Closings glossary
Title
Legal ownership of real property and the rights that come with it. A deed is evidence of a transfer of title, not title itself.
What does title to a property mean?
Quick Answer
The full definition
Legal ownership of real property and the rights that come with it. A deed is evidence of a transfer of title, not title itself.
Which related terms should you know?
These are the terms that come up alongside title in the same file.
- Deed
- The instrument that conveys real property. Signature, acknowledgment and delivery make it effective between the parties, while recording is what protects it against later purchasers.
- Chain of title
- The sequence of recorded conveyances of a property, from an earlier known owner to the present one. Gaps and defective links in the chain are what a title search is designed to find.
- Fee simple
- Ownership of land held indefinitely and freely transferable, subject only to recorded encumbrances and to government powers such as taxation, zoning and condemnation.
- Marketable title
- Title a reasonable buyer would accept, free of defects that would expose that buyer to litigation. Most New York contracts require the seller to convey it at closing.
- Title insurance
- Insurance against loss from title defects that existed before the policy date. New York premiums come from a filed rate schedule, so the figure is calculated rather than negotiated.
Where does title come up in a New York City closing?
A Brooklyn buyer holds a recorded deed from a seller who never inherited the property cleanly, so the deed exists and good title does not.
What else should you read before closing?
Questions this raises
- What is title insurance?Title insurance covers defects in a property's past: old liens, recording errors, forged deeds, undisclosed heirs. How the coverage works in New York.
- Do I need an owner's title policy if my lender already requires one?A lender's policy protects the bank, not you, and ends when the loan is paid. What an owner's policy adds on a New York purchase, and what it costs...
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Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.