What are Land Titles' best practices for a REALTOR®? - Part One

For a professional REALTOR^®, land titles are integral to the real estate transaction, however, often a REALTOR^® doesn’t realize that obtaining a current land title before listing or writing an offer can be a great advantage. Let’s consider some general best practices when it comes to land titles and real estate practice.

Pull the title before taking a listing, or writing an offer.
Because there is a cost involved with obtaining land titles documents, sometimes a REALTOR^® decides to order the current title after they secure the listing or purchase contract. Big mistake! So much angst and confusion can be avoided by having crucial information from a land title before getting involved in a contract.

Read the title!
This is often a missed step as often in the whirlwind of activity in a trade, obtaining the title can become a checkmark to complete the file without ever looking at it. A quick review of the title can help highlight key issues regarding the property, or at least provoke good questions to be asked of the seller or their REALTOR^®.

Ensure the owner you expect on the title, is actually on the title.
There will be times when you are surprised to find only one name on the title when you expect a couple or a corporation instead of a person, and even sometimes wrong names altogether. A professional REALTOR^® must be certain the person(s) they are working with have the authority to sell the property.

Review registrations.
If you do not fully understand what each registration is, pull the registration itself and be sure you understand it completely. If all else fails, consult a real estate broker or lawyer for clarification before proceeding. Registrations such as mortgage registrations restrictive covenants, easements, or lis pendens can be very timely pieces of information crucial to the listing or selling of a property.

Provide information to a buyer client.
When working with a buyer, a professional REALTOR^® should obtain registrations that will remain on the title, such as restrictive covenants, easements or lease agreements, etc. for the buyer to review themselves. This ensures they understand what they will be required to agree to when they ultimately take control of the property and doesn’t come as a surprise to them at closing.