 | Jeff Otto is Branch Manager of Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation which is a member of LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc., a premier national provider of title insurance and settlement services. Lawyers Title has been in the local marketplace since 1955. Jeff has been with Lawyers Title for 34 years, the last 24 right here in Wichita. You may contact Jeff at (316) 682-9600 x 201 or by e-mail at jotto@landam.com |
Real Estate
2005-05-01 09:03:00
Difference between title and deed
: What is the difference between a title and a deed?
ANSWER: This can get confusing. Do not confuse the title to real estate or a deed to real estate with a Certifi0cate of Title. A Certificate of Title is issued by the state to show who owns personal property such as an automobile, a boat, a motor home, a motorcycle, etc. It will also show whether or not a lender has a lien on that personal property. Due to the unique nature of real estate, the laws governing the ownership of real estate are totally different. There is no Certificate of Title issued by the state for real property.The "title" to real estate is a little more abstract. A deed is merely evidence of a transfer of an interest in the title to a piece of real estate. Ownership of the "title" to a piece of real estate is determined by examing all of the records at the county courthouse that affect real estate. This includes the deeds, mortgages, tax liens and other documents in the Register of Deeds office. It also includes proceedings in the District Court such as probate proceedings, mortgage foreclosures, quiet title proceedings, partition actions, divorce proceedings, condemnations, judgements, mechanic's liens and other types of actions. If there is a federal court located in the county where the real estate is situated (as we have here in Sedgwick county) we also have to check the records there for anything affecting title to the property such as bankruptcies, forfeitures, foreclosures and others. Only after looking at all of these records can it be determined who owns the "title" to a piece of real property.
