What is a Title?
January 5, 2017
When a polite old gentleman at a reception asked a charming young lady from a title company, “What is a title?”, she stammered and replied, “That’s something you’re supposed to get when you buy land.” Strange as it may seem, she hit the nail on the head twice in one short breath, – once when she said “supposed to” and again when she, said that a title is what you get when you buy land. One of the first things a person should learn about real estate titles is that they can be uncertