What you should do before buying a resell property?

Are you planning to buy a property and wondering if it would be better to buy a new home or an old house? There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a new home, one of that is either to buy a newly constructed home from developer or buy an old property from a family who may have used it years to decades before that.

What to check if you’re buying an old or resell home or property

Authentic “Transfer Certificate of Title”

Getting a “Certified True Copy” of the title from the Register of Deeds is the easiest way to check if the title to the property you are buying is authentic. Ask the seller of the property for a photocopy of the title so that you will the necessary information (title number and the name of the owner) to get a certified true copy of the title from the Register of Deeds.

Clean Title

Make sure that the property is not mortgaged and has no debts. Check at the back of the title with the heading “Encumbrances” and make sure that it is empty if you are told that the title is “clean”. You might find technical description of the property from the front page of the title and the description of the property is continued on the “Encumbrances” page, this is of course all right.

Correct Property on the Title

Land titles don’t have any street name and number to pin point a property, it is a must to validate actual property you are buying matches the technical description on the Transfer Certificate of Title by hiring a Property Surveyor.

Real Owners

Ask for identification papers like passport or driver’s license to make sure you are talking to the real owner.If you can, talk to the neighbors to confirm the identity of the sellers, as well as some history of the property.

Updated Payment of Real Estate Taxes

Ask for a copy of the Tax Declaration and Tax Receipts to confirm that real estate tax payments are up to date.