Clouded title, buyer options?

[Isaac Passmore]

What are the buyer's options at closing if the title company is unable to produce the closing documents because the seller has not been communicative and the title company has discovered numerous liens against the property but does not know enough information to provide title insurance or provide an accurate payout?

[Don Konipol]

Quote from @Isaac Passmore:

What are the buyer's options at closing if the title company is unable to produce the closing documents because the seller has not been communicative and the title company has discovered numerous liens against the property but does not know enough information to provide title insurance or provide an accurate payout?

Don’t know the circumstances here, but in general my experience when a seller was uncooperative with title company requests they didn’t want to sell for some reason; such as liens and judgements attached to the property that they didn’t think would have attached  so they would not be receiving the cash out they had anticipated.  In this case the seller is not going to sign a warranty deed as they don’t want to sell.  In a case where a seller has lost interest and doesn’t want to go through the hassle of clearing title usually because they don’t anticipate much net proceeds, but is still willing to sell, you can have the, sign a quit claim deed.  Then work the list of creditors, judgments, and liens clouding title, taking legal action to remove the ones lacking in legal merit, and trying to offer a “settlement” amount (discounted payoff) for the ones that are legit. This requires capital since you won’t be able to use the property as collateral for a loan until such time as the liens are paid off.