The title to a residential property lays out your rights as the owner. In this item, you’ll find if you share the ownership of the property with others or you’re the sole owner.

Your ownership of a property will dictate what your rights are when putting it on the market. This will also impact how you’re going to pass the ownership to your heir or beneficiary when you pass away; or if you have the ownership rights to give it to a beneficiary or heir altogether.

If you pay cash for homes, the title of the property can transfer to you right away when you close the sale.

Holding the Title

The property title tells you your ownership rights. Generally, keeping the title can be done through sole ownership of the property. This means that you have exclusive ownership of the property.

In some states, married couples hold the title as “tenants by the entirety.” This means that the surviving spouse acquires the title when the other one dies.

On the other hand, there are a few ways to hold property title if the residential property is co-owned by another individual who is not your spouse.

Joint tenancy with the right of survivorship is one of the ways. This means that when you die, the ownership share is divided fairly among the other property owners.

The other way is tenancy in common. This means that the ownership of the property does not necessarily have to be divided equally. Upon your death, you can choose to leave your overall share of the property to anyone you wish.

Conducting a Property Title Search

Whether you pay cash for homes or you acquire a mortgage loan, the other party – whether it’s a title company or an attorney – will conduct a property title search.

They will need to go through various public records to determine the legal ownership of the home. Aside from establishing the ownership, a property title search will also yield any overdue property tax, liens, judgments, and any encumbrances. Depending on your jurisdiction and its real estate and property laws, the current owner or the beneficiary must shoulder these expenses prior to the closing date.

Title Transfer

After you have paid cash for homes, the other party conducting the closing will prepare a deed of sale. This officially transfers the property title from the present owner to you; you will now become the titleholder.

All the information in the property title is laid out on the deed. It’s proof that you have legal ownership of the property – whether you acquired it through paying cash for homes or a mortgage loan.

The deed also contains how you’re holding the property title. Are you a husband and wife owning the home as tenants in the entirety? Do you have joint tenancy or tenancy in common?

The deed recounts the legal identifier of the property, which usually includes a property identification number. It also recites any limitations on how the house is used or if you can expand it and build additional structures.

Receipt of the Title

Upon paying cash for homes or through a mortgage loan, you can get the deed naming you as the titleholder the same day that you secured the deal.

First and foremost, you, the buyer, and the seller need to sign all closing documents.

Then, the sales proceeds are appropriately paid. If, for instance, the closing occurs in the morning or the afternoon, you can deliver the deed to the courthouse in the county. It will then be recorded and saved in public records.

If this is the case, you can leave with the property title in your hands. On the other hand, if the closing happens in the late afternoon or in the evening, you need to wait for the next business day to go to the county courthouse.

 Important Notes

Keep in mind that the “title” and “deed” are different real estate transactions. The title is not just one document; it’s a summarized itemized report containing pertinent information about the property.

When you pay with cash for homes, you will acquire the deed as physical documentation. Once the property title search is cleared, you have complete ownership of the property.