History on Land Title

[HeatherVickar]

Does anyone do a historical land title search before they purchase a property? And, if so, how much importance do you put on it? I was seriously considering a property that my realtor did a search on, and we discovered that in 2006 Capital Health issued an "Unfit for Human Habitation" order. Most of the deficiencies, such as electrical, finishing, garbage and smoke alarms have been corrected with a complete renovation. The one that pushed me over the edge was the structural - vertical cracks in the foundation. The current listing states that the property has a new foundation, but I didn`t want to take the chance.

I`m just trying to understand whether a historical search is necessary and/or whether people usually do them, or not.

Many thanks,
Heather Vickar

 

[GarthChapman]

I think your example answers your question for you beautifully.

Get the Historical Title Report for sure!

By the way, I`m not sure I would be pushed over the edge based on the foundation issue. If everything else looks good you may want to consider an offer and then have a thourough and Professional Building Inspection done.

 

[RedlineBrett]

I agree with Garth here - if you proceed with an offer and have a foundation expert (not just a property inspector!) have a look at the foundation you stand a good chance of the seller recognizing the deficiency and fixing it for you if one even exists.

Pretty tough for them to ask you to do it in this market!

QUOTE (GarthChapman @ Jul 11 2008, 03:41 PM) I think your example answers your question for you beautifully.

Get the Historical Title Report for sure!

By the way, I`m not sure I would be pushed over the edge based on the foundation issue. If everything else looks good you may want to consider an offer and then have a thourough and Professional Building Inspection done.

 

[HeatherVickar]

Thank you very much for your replies. Your insight has been very helpful. Although I let the place go (I found a better one), I appreciate the comments and will keep them stored for future use.

Heather

 

[BarryMcGuire]

Historical title searches can be very useful. They aren`t done regularly but if you have any reason to wonder about the history of a property, then , make it part of your diligence.
On the particular issue of a property formerly being unfit for human habitation , my experience is that before the order can be lifted, a very thorough inspection is done. There is no allowing half baked repairs. So, by all means get it inspected but knowing the history and the rigorous fix up required, you might get a negotiating edge.

cheers

Barry

 

[YLCorporation]

QUOTE (BarryMcGuire @ Jul 17 2008, 06:02 AM) Historical title searches can be very useful. They aren`t done regularly but if you have any reason to wonder about the history of a property, then , make it part of your diligence.
On the particular issue of a property formerly being unfit for human habitation , my experience is that before the order can be lifted, a very thorough inspection is done. There is no allowing half baked repairs. So, by all means get it inspected but knowing the history and the rigorous fix up required, you might get a negotiating edge.

cheers

Barry


Can someone tell me how i get a historical inspections? Where do i go? Can i do it myself? Is there a short cut to do all this quickly?

Thanks

 

[mrinvestor]

QUOTE (YLCorporation @ Jul 22 2008, 05:48 PM) Can someone tell me how i get a historical inspections? Where do i go? Can i do it myself? Is there a short cut to do all this quickly?

Thanks

Hi Lynn,

Find your nearest Land Titles Office and request a Historical Title search. They will ask you for the legal description of the property and how far you want to go back (e.g. when it was built in 1977). The cost will be based on how many titles they have to pull so they won`t be able to quote you an exact figure. I believe the cost is pretty reasonable though.

Trevor

 

[YLCorporation]

QUOTE (mrinvestor @ Jul 22 2008, 06:11 PM) Hi Lynn,

Find your nearest Land Titles Office and request a Historical Title search. They will ask you for the legal description of the property and how far you want to go back (e.g. when it was built in 1977). The cost will be based on how many titles they have to pull so they won`t be able to quote you an exact figure. I believe the cost is pretty reasonable though.

Trevor


Thanks Trevor.

 

[GarthChapman]

QUOTE (YLCorporation @ Jul 22 2008, 04:48 PM) Can someone tell me how i get a historical inspections? Where do i go? Can i do it myself? Is there a short cut to do all this quickly?

Thanks


You can do this online for $5.00 per title. Log in as a guest and have your VISA card ready. It is quick and painless.

For REMA Users this webpage is listed in the Toolkit under `Links to Helpful Websites"

https://alta.registries.gov.ab.ca/spinii/logon.aspx

 

[YLCorporation]

QUOTE (GarthChapman @ Jul 22 2008, 09:21 PM) You can do this online for $5.00 per title. Log in as a guest and have your VISA card ready. It is quick and painless.

For REMA Users this webpage is listed in the Toolkit under `Links to Helpful Websites"

https://alta.registries.gov.ab.ca/spinii/logon.aspx


Garth do you have a link for Ontario memebers. How much will it cost us in Ontario.

Thanks

 

[GarthChapman]

Sorry, I don`t but I`m sure a REIN member somewhere will have the Ontario Title search website, and if they post it here we`ll add it to REMA`s Links screen.

 

[greg12]

This website http://www.csrs.ca/ interfaces with all the provincial registries to register and search for land titles, liens etc. Their clients are mostly financial institutions, dealerships, and small business. Both banks I have worked at heavily used theirservices. They offer a "post search" service used to catch vendors/debtors who try to pull a fast one by quickly using the property as a collateral on multiple loans.