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Title Search

Submitted by colbyjw on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 3:57pm.

Are there any online services out there in California that offer an investor the ability to do a title search himself?

It doesn't seem realistic to pay for a full-fledged title search on a given property coming up for auction, because odds are it will be postponed, cancelled, or the minimum bid will be too high. Out of 100 properties, you are likely to see only 1-3 legitimate deals. So it seems to me that as an auction investor you need the capability to do a title search on the spot when an opportunity presents itself.

I have searched the Internet but do not seem to be having any success locating an online title search service that enables me to do a title search online. I am mainly focused on Sacramento county, but also looking at Placer and El Dorado county. Anybody have a recommendation? Thanks.

Comments:

Submitted by Sean on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 10:43pm.

Hi Colby, This is really the

Hi Colby,

This is really the tougest part of being an auction investor. Most of the pros do one of the following:

Simply look at a property profile, use their years of experience to make an educated guess, and take the risk (not recommended).
Build a relationship with a title company such that they can get a quick abbreviated title report, often verbal, and take the risk
Do the research themselves at the county recorders office - note that recorders only offers a name based index which tends not to be as thorough as a title plant where searches are typically done on legal descriptions.

None of these are ideal, but with a solid understanding of title, the various document types, and how priority works you can bring the risk down to acceptable levels. Note that even the best pros occasionally make costly mistakes. This typically isn't a problem because they buy enough properties they can afford to take an occaisional loss.