Why the Preliminary Title Report Is Your New "BFF"

Reviewing the Preliminary Title Report immediately is integral among real estate selling tips for preventing long-term sales roadblocks, which can take a great deal of work, time, and money to clear. Although nearly everything in real estate must be written, documents aren't always recorded or safely and properly stored for reference as they should be.

Many title-related issues can come back to haunt you:

• Uncovered liens - Title liens flying under the radar from long, long ago.

• Liens from prior owner(s) - Liens from third parties that preclude the current owner's insurance or transfer, sometimes lying in hiding from several owners back. They'll continue to remain until cleared, and if left unresolved will result in sales issues down the road for your current buyers.

• An unrecorded re-conveyance - From when the note secured by a Deed of Trust on the property was paid off.

• Litigation issues - Lawsuits on file which are vague and lacking in details, such as a lawsuit initiated for specific performance which was later updated to a damages suit (with the specific performance component removed).

• Property boundary issues - Even a prior agreement with a neighbor affecting property boundaries. Example: a fence location, which may not be an issue for the previous owners but may be one for the new owners, could result in expensive disputes later.