What’s on Title? What You MUST Know as a Real Estate Sales Professional

What does “what’s on title” mean to you? It could mean who is on title, it could mean what is owed against the title, or it could mean many other things. As a real estate sales professional it is important to perform due diligence to ensure that you have the complete and accurate picture as it relates to your client and the property being purchased or sold.

When representing a buyer or seller there are a couple of fundamental things that you will want to know and verify. 

Commission is almost always paid by the seller. The seller may or may not be your client. Whether you represent the seller or a buyer looking to purchase a property, where the seller is represented by a different agent you will want to validate some details: 

Who owns the home? You will want to double check that all homeowners are listed on the deal and none have been omitted. If the seller is your client you will want to verify that all people who are listed on title have signed on as your clients. 

Is there enough equity in the home to pay all encumbrances and real estate commissions? This is important because you will want to ensure that the client doesn’t have mortgages or liens that consume all of the equity in the home – or there won’t be anything to pay you. Accessing a tool that will show you mortgages registered on the property can be very helpful at identifying these types of potential issues. 

With the above 2 examples, you can access home ownership information and information about registered mortgages 1 of 2 ways:

1.      By generating a Property Details Report in GeoWarehouse which will show home ownership information as well as registered mortgages.

2.      By purchasing a Parcel Register* in the GeoWarehouse store which will show home ownership information as well as all mortgages registered, liens or other encumbrances, as of the date of the search.

In the case of only representing a buyer who is not selling a home – it may be a good idea to ask your client if they have been pre-approved for a mortgage. Before looking for a home the client should have already looked at mortgage options and should know how they qualify for to borrow. If they have not already looked at their mortgage options they may waste your time and theirs looking at properties that they may not be able to pay for in terms of mortgage payments or may not even qualify to finance. If they have not been pre-approved for a mortgage you may want to consider referring them to a mortgage broker who you know and trust to determine their eligibility for mortgage financing before you start house shopping.

At the end of the day you and your client are best served when you have the information necessary for the closing to go smoothly, as well as to ensure that you get paid and avoid potential fraud.

Save time and resources by doing your due diligence. Visit GeoWarehouse today to find out how you can verify information quickly and up-to-date, or call us at 1-866-237-5937.

*An official product of the Ontario government pursuant to provincial land registration statutes.