When buying property in Texas, it is important that you take all the right steps to ensure the sale goes smoothly. One of those steps is making sure you have a clear title on the property. The title gives you the legal rights to it, and you do not want anything to happen that could take away your legal rights. It is best to find problems up front.
First American explains that title issues can slow down or even prevent a sale. It is essential that you carefully research a title to a property before completing the sale because any issues could cause serious legal troubles moving forward. With that in mind, here are four issues that could happen to your title.
1. Unexpected heirs
If you are buying a property from an estate, the chances of an unknown heir popping up are not high, but it could happen. If an heir appears, it will slow things down because the court will have to figure out if the heir is making a valid claim. If the person does have a valid claim, you could lose out on buying the property.
2. Forgery
If a title is not real, then there will be huge trouble. Even the owner may not know the title is a forgery, especially if the property has been in the family for generations. However, once the court or someone else discovers it, a forged title must go through the proper process to find the legal owner, which means you are probably not going to be able to buy the property.
3. Record errors
Since people write out and create records, human error can cause issues with your title. Something written incorrectly or a wrong date could lead to a delay in clearing a title. It also could end up costing you extra money to clear it up.
4. Liens
If the title is not clear, you cannot buy it. A clear title will not have any liens on it or claims from a creditor against the owner. If the title has a lien, the owner must clear up the lien before he or she sells the property, because the title cannot transfer to you.
Taking the time for a proper title search is essential if you want your purchase to go smoothly. If an issue comes up, it is much better to find it out before you have invested your money.
