Reply #23: real property is not usually 'titled', like automobiles . [View All]

real property is deeded and banks don't automatically become grantees.

let this be a lesson . . . make sure you keep your title insurance policy in a safe place. it's not a bad idea to make sure your title company hasn't gone out of business, either. as for the prior mortgage, florida law voids a mortgage after so many years so that if it never got released in the public records, it becomes void.

your second lesson is to make sure any liens on the property when you bought it get released/satisfied. most states now have their public records on the 'net. as a real estate paralegal, my transaction isn't done when the closing is done but only after i see all seller liens have been released. if they don't get recorded, i stay on the lender until it happens. as for liens on prior prior owners, that's why you have title insurance (see lesson one above). that policy insures clear title to the property and would have to pay the bank, if there was a valid unpaid debt.

ellen fl