Real Estate Records In The Computer Age
By Mark Walters, Mon Jan 2nd
It wasn't long ago that the records of real property title couldbe found in a collection of huge, thousand page books residingin the office of the county recorder. Now those same records areall electronically stored in a computer database.
Before computers recording a change of title meant tedious paperhandling by both title insurance companies and county recorderemployees. Not any more.
With the advance in technology, more and more companies arerecording documents electronically. It works like this:
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1. The recording department of the title company electronicallyscans the documents that must be recorded. 2. Then the documentsare sent electronically to the county recorder's office...either by way of a private line or the Internet. 3. The countyrecorder receives a notification that the title company has sentdocuments electronically. 4. A county recorder clerk opens theelectronic file, reviews the documents to be sure they are inthe proper form. When the submission for recording is approvedan email is sent to the title company with the instrumentnumber, escrow number, date and time of recording. 5. Afterreceiving that email the title company can inform all parties tothe transaction that the sale has "closed".
Those documents are now a matter of public record. When adocument is recorded it gives "constructive" notice to the worldthat a certain act has occurred. Any one with a claim orinterest in the indicated real property will now be bound by theaction represented by the recorded document. It can only bechallenged by legal action.
The public can easily access the records in the database by thecomputer terminals located in the offices of the countyrecorder. In many counties those records are now available toeveryone through the internet. In those counties you can viewthe records from your office or home computer. For a fee therecorder will print a copy of any recorded document.
In a real estate transaction the deed is recorded, but it israre that any of the other documents related to the transactionwill be placed in the public record.
Computers have truly opened public records to the public. Atleast to those members of the public who will apply the fewminutes needed to learn how easy it is to review the records.
About the author:Mark Walters is a real estate investor who shares his experiencewith free videos at http://www.CashFlowInstitute.com
