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Terms such as “Notice of Trustee’s Sale” are what we would refer to as a Red Flag. And sometimes they can slow down an otherwise smooth transaction. Some attention may need to be paid to these.

For today’s home-buyer it’s plain to see the immense value that a thorough real estate title examination brings.  The greater economic challenges of the last few years has trickled into the real estate transactions of today by way of what we call “clouds on title”. And lately the clouds have been plentiful.  Not to worry, however! Identifying potential “red flags” on a title report early in the process can save time in the long run and help set proper expectations for everyone involved in the real estate transaction.

A familiar story…

Our friend Rick the Realtor was happy to find his buyers the perfect home.  Their offer had been accepted, and next, he expected to review the sellers Title Report.  Everything looked great until Rick saw a recorded Notice of Trustee’s Sale.

Terms such as “Notice of Trustee’s Sale”  are what we would refer to as a Red Flag.  And sometimes they can slow down an otherwise smooth transaction.  Some attention may need to be paid to these.

Thanks to being aware of Red Flags, Rick the Realtor knew that some fact finding would help settle whether or not the Notice of Trustee’s Sale that he saw was really an issue.

At Ticor, we’re always glad to help you understand what these terms mean.  And, most importantly, we’ll work closely with you, to help address and resolve these matters early in the course of the transaction.

16 Examples of Red Flags to be aware of:

*This is a partial list of what we may consider to be red flags. For more information please contact your Ticor Representative.

You’re out shopping for property and may have just found your dream home when your Realtor® informs you that “the driveway easement to the street runs over the neighbor’s property over there.” Great! Huh? Is that a problem or what? In this case it’s not a problem at all. The copy of the title report that the listing agent provided confirms that the easement is included in the legal description and is therefore “ok”.

In our scenario the dream home property benefits from the easement over the abutting neighbor’s property. That same easement burdens the neighbor’s property.

So, what exactly is an easement? One definition that I like a lot is: “the right to use someone else’s property for a specific purpose.”

Appurtenant:
adj. pertaining to something that attaches. In real property law this describes any right or restriction which goes with that property, such as an easement to gain access across the neighbor's parcel, or a covenant (agreement) against blocking the neighbor's view. Thus, there are references to appurtenant easement or appurtenant covenant.

The dream home property has an appurtenant easement over the neighbor’s property. Its owners and/or guests have the benefit of coming and going over the driveway area without needing permission from the neighbor to cross over their land. On the other hand the neighbor that is burdened by the easement must not impair or restrict the use of the easement area on their property.

If a piece of property does not abut or “touch” a public road it will be necessary to establish an easement over the parcel(s) of land that lie(s) between the nearest public road and the property. Without a valid easement a property owner may not have the legal right to go over their neighbor’s property and that could cause big problems down the road (pardon the pun). Without legal access a property is said to be landlocked or having lack of access.

Not to worry! Once you purchase your dream home you can rest assured that your Ticor Title policy insures that you the owner have access rights.

If you have an active transaction with Ticor Title  and would like to review the preliminary title commitment with us, please contact your Ticor Representative or call our headquarters at 425-255-7575.