What A Title Search Reveals About A Property

What is a Property Title Search?

A title search is the examination of records at the registry in the Ministry of Lands to determine and confirm a property’s legal ownership and to find out what claims are registered under that property.

A certificate of Title/Title deed is a legal document that is evidence of a right to ownership of a specific property. The certificate represents the right of the owner to claim property.

A clean title is required to ensure a real estate transaction goes through properly. The title searches make sure that the seller has the legal right to sell their property and that there are no hindrances that can get in the way of the buyer to take full possession of the property such as mortgage claims, title claims or any other outstanding claims.

What the search can tell you about Property

Due-diligence has always been key in all matters land. Majority of people are conned due to one form of ignorance or the other.

A search will help you in identifying certain factors:

The true owner of a particular property

A title search will show you the name of the person registered under that specific title, whether it is an individual or an organization.

A title search indicates the owner of that particular piece of land and will help in comparing the details on the title with those in the land registry records. A title search will tell you who, besides the owner, has a claim on the property.

You get to learn the history of ownership pertaining to the land you are about to purchase and get to have the list of previous and current owners. Knowing all registered owners helps you make an informed decision on whether to continue the transaction. Knowing the owners is also important in case a legal dispute arises. No one that does not appear as a registered owner can raise any case, or question against you if indeed it came to that.

In the case where a property has multiple owners, then the type of ownership will be recorded as tenants in common or joint tenants.

The joint tenants own the property as a single unit and if one passes away, the full ownership remains with the other joint tenant whereas the tenants in common each own a portion of a land and can separately sell their piece of land, or leave it to their successors in a will.

Mortgages

A Property Title Search looks for all records and sources to uncover all available information about a property. In the case that the property has a mortgage and the mortgage lender holds the certificate of title and not the property owner, the mortgage lender, which in most occasions is a bank, will be listed on the title.

Easements

When we talk of an easement, we simply refer to the occasion where the right of property has been given to another person who does not own the property. The party is given the property for a specific purpose.

Easements can restrict your use of land or even prevent you from having certain constructions on the property.

The most common easements are for right of way and for services.

When we say a property has a service easement we refer to the situation for instance where city workers are allowed entry into your compound because it has an electrical pole that they need to access. A right of way on the other hand refers to the situation for instance where your neighbor can be allowed to cross your lawn to gain access to a road.

Caveats and Cautions

A caveat means a warning or a proviso (something said as a warning caution or qualification). The lodging of a caveat over a property is a way of telling anyone who wants to deal with the property to beware the fact that somebody else’s interest already has priority.

A caution on the other hand is a notice in the form of a register to the effect that no action of a specified nature, in relation to the land in respect of which the notice has been entered, may be taken without first informing the person who gave the notice.

If a person has potential claim to all or part of the property, lodging a caveat will prevent the owner from selling his property. The caveat appears on the title thus the search will reveal if the property is clear or not.

Covenants

A covenant is an agreement listed on the land title that you enter into when purchasing property. This restricts what you can do on the property or inversely allows you to do something on the property.

For instance, the materials that may be used when building, what can be built on it, whether or not you can cut down the trees or change the style and color of the house or the outside area. These rules are created by the property developer to retain the quality, look or feel of a building or neighborhood.

Breaching a covenant can have adverse effects hence it is very necessary for one to identify any covenants under their property. Some common reasons for a covenant are to limit the number of structures on the land or even to dictate what kind of building materials that may be used i.e. for fencing etc.

In addition

A title search allows you to get the specific geographical location of the land in question. It will allow you to decide whether the property is ideal for you and enable you to decide on whether to go on with the purchase depending on the purpose you are buying the land.

Speak to Denver Real Estate today and buy Land for Sale in Kamulu Nairobi. Call; 0701 730 267