How to Do a Title Search: The Real Story Behind Property Ownership Investigation

I've been knee-deep in property records for the better part of two decades, and let me tell you something that might surprise you: most people have absolutely no idea what they actually own when they buy a house. Sure, you get the keys, you move in your furniture, maybe you paint the walls that unfortunate shade of beige the previous owner left behind. But ownership? That's a whole different animal.

A title search is essentially detective work. You're digging through layers of history, peeling back decades (sometimes centuries) of transactions, liens, easements, and all sorts of legal entanglements that might affect a piece of property. And here's the kicker – every single property has a story, and some of those stories are downright bizarre.

The Paper Trail That Tells Everything

Picture this: you're standing in a dusty courthouse basement, surrounded by leather-bound books that smell like your grandmother's attic. That's where I started my career, before everything went digital. These days, you might be clicking through online databases instead, but the principle remains the same. You're following a chain – a chain of ownership that needs to be unbroken and clear.

The process starts with the current owner and works backward. Think of it like genealogy, but for dirt. You need to trace the property's lineage back far enough to establish what's called "marketable title." In most states, that's somewhere between 40 to 60 years, though I've seen searches go back to the original land grants from the King of England. No joke.

What exactly are you looking for? Everything that could possibly affect ownership or use of the property. Mortgages, obviously. But also mechanic's liens from that contractor who didn't get paid for the kitchen renovation in 1987. Tax liens from when the owner went through a rough patch. Easements that give the utility company the right to tromp through the backyard. Divorce decrees that might have split ownership in ways that weren't properly recorded.

Starting Your Search: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Most counties have a recorder's office or register of deeds where all these documents live. Some forward-thinking places have digitized everything and you can search from your couch. Others... well, I hope you like microfiche.

You'll need the property's legal description to get started. Not the street address – that's for mail carriers and pizza delivery. The legal description reads like coordinates to buried treasure: "The North half of the Southeast quarter of Section 12, Township 3 North, Range 2 East..." It's precise, it's unchanging, and it's what actually matters in court.

Here's something most people don't realize: the index systems in these offices are often archaic and counterintuitive. In some places, you'll search by grantor/grantee (seller/buyer). In others, it's by tract. Some counties have both, and they don't always match up perfectly. I once spent three days tracking down a property because someone had indexed it under "Smith" when the owner's name was "Smythe."

The Digital Revolution (Sort Of)

The internet has transformed title searching, but not uniformly. Major metropolitan areas often have robust online systems where you can pull up documents instantly. Rural counties? You might still be dealing with handwritten indexes from the 1800s.

Private title plants – databases maintained by title companies – have become invaluable. These companies have spent millions digitizing and organizing records in ways that make government systems look prehistoric. But here's the catch: access usually isn't free, and it's often restricted to industry professionals.

I remember when our local title company finally digitized their plant. What used to take me a full day could suddenly be done in an hour. But I also lost something in that transition – the tactile experience of handling original documents, seeing the actual signatures, feeling the raised seals. There's something about holding a deed from 1892 that connects you to the history of a place in a way that a PDF never can.

The Stuff That Trips People Up

You know what nobody tells you about title searching? It's not the big, obvious problems that usually cause headaches. It's the weird little things. Like wild deeds – documents that were recorded but never properly connected to the chain of title. Or gaps in the record where someone forgot to record a deed for twenty years.

I once worked on a property where the title search revealed that a 10-foot strip of the "backyard" actually belonged to the neighbor. The fence had been in the wrong place for forty years, and everyone just assumed it marked the property line. That's what we call adverse possession territory, and it gets messy fast.

Then there are the judgment liens. Someone gets sued, loses, and boom – there's a lien against everything they own, including real estate. But here's where it gets tricky: judgments are often indexed by name only, not by property. So if John Smith owns five properties and has a judgment against him, you need to figure out which properties it actually attaches to. And if there are seventeen John Smiths in the county? Good luck.

