No property purchase is an investment if you do not buy with a clear title. A free and clear title is the only way to make sure a property is marketable. The key to identifying a property with a marketable title is to make sure there are no ownership disputes, previously collected interests and liens. Another factor to consider is whether the current owners are alive and are indeed selling it on their own will. When buying a property, you should be able to mark the chain of the property's title, clearly defining each owner it has had. If any owner of this chain has died, you should be able to get the recorded death certificate for the person.
Analyzing the Situation
While checking these facts, if you come across a break in the chain, do not disregard the property immediately. Consider your facts carefully and analyze to see if the issue can be resolved. That is the most important question you must ask yourself in this situation. If the answer is yes, then you must check how much of an effort is required for resolution. If it's easy, fantastic; if not, you should still see if it's worth trying to resolve it, because of the profit potential from the property; if that too is a no, then forget the deal.
Learn the Things from My Experience
I have had to cancel 50 to 100 properties each year because of unclear titles and the efforts required resolving them. Every serious real estate investor knows when to push forward and when to let go. If your interest in buying property for reselling is genuine, you will gradually learn the signs, tips and techniques to recognize worthwhile property, negotiating a deal for it and actually purchasing it for a fraction of its market value. Easy closings are always best, where the titles are clear and the property can be up for resale within days.
Always conduct a title search before considering a serious offer for any property. You can either do the title search and clear up the issues at the same time, or hand it over to a title company. Both way, your results will be clearly available and you can make a proper, informed decision about whether to invest in the property or not.
My personal recommendation is to do a title search on the property you intend to buy - on your own. Spending loads of money on a title company to get the results that you yourself can get is not practical. Besides, if you end up paying heavy amounts for just the title search, and the property turns out be a waste, you stand to lose quite hefty sum of cash. The process of conducting a title search is not rockets science, and can be learned and mastered with ease. My advise is to take some time to research and study the process yourself, which would give you enough leverage to do the whole property deal on your own.
Copyright (c) 2010 Jack Bosch
About The Author
Jack Bosch began investing in land in 99. Along the way he discovered a secret way to buy land for pennies on the dollar and sell it for thousands. Jack continues to invest in property but now teaches his system! To claim a FREE Special Report about how you can buy Land for Pennies on the dollar go to http://www.Landprofitgenerator.com/jack-bosch
