7 Legal Issues Investors Face After Taking Title
When you take title, hidden liens can ride with the land—mortgages, mechanic’s claims, misfiled judgments. Demand payoffs and releases. If your title search misses a chain break or deed fraud and you skip an owner’s policy, you may fund litigation. Wrong legal descriptions, notarization defects, or recorder errors can freeze a refi. Co-owners can also deadlock into partition. Hold it personally and you’re the defendant. Pick the wrong way to hold title and you can trigger probate, gift-tax issues, and basis shocks—more solutions ahead. How Taking Title Triggers Lien Surprises Although closing day feels like the finish line, the legal reality is that most liens *run with the land*. The moment you take title, you can also inherit someone else’s unpaid baggage. A thorough title search, an examination of public records , can flag many of these encumbrances before you buy. However, deed theft is on the rise, posing an additional risk that investors need to keep in mind when managing proper...
