The chain of title is a clear and unbroken chronological record of ownership of a specific property. Tracing the chain of title simply means tracing successive transfers of title, beginning with the current deed and going back an appropriate number of years. Each owner is linked to the previous owner and the subsequent owner through deeds, forming a chain of title as recorded in public records.
A gap in the title string creates uncertainty, known as a title cloud, also called a title color. A title cloud could be something simple. For example, Sue Jones buys a house; she gets married and is now Sue Smith. When she sells the house, the grantor’s name on the deed is Sue Smith. This creates a break in the title string.
A silent title action, also called a silent title action, may be required to close missing links and remove the cloud in the title. This is a trial presented to determine and solve problems of instruments that transmit a particular terrain. The purpose of this lawsuit is to clear up a particular, known claim, title defect, or perceived defect. To close the gap and clear the cloud over title, the court can issue a quitclaim deed or writ of writ.
A script that falls outside the title chain is said to be a wild script. Buyers and lenders are not required to take constructive notice of wild facts. For example, Ann buys a house and records the deed to it. She later sells the house to Bob, who does not record the deed to her. Bob sells the land to Curt, and Curt immediately records the deed to it. Now there is a break in the title chain. The log shows only Ann’s handwriting and Curt’s handwriting, but the link between them (Bob’s handwriting) is missing, so Curt’s handwriting is a wild handwriting.
Knowing that Bob never registered his deed, Ann decides to sell the same property a second time. This time she sells it to Dan. Dan doesn’t know about Bob or Curt, so he has no reason to search the dealer/licensor index for those names. He looks up Ann’s name in the index, and from what he can see in the record, she still owns the property. So, Dan buys the house. Dan has no constructive notice of Curt’s interest in the property, because Curt’s deed was outside of the chain of title. So this is why it’s so important to understand chain of title before buying a home and why lenders require clean title to be insured by a reputable title company.
