Real Estate Law Concepts Everyone Should Know

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The field of real estate law is full of concepts that are important to handling transactions and other issues involving property. If you're getting ready to talk with an attorney at a real estate law services firm, it's a good idea to learn a bit of the terminology they often use. Let's take a moment to explore four of the biggest ideas.

The County Register

Keeping tabs on all the properties in a region is a tough task. Each county in the U.S. handles this job by maintaining a county register. Not only does the register help people verify the ownership of locations, but it also helps them learn about any alterations made to the property lines, utilities that run into the space and resources that might be on the property. For example, a homeowner who has no interest in selling their place might check with the county register to determine where fresh water has previously been found during drilling at their location.

Title

To have the legal right to occupy or use land, you need to have either a title to the property or assigned rights from whoever does own the title. Especially when taking possession or getting rid of property, there must be a clear title.

While someone might hold the title to a place, there may be liens held against the property. This can happen if they owe taxes, or it might happen because the property was used as collateral to secure a loan, bail, a mortgage, or some other type of financial responsibility. To verify that someone else can't assert a prior claim to the property on those grounds, an attorney usually conducts a title search.

Closing

A lot of details go into transferring properties, and it's essential to get all of them right. Eventually, both sides in a transaction have to pull the trigger and get the deal done. In real estate law, there is a point of no return that is known as closing. After closing, there is no undo button that allows either side to call the deal off. If you need to undo a deal after closing, you'll have to arrange a new transaction.

Escrow

Completing the transfer of cash while also transferring a parcel of property can leave some folks nervous. Escrow is a process where a third party holds onto the money until closing occurs and releases it can prove the sale is final.

Contact a firm, like Johnson Motinger Greenwood Law Firm, for more help.

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