Title defects are any threats to a property owner’s right to fully claim their property.

1. Common Title
Defects

2. A CPA and attorney residing in Mt. Sterling, Illinois, Heidi Scott
is a private legal practitioner running her own practice. Heidi
Scott is also the owner of Schuyler Brown Land Title, also in Mt.
Sterling, Illinois, where she performs real estate title
examinations to identify defects.
Title defects are any threats to a property owner’s right to fully
claim their property. There are many types of title defects. The
most common include:

3. Public record errors
Officials at public land offices can make clerical and filing
errors with a particular deed. For example, they can misspell
a person’s name, creating doubt about a property’s true
ownership.

4. Liens
These are claims on a property by a third party. They often
come about because an owner owes money. For example,
when an owner takes a loan secured by the home, the
lender may place a lien on the property if the loan is in
default. There is also a mechanic’s lien placed against a
property when a person performs labor to improve the
property but is not paid. Even though these debts do not
belong to the new home owner, they will still impede their
ability to sell the property.

5. Forgeries
Sometimes, people who intend to commit fraud file forged
documents in public land records, creating liens on a
property or clouding its rightful ownership. These criminal
actions can negatively affect a rightful owner’s claim to their
property.

6. Encumbrances
This is a broad term referring to impediments on a property
owner’s right to exclusively use their entire property as they
wish. An example of an encumbrance is an easement which
gives a third party like a government agency the right to
access part of the property for a specific purpose. Other
types of encumbrances are encroachments and deed
restrictions.