The Human Element

What really makes title searching an art rather than a science is interpretation. Documents drafted in 1950 used different language than we use today. Legal descriptions reference landmarks that no longer exist. "Beginning at the old oak tree" sounds quaint until you realize the oak tree died in 1973 and now you have no idea where the property line starts.

I've seen family feuds play out in property records. Contentious divorces where the deed ping-pongs back and forth. Estates that were never properly probated, leaving clouds on title that take court action to clear. Each document tells part of a human story, and you need to piece together enough of that story to understand what actually happened to the ownership.

One of my most memorable searches involved a property that had been in the same family for over a century. The records showed a fascinating progression – from farmland to subdivision, with mineral rights reserved here, easements granted there, family members transferring interests back and forth as fortunes rose and fell. By the time I finished, I felt like I knew these people, even though most of them had been dead for decades.

The Modern Title Search Process

Today, if you're doing a title search yourself (and honestly, unless you're particularly detail-oriented and have time to burn, I'd recommend hiring a professional), you'll likely start online. Many counties now offer free public access to basic records. You can usually search by owner name, address, or parcel number.

But here's what the online systems won't tell you: they're often incomplete. Older documents might not be digitized. Some types of records might be in completely different systems. Federal tax liens, for instance, might be filed with the Secretary of State rather than the county recorder.

The key is to be systematic. Create a spreadsheet or use title software to track what you find. Start with the current deed and work backward, documenting each transfer. Note any mortgages or liens, and make sure you find the corresponding releases. If something doesn't make sense, dig deeper. That gap in the chain of title from 1962 to 1968? There's a story there, and you need to find it.

When to Call in the Pros

Look, I'm all for DIY spirit, but title searching is one area where expertise really matters. Professional title examiners know the quirks of their local recording systems. They know that County X always indexes divorces under the wife's maiden name, or that County Y didn't start recording certain types of documents until 1985.

More importantly, they carry errors and omissions insurance. Because mistakes happen, and when they do in real estate, they can be expensive. Really expensive. I've seen situations where a missed lien resulted in six-figure losses.

Title insurance companies employ armies of searchers and examiners for a reason. They're on the hook if something goes wrong, so they're motivated to get it right. And they have access to resources – like private title plants and specialized software – that the average person doesn't.

The Future of Title Searching

Blockchain technology promises to revolutionize property records, creating an immutable chain of ownership that could make traditional title searching obsolete. Several pilot programs are underway, but widespread adoption is still years away. The legal framework isn't there yet, and frankly, neither is the trust.

Artificial intelligence is already making inroads, with programs that can read and interpret documents faster than any human. But AI still struggles with the nuances – the handwritten marginal notes, the implications of specific legal language, the need to understand not just what a document says but what it means in context.

For now, title searching remains a fundamentally human endeavor. It requires not just the ability to find and read documents, but to understand the stories they tell and the implications they carry. Every property is unique, every chain of title has its quirks, and every search is a journey through time.

I've been doing this long enough to see the transition from paper to pixels, from dusty basements to digital databases. But at its core, title searching hasn't changed. It's still about following the thread, understanding the history, and making sure that when someone buys a property, they're getting what they think they're getting. No more, no less.

Because at the end of the day, clear title isn't just about legal technicalities. It's about peace of mind. It's about knowing that the place you call home is really, truly yours. And that's worth getting right.

Authoritative Sources:

Burke, D. Barlow, and Joseph A. Snoe. Property: Examples and Explanations. 6th ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2019.

Palomar, Joyce D. Title Insurance Law. West Academic Publishing, 2020.

"Public Records and Property Information." National Association of Counties, www.naco.org/resources/featured/public-records-and-property-information.

"Residential Title Insurance: A Comprehensive Overview." American Land Title Association, www.alta.org/education/title-insurance-overview.

Singer, Joseph William. Property Law: Rules, Policies, and Practices. 7th ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2017.

"Title Searching and Examination Standards." Real Property Law Section, New York State Bar Association, nysba.org/sections/real-property-law/title-standards.

United States Government Accountability Office. "Real Estate: Title Insurance Costs and Challenges." GAO-07-401, April 2007, www.gao.gov/products/gao-07-401.