Title Searches Before You Buy
A title search is a review of the public record for a property. It answers a question that is surprisingly hard to answer without reading the documents: who actually owns this land, and what has been recorded against it. The search traces the chain of ownership back through the registry of deeds, then checks the records that can attach to a property whether or not the owner knows about them.
What the Search Can Uncover
- Mortgages that were paid off but never discharged in the record.
- Tax liens, judgment liens, and municipal assessments.
- Easements, rights of way, and access agreements that limit how the land can be used.
- Deeds with missing signatures, incorrect legal descriptions, or names that do not match the prior deed.
- Estates that were never probated, leaving the record in the name of someone who has died.
- Boundary descriptions that conflict with the lot next door.
Why It Matters in Northern Maine
Rural parcels here are often divided by description rather than by survey, and a chain of title can pass through three generations of the same family without a probate ever being opened. Those gaps are usually fixable, but they take time, and they are much cheaper to find before a closing than after one.
Ordering a Search
Provide the property address, the current owner's name if it is known, and any deed or survey the seller has shared. A residential search is usually finished within a few business days; older or more complicated chains take longer.
