
When you’re buying a home for sale in Ellicott City, Owings Mills or another area, your lender will require you to buy title insurance. (If you’re not using a lender and you’re paying cash, it’s probably still a good idea to buy title insurance – but that’s another post for another day!)
In order for a title insurance company to issue a policy, it will have to perform a title search.
What is a Title Search?
A title search is a deep-dive into property records to determine whether there’s anything involved with the title that could affect your ownership of the home in the future. For example, if a deed was recorded wrong, someone else could have a claim to all or part of the property – regardless of the fact that you bought it from the seller. A title search will uncover issues like those.
What Do They Look at During a Title Search?
During a title search, the title agency will look at many sources, including:
- County land records
- Deeds
- Tax liens filed at the state level
- Tax liens filed at the federal level
- Divorce records
- Bankruptcy court records
- Financial judgments against an owner
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What Are the Most Common Title Problems?
The most common title problems include:
- Errors in public records, such as clerical errors or filing errors. A technicality could prevent you from owning the home free-and-clear.
- Unknown liens, which mean prior owners may owe money (and that bill could transfer to you if you buy the home). Banks and other financial institutions can put a lien against your property for unpaid debts even after you close a sale, so this is a big issue with foreclosures and other distressed properties.
- Missing heirs, such as a person who comes forward after someone’s death to make a claim against that person’s estate. Sometimes when a person dies, he or she doesn’t include everyone in a will – or the person does include everyone, but the person who has ownership in the home can’t be found.
- Illegal deeds, such as when a deed was made by someone who isn’t legally authorized to make it (like a minor, a person of “unsound mind,” or someone who says he or she is single but is actually married).
- Forgeries, such as when someone fakes a document to claim ownership in a property and then files that document with the state or county.
- Unknown easements, such as when a government agency, business or even another person has legal access to all or part of the property.
- Undiscovered wills, such as when a property owner dies with no will or apparent heir and the state sells his or her assets – but someone later discovers that the person had a will.
If the title search doesn’t turn up any of these (or any other) issues, the title insurance agency will most likely issue you a policy.
Are You Buying a Home in Ellicott City?
If you’re ready to buy a home for sale in Ellicott City, we can help you find the right one.
Call us at 410-465-5822 to tell us what you want from your next home or to schedule a tour in a home you’ve seen online.
Use these links to check out the hottest listings:
- Ellicott City homes for sale
- Columbia homes for sale
- Catonsville homes for sale
- Pikesville homes for sale
- Owings Mills homes for sale

4953 Ellis Lane Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 4 Baths 4,500 SqFt 0.470 Acres
Listing courtesy of Monument Sotheby's International Realty

2311 Ridge Tree Court Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 3 Baths 3,181 SqFt 0.670 Acres
Listing courtesy of Coldwell Banker Realty

10421 Resort Road G Ellicott City, Maryland
2 Beds 2 Baths 1,554 SqFt
Listing courtesy of NVR Services, Inc.

8013 High Castle Road Ellicott City, Maryland
5 Beds 5 Baths 4,650 SqFt 0.160 Acres
Listing courtesy of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

5066 Bonnie Branch Road Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 3 Baths 2,550 SqFt 1.860 Acres
Listing courtesy of RE/MAX Advantage Realty

9891 Carrigan Drive Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 5 Baths 3,947 SqFt 0.460 Acres
Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Lucido Agency

3004 Katherine Place Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 4 Baths 3,112 SqFt 0.140 Acres
Listing courtesy of Redfin Corp

3741 Grosvenor Drive Ellicott City, Maryland
5 Beds 4 Baths 4,720 SqFt 0.330 Acres
Listing courtesy of Maryland Real Estate Network

5325 Montgomery Road Ellicott City, Maryland
5 Beds 4 Baths 3,018 SqFt 0.350 Acres
Listing courtesy of Maryland Real Estate Network

4033 Jay Em Circle Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 3 Baths 1,620 SqFt 0.460 Acres
Listing courtesy of Samson Properties

9118 Dunloggin Road Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 3 Baths 3,343 SqFt 0.710 Acres
Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Lucido Agency

10213 Camelford Court Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 3 Baths 3,019 SqFt 0.380 Acres
Listing courtesy of EXP Realty, LLC

8538 Pine Run Court Ellicott City, Maryland
4 Beds 4 Baths 1,940 SqFt 0.100 Acres
Listing courtesy of Samson Properties

2530 Kensington Gardens 303 Ellicott City, Maryland
3 Beds 2 Baths 2,280 SqFt
Listing courtesy of EXP Realty, LLC

10360 Kingsbridge Road Ellicott City, Maryland
7 Beds 7 Baths 6,564 SqFt 3.040 Acres
Listing courtesy of Corner House Realty
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