Process to obtain and verification of current ownership records and conduct title search in India

Buying a piece of land comes with multitudinous benefits. It might be your house of dreams, equity, or merely a source of ready cash. But not following due diligence and overlooking the risk evaluation while investing your hard-earned money and time to buy a property may result in unnecessary legal complications and leave you with the land bearing encumbrances, unresolved tax-related issues or even defective Title. Therefore, it is always advisable to do a legal check on the Title of the land and a thorough title search before purchasing the same to avoid future fraud or legal dispute.

Summary-

1. Conducting a Title search is extremely important for property owners.
2. Title search report comprises the historical records of the property as well as its transaction history of sale.
3. Obtaining the title search or ownership records can be done legally through property lawyers.

Title Search: its definition and objective

“Title” in this expression means “being entitled to” or “right to own something”. And “search” refers to “inspection”. Together, it is a term used legally to connote “the studying/inspection of the title”. It includes studying such deeds, including sale deed, partition deed, gift deed or any Wills etc., or any other related document of the property, to achieve any of the following objectives:

• To know the rightful owner(s) of the said property or maybe to ensure that the land truly belongs to the person who is selling it.
• To know if the said land is free from encumbrances, loans, mortgages, tax etc.
• To know the Government price and the market price of the land.
• To know/ensure other particulars of the said land, including exact location, area/size of such property and the type of land, i.e., Agricultural land, Residential land or commercial.
• To inquire if the said person has any share in the property.
• If needed, investigate the history of former owners and how the property has devolved upon the current owner.
• Ensure that the land is safe to purchase and free from all legal complications.

Process to obtain the title/ownership records

Unlike the earlier times when land records were written down and paper records were stockpiled; the present era of digitization, backed up by The Digital India Land Records Modernization Program, launched in 2008 by the Government of India, reformed and upgraded the methods and techniques to keep such voluminous land records at one’s fingertips. But, be that as it may, a few states are yet in the process of complete digitization of such records as difficulties including insufficient data, unregistered data, mismanagement of the already existing stored information etc., have also come to light.

The service of Title Search is usually undertaken by the property lawyers or the legal firms dealing with property matters. However, the title search Report is customized as per one’s requirement and revolves around the scope and the purpose of conducting such research. Therefore, the kind of documents that are needed to be scrutinized may more often than not differ from case to case. However, majorly the Search includes the following steps:

• The first and foremost step is to review the facts and documents already known comprehensively.
• The second step is to take the research a little further by procuring certain documents online and contacting concerned departments for the property.
• After assessing the procured documents, a Title Search Report is made addressing the queries/ doubts and thus meeting the said purpose of such research.
• However, further researching, obtaining documents, contacting concerned departments, and evaluating such paperwork are complied with to ensure the chain of ownership.

Conclusion

Title Search is a necessity and an unavoidable procedure that one must follow whether one is supposed to engage in leasing a property or involve oneself in a sale-purchase transaction. Remember- “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”!