Is a current owner search a reasonable search for a buyer to conduct when buying a property, even when the current owner did not gain title through a warranty deed arising from an arms-length transaction?  A Federal District Court judge thinks so, agreeing with a bankruptcy court judge that came to the same conclusion.

In paying claims, a title insurer can, in certain circumstances, wait for the outcome of a foreclosure or other litigation in which its insured may collect money.  In other circumstances, the title insurer has to go ahead and pay the claim even when there is pending litigation that could reduce the loss of its insured.

As a buyer in a real estate transaction, you may deal with several persons whose profession title includes the word "agent".  Only some of the persons will be your agent, however-- and whether a particular person is your agent or not will have a profound effect on your liability for their actions if they screw up.

In Maryland, if a refinance mortgage is for more than the original mortgage, it will be assigned the priority of the original mortgage if an intervening lien is not discovered due to the lender's negligence, but only for the amount of the original mortgage, and the excess amount will be assigned a lien position behind the intervening lien.  But what happens if the intervening lien has an uncertain or erroneous amount listed?  Will the lien for the excess amount of the refinance loan be behind the actual amount of the intervening lien, or the erroneous amount?

Can you have a property declared free and clear of an old but validly recorded easement you knew about when you bought the property?  Generally, the answer is no, but in certain states, you apparently can, in certain circumstances.

A survey exception in a title insurance policy can exclude coverage even when the dimensions of the property are less than stated due to an out-conveyance of a parcel that was missed by the title insurer.

Courts will often refuse to help those who do not help themselves when they are capable of doing so.  So it was recently for a refinance lender who was notified that their mortgage had a bad legal description but did nothing to correct it until it was in jeopardy of being wiped out in a bankruptcy.