About Our Work

Tract Search
Title Report
Abstracts of Title
Real Estate Purchase and Refinance Closings
Title Insurance


Tract Search^TOP

This report lists all documents filed on a certain piece of real property from the date you request forward, searches all county, state and federal tax liens and judgments and supplies tax information.


Title Report^TOP

This report lists all open mortgages or liens against the real property for the past 40 years, searches all county, state and federal tax liens and judgments and supplies tax information.


Abstracts of Title^TOP

An Abstract of title is condensed history of the title to land, consisting of a summary of the material portions of conveyances and other instruments which in any manner affect the title to the land described in the Abstract.

It is NOT the title to the property covered by the Abstract of title, neither does it necessarily show the ownership thereof. It is put together in a compact form so that evidence of ownership may be easily determined from an examination. It should be taken to an Attorney-at-Law for examination and a written opinion obtained from him as to the condition of title.

For the information of this, and other abstracts, an examination of the following records in the following offices is made:

Office of the County Recorder
Office of the Court Administrator, Ninth Judicial District
Office of the Treasurer
Office of the Auditor


There are now on file and of record in the office of the County Recorder of Hubbard County over 300,000 instruments (the first of which was filed on April 1, 1887), all of which have been indexed to the 374,657.12 acres of land located within the boundaries of Hubbard County.


Real Estate Purchase and Refinance Closings^TOP

We assist buyers, sellers, real estate agents and mortgage lenders with the paperwork process of a real estate transaction. The following items are part of our services:

Set closing date and time suitable for all parties
Contact all parties involved
Obtain an updated abstract of title
Obtain attorney's title opinions
Obtain the required title insurance commitment
Retrieve corrective documents
Order payoff figures of mortgages, liens, etc.
Obtain all releases necessary to create good title
Prepare HUD 1 settlement statement
Follow the conditions of the purchase agreement
Follow the conditions of the mortgage loan papers
Collect "good funds"
Obtain signatures of buyers and sellers
Record all documents with the proper offices
Disburse all closing funds



Title Insurance^TOP

Coverage Beyond That of an Attorney's Title Opinion

The following is an excerpt from "The Title Insurance White Pages", published by the American Land Title Association, of which Hubbard County Abstract Co., Inc. is a member.

Title insurance offers substantially greater protection than what is attainable with a legal opinion alone.

Title insurance for the client resolves this dilemma, by a guaranty of financial indemnity from a licensed, regulated corporate insurer with perpetual existence and adequate capital and reserves for responding to claims.

And, title insurance safeguards against those numerous potential hazards that a client may face, which cannot be covered by an opinion. These are sometimes called non-record or off-record risks.

The protection of title insurance extends far beyond risk that may be incurred by a real estate purchaser as a result of any error or negligence by the attorney performing search and examination. Among the many risks covered by title insurance that would not be protected against by the attorney's malpractice insurance (since the potential claim would not have arisen as a result of attorney's mistake or negligence) are:

Mistakes in the interpretation of wills or other legal documents
Impersonation of the owner
Forged deeds, mortgage releases, etc.
Instruments executed under fabricated or expired Power of Attorney
Deed delivered after death of grantor or grantee with or without consent of grantor
Undisclosed or missing heirs
Wills not probated
Deeds or mortgages by those mentally incompetent, or minor age, or supposedly single but actually married
Birth or adoption of children after date of will
Mistakes in the public records
Lack of jurisdiction over persons in legal proceedings affecting title
Falsified records
Confusion from similarity of names
Transfer of title through foreclosure sale where requirements of foreclosure statute have not been strictly met


Common Misconceptions in Title Insurance

There is no need for homebuyer to purchase an owner's title policy if a lender's title policy is being issued in a transaction.

Fact

The interest of the lender and the owner in a real estate transaction is substantially different. It therefore is a hazardous assumption for the owner to expect protection from the lender's title policy that guarantees the validity, enforceability and priority of the lender's lien on property concerned.

Because the lender's policy is written in the amount of the loan, the owner cannot look for protection of his/her equity in the real estate. If there were a total failure of title and only lender's title coverage were issued, the lender would be covered for the full amount of its investment - while the buyer would have no coverage at all.

As the loan is paid off, the amount of the lender's policy gradually diminishes until there is no coverage remaining. At the same time, the amount of the owner's uninsured equity steadily increases.

If a claim is made against the title of the uninsured owner, he/she will face the cost of defense. The lender's policy of the lender will not pay for defending against an attack on the owner's title.