Title Searches

[Corey Hostetler]

Hey BP, My question has to do with Ohio Sheriff sales. My primary residence right now I purchased at a sheriff sale and just closed on our last residence. While @ the closing I was talking to the realtors and title agency and said I was lucky for not having any big liens against the property. Also I have now found BP and wanting to move into some fix and flips and was wanting to do my due diligence. I have talked to a few Title Agencies and the searches are going to run $120-$150. Is this pretty standard? Just wondering if other options are out there? Since at the next auction I have 4 or 5 prospective properties which could $750 before even going to auction. Any insight would be appreciated Thanks

[Russell Brazil]

Those costs are about half what Id have to pay in my market.

[Mark Gallagher]

@Corey Hostetler Those searches are a little higher than we pay around here. We purchase at sheriff sale but typically we're pulling our own title searches. If something looks "goofy" we let the pros handle it. We know that at most we're paying 2 years back taxes, and depending on the municipality, a few months of water/sewer. If it has liens on it, it would only be a few thousand as well. We've never purchase anything with "tight" margins, so it's never really concerned us. We're only looking for large-spread deals, so even if we have surprise costs, we can cover it in our margin. 

[Justin S.]

Hi Corey.  What type of Sheriff's sales? Judicial foreclosures? Treasurer sales?  Generally, if the sale is a tax sale for back taxes, there are a limited number of liens that can escape being extinguished through the sale process. (Federal Tax Liens). Again, generally, the more troubling issue to me is actual encroachment or property line issues. Of course, a title exam is always advisable but the process in Ohio naturally eliminates nearly all liens in the legal action assuming the title work preparing for the sale was thorough. As to your costs, I would much rather lose 150 bucks as opposed to holding clouded title to a valueless property.  I run my own titles but 150 bucks sounds like a very fair price. I charge 300. Good luck!

[Chad U.]

@Corey Hostetler

Look into Pro Title USA, they charge $100 for full foreclosure title searches anywhere in the US.  They will also walk you through the report if you're not certain on a particular item.  

[Joe Ebanks]

@Mark Gallagher

Hi Mark, I am also just looking for these large spread deals at sheriffs sales. However, I dont know how to do a title search or what to look for. What do you look at when you do this? What if you find multiple mortgages and liens? At that point you would pay a title company for a search and explanation? 

Thanks, Sorry I am new to this. I would really like to gain understanding and confidence to go bid at these sales. Perhaps I will go with an online service at first for only the properties I am very interested in. However I agree with others on here, it seems like a lot when theres a good chance you never even get to bid on many of these properties!

[Mark Gallagher]

@Joe Ebanks

You're looking for mortgages and satisfactions. You want to be sure first position mortgage is the one foreclosing. If the liens were placed after the mortgage that is foreclosing, those liens get wiped out. 

If the home was purchased in the last 20 years, it's usually pretty straightforward. If it was purchased a long time ago, that's where it can get messy. It can get messy with a recent purchase too, but not as likely.