kings, Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, and Orange Counties, and bring our knowledge and experience to bear in every transaction. If you are interested in buying, selling, or leasing real estate, give us a call at 516-575-7500 or visit our contact page.
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