Answer:

It is always difficult to decide who to use for your legal services. We suggest that you consider how long the attorney or title company has been doing business; what areas of the state they cover; and what are the fees that they will charge you. We at MassTitle are lawyers who have been providing real estate closing services for over thirty years. We cover the entire state of Massachusetts and our lawyers travel to the borrowers’ home to close the loans. In addition, upon request, we will provide written quotes for all of the fees and expenses involved in your transaction, so you know exactly what the cost is. Give MassTitle a call. You will be glad you did.

Our Massachusetts Real Estate Closing Attorneys represents individuals and businesses throughout Massachusetts, the greater Boston area, Metro West, the North Shore and the South Shore, in communities such as Acton Agawam Amherst Andover Arlington Attleboro Barnstable Belmont Beverly Billercia Boston Braintree Bridgewater Brockton Brookline Burlington Cambridge Canton Chelmsford Chelsea Chicopee Danvers Dartmouth Dedham Dracut Easton Everett Fall River Falmouth Fitchburg Framingham Gloucester Haverhill Holyoke Lawrence Leominster Lexington Lowell Lynn Malden Marlborough Medford Melrose Metheun Milford Milton Natick Needham New Bedford Newton North Andover North Attleboro North Reading Norwood Peabody Pittsfield Plymouth Quincy Randolph Revere Salem Saugus Shrewsbury Somerville Springfield Stoughton Taunton Tewksbury Waltham Watertown Wellesley Westfield West Springfield Weymouth Woburn Worcester.

A Massachusetts title search is a process that is performed primarily to determine the answer to three questions:

• Does the seller have a saleable interest in the property?
• What kind of restrictions or allowances pertain to the use of the land (real covenants, easements, or other servitude’s)?
• Do any liens exist on the property which need to be paid off at closing (mortgages, back taxes, mechanic’s liens, or other assessments)?

When a title search is needed, it is most often in one’s best interest to contact a title company or attorney to conduct an exhaustive title search. For example, a title report may also show any easements, or recorded legal rights to the property or portions of the property. A previous owner may have legally given a neighbor the right to share the driveway, or the city may have a right to strips of the property for putting power lines, communication lines, water pipes, or sewer pipes.

In Massachusetts, the buyer of a property will usually purchase title insurance, which protects the buyer from any title problems that may arise after sale (such as liens that were missed during the title search). The title insurance company issues a report and issues an insurance policy in support of its findings. However, title searches are most often carried out before contracting is completed between parties and sometimes during the escrow phase of a closing.

A title search is also performed when an owner of a certain real property wishes to mortgage his property and the bank requires from owner to insure their transaction.

Generally, there are two main types of title searching, a full coverage search and limited coverage search; other types include non-insured reports and foreclosure guarantee search.

Fast, courteous, and personal service. Reasonable fees and great turn around time for all kinds of title searches. One Call Does It All. Call us: 508.872.8282

Our Massachusetts Title Search and Real Estate Closing Attorneys represents individuals and businesses throughout Massachusetts, the greater Boston area, Metro West, the North Shore and the South Shore, in communities such as Acton Agawam Amherst Andover Arlington Attleboro Barnstable Belmont Beverly Billercia Boston Braintree Bridgewater Brockton Brookline Burlington Cambridge Canton Chelmsford Chelsea Chicopee Danvers Dartmouth Dedham Dracut Easton Everett Fall River Falmouth Fitchburg Framingham Gloucester Haverhill Holyoke Lawrence Leominster Lexington Lowell Lynn Malden Marlborough Medford Melrose Metheun Milford Milton Natick Needham New Bedford Newton North Andover North Attleboro North Reading Norwood Peabody Pittsfield Plymouth Quincy Randolph Revere Salem Saugus Shrewsbury Somerville Springfield Stoughton Taunton Tewksbury Waltham Watertown Wellesley Westfield West Springfield Weymouth Woburn Worcester.

A title search is an examination of all public records that involve title to a specific property. The search is conducted to verify that there are no liens or other claims against the property other than those scheduled to be paid off by a new loan or a purchase money mortgage and/or subordinated by a new loan. A title search also confirms that all former owners have formally given up their ownership rights to the property.

Recording fees are “fees” that are paid to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the “privilege” of recording documents that relate to real estate transactions. Some of the recording fees are as follows:

Deed $125.00
Mortgage $175.00
Discharge of a Mortgage $75.00
Declaration of Homestead $35.00

To protect possibly the most important investment you’ll ever make- the investment in real estate.

A lender goes to great lengths to minimize the risk of lending money for the loan it makes on real estate. It checks on the borrower’s credit to determine their ability to repay the loan; and the lender seeks assurance that the quality of the title to the property it is loaning money on meets with the lender’s satisfaction; and that a title insurance policy protecting the lender’s loan will be issued to it by a title insurance company.

The loan policy does not protect the borrower.

The loan policy protects only the lender against loss, not the borrower. The borrower for a purchase loan can obtain title insurance to protect their own interests, and it protects the borrower for as long as they own the property. The borrower can obtain from the closing attorney a list of the matters that an owner’s title insurance policy covers.

Title insurance is issued after an examination of the public records. But even the most thorough search cannot absolutely assure that no title defects are present, despite the knowledge and experience of professional title examiners. In addition to matters shown by public records, other title problems may exist that cannot be found in a search.

A few of such title problems that can cause loss of title or create an encumbrance on title are:

False impersonation of the true owner of the property
Forged deeds, releases of wills
Undisclosed or missing heirs
Instruments executed under invalid or expired power of attorney
Mistakes in recording legal documents
Misinterpretations of wills
Deeds by persons of unsound mind
Deeds by minors
Fraud