Title
The legal right to own and use a property. Title comes with the deed. Problems with title, like unpaid liens or bad prior deeds, can cloud ownership.
Your Room opens on this part of the sale, with the offer and everything before it already ticked.
Organize my saleFree to set up. Pay once when you list: $89 or $189. 7-day refund.
See how it worksWhere this comes up in a sale, and what follows
- Review offers and negotiate (comes before)
Part 1 of 4
Why a seller cares
Title is the right to own the home, and the sale is really a sale of title. Everything in the closing stretch about liens, searches and policies is about proving that right is yours to pass on, clean.
Part 2 of 4
A simple example
You have lived in the home for twelve years and paid the mortgage every month. Title is still checked from the records, because that is where the right lives.
| What can affect title | What it does |
|---|---|
| A recorded lien | Has to be paid or released before title passes clean |
| A bad deed years ago | Clouds title until it is corrected |
| A boundary encroachment | May need a survey and an agreement with the neighbor |
Title is what the records say, and the records are what the buyer's lender reads.
Part 3 of 4
What people get wrong
That living in a home and paying for it settles title. It usually does, but the records have to agree, and sometimes they do not.
Part 4 of 4 · where to read next
Where it appears in the sale
What a definition is, and what it isn't
Keighbor is a software company, not a law firm, brokerage, or tax adviser. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial, or real estate advice about your sale. Your situation may differ. Before acting on a contract, disclosure, title, tax, or pricing question, ask an appropriately licensed professional in your state.
Written and researched by Keighbor Research · drawn from the reference glossary · how we research and check what we publish
In your Room, this word explains itself where it appears.
Your Room defines title in the step you meet it in, beside the document or the date it belongs to. Free to set up, with an agent or on your own.
Organize my saleFree to set up. Pay once when you list: $89 or $189. 7-day refund.