Title and Ownership

Apparent claim, encumbrance, or record problem that creates doubt about real-property ownership or transferability.

Limited legal right allowing a person, utility, or neighboring property to use another owner's land for a defined purpose.

Recorded notice that pending litigation may affect title to or an asserted interest in a specific property.

Mortgage-industry registry framework that tracks registered servicing and ownership information while MERS may remain named in land records.

Party named in a mortgage security instrument to act in a defined capacity for the lender and permitted successors or assigns.

Court proceeding used to determine competing real-property claims and establish the parties' ownership or other title rights.

Court remedy that changes a deed or mortgage so the written instrument reflects the agreement the parties actually made.

Title vesting in one owner, distinct from whether one or multiple people owe the mortgage debt.

Attachment that changes, adds, or clarifies coverage in an owner's or lender's title insurance policy.

The sequence of recorded ownership transfers used to trace how the current seller obtained title to a property.

A claim, restriction, or third-party right that burdens real-property title or limits the property's use or transfer.

A due-on-sale clause is the loan provision that may let the lender require payoff if the property is transferred without an approved assumption or other permitted exception.

Physical improvement that crosses a property boundary or occupies an area subject to another property right.

Professional measurement and drawing used to compare a property's physical boundaries and improvements with its recorded description.

Disagreement or unresolved uncertainty about a property line that can affect title, collateral, and closing.

Homeowners association claim against a property for unpaid amounts that can affect title clearance and mortgage closing.

Property lien arising from a court judgment under applicable attachment and recording rules.

Formal written identifier for the parcel conveyed by a deed and pledged through a mortgage or deed of trust.

Statutory property claim that a contractor or supplier may assert for unpaid labor, services, or materials.

Recorded parcel map showing subdivision lots, streets, easements, and other details referenced by title documents.

Government claim securing unpaid taxes that can affect property title, lien priority, sale, or refinancing.

A paid, expired, or otherwise resolved lien that still appears in property records because its release was not properly recorded.

Title-insurer indemnity addressing specified losses caused by an approved closing agent's handling of instructions, funds, or documents.

State-law marital-property system that can affect ownership, debt analysis, and spouse signatures in a mortgage transaction.

New deed used to correct an error in a previously recorded deed when state law and the title provider require a deed-level cure.

The interval between the latest effective title search and recording when another claim or instrument could enter public records.

Warranty deed that generally gives broad title covenants extending beyond problems created during the grantor's ownership.

State-specific ownership-transfer deed that may carry limited implied title covenants based on its wording and local law.

Co-ownership form commonly using equal interests and a right of survivorship under state law.

Property ownership structure dividing lifetime possession from the future remainder interest.

An owner's signed statement about title-related facts that may not be fully visible in public property records.

Deed conveying whatever property interest the grantor has, if any, without title warranties.

The title-commitment schedule identifying the proposed policies, insured parties, ownership interest, current vesting, and land.

The title-commitment schedule separating conditions for policy issuance from matters excluded or limited under proposed coverage.

Sworn statement used in some states to explain or cure a limited clerical error in a recorded real-estate document.

Warranty deed that generally limits the grantor's title covenants to claims arising through that grantor.

Co-ownership feature under which a deceased owner's interest passes to a surviving owner under state law.

Spouse-specific co-ownership form recognized in some jurisdictions with survivorship and unified ownership features.

Co-ownership form in which each owner holds a separate undivided property interest without automatic survivorship.

An updated public-record search used to identify title changes after the earlier search and before recording.

Title insurer's conditional obligation to issue proposed owner or lender coverage after listed requirements are satisfied.

Ownership, document, or recorded-claim problem that can prevent a property transfer or mortgage from being insured as proposed.

Known matter excluded from title-policy coverage, often listed in Schedule B of the commitment and final policy.

A condition that must be completed to the title insurer's satisfaction before it will issue the proposed policy.

The names and legal ownership form in which title to real property is held and shown in the deed and land records.

Ownership-transfer deed containing promises from the grantor about title, with scope determined by state law and the deed's wording.

An assignment of mortgage records the transfer of a recorded mortgage or deed-of-trust interest to another party.

A deed is the signed legal document that transfers ownership of real estate from the current owner to the new owner.

A deed of reconveyance releases a deed-of-trust claim from the property record after the secured mortgage debt is paid.

Senior recorded claim that gives a mortgage lender priority over junior property liens.

Property claim that ranks behind a senior lien, commonly securing a second mortgage or HELOC.

Legal order determining which property claims are paid or enforced ahead of other liens.

Document or recorded action clearing a property lien after payoff, satisfaction, reconveyance, or another accepted resolution.

A security instrument is the mortgage or deed-of-trust document that gives the lender a property-based claim securing repayment.

A substitution of trustee is a deed-of-trust document that replaces the trustee named in the security instrument.

Insurance covering specified ownership and lien risks, generally tied to defects or events existing before the policy date.

Examination of public land records and other title evidence to identify ownership, liens, encumbrances, and defects before closing.

A trustee in a deed of trust is the document-named party connected to the lender's security rights in deed-of-trust states.

Priority arrangement under which one property lien is placed or kept behind another lien.

A document in which an existing junior lienholder agrees to stay behind a new or modified first mortgage.

Closing-ready title with no unresolved ownership or lien problem preventing the proposed transfer and insured mortgage priority.

A deed of trust is a security instrument used in many mortgage transactions that places property-related security rights into a trustee structure.

Title policy protecting an insured lender against covered defects affecting mortgage validity, enforceability, or lien priority.

Claim or security interest attached to real property that can secure payment and affect a mortgage lender's priority.

Title policy protecting the insured homeowner's ownership interest against covered defects, liens, and claims.

Recording is the act of filing deeds, mortgages, and related documents in the public property record.

A recorded document showing that a mortgage debt has been paid and the related claim against the property has been released.

The legal ownership interest in real property that a buyer receives and a mortgage lender evaluates as collateral.

Mortgage title and ownership terms that explain legal ownership, title review, insurance, deeds, and property claims.