title-search-and-examination

name	title-search-and-examination
description	Run the title search and examination: define the search period, trace the chain of title to a reliable root, confirm the current vesting, and inventory every lien, encumbrance, easement, and prior exception. Chain of title is examined, not assumed; every underwriter/jurisdiction specific is verify-at-use.

Title Search & Examination

Turn a raw search into an examined picture of what is on the title: who owns it, in what capacity, and subject to what.

Advisory, not legal or underwriting advice. Search periods, marketability standards, and what constitutes a defect vary by jurisdiction and underwriter — every specific here is [verify-at-use]. No PII.

The workflow

1. Set the search scope. Establish the search period and root of title per jurisdiction/underwriter standard ([verify-at-use]) and pull the current owner (grantor/grantee), tax, judgment, and lien records.
2. Trace the chain of title. Follow every conveyance from the search period back to the root. Confirm each deed conveyed what the next assumed, and that names, marital status, and entity authority match across links.
3. Confirm the current vesting. Who holds title, in what tenancy or entity, and with what authority to convey.
4. Inventory encumbrances. Open mortgages/deeds of trust, judgments, tax liens, mechanic's liens, HOA/CC&R obligations, easements, leases, and prior policy exceptions — list each with its status.
5. Flag defects. Chain gaps, name variances, defective acknowledgments, missing releases, probate/divorce/entity issues — each becomes a requirement, a cure, or an exception (see ../commitment-and-curative/SKILL.md).

What "examined, not assumed" means

Do	Don't
Trace every link back to a reliable root	Assume the prior policy covered it
Confirm names/authority match across deeds	Ignore a name variance as "probably the same person"
Account for every open lien explicitly	Silently drop a lien you assume was paid
Escalate an unclear defect to the underwriter	Insure past your delegated authority

Read metrics

Signal	What it tells you
Search turnaround time	Whether the first pipeline stage is the bottleneck
Defect/curative rate per file	How much curative load the pipeline carries
Chain gaps found at exam vs at closing	Whether examination is catching defects early enough

See also

• Traverse the clear a title exception tree in ../../knowledge/title-escrow-decision-trees.md.
• Next step: ../commitment-and-curative/SKILL.md; the closing side: ../escrow-closing-and-disbursement/SKILL.md.
• Best practice: ../../best-practices/chain-of-title-is-examined-not-assumed.md.
• Dated exception/recording reference: ../../knowledge/title-escrow-reference-2026.md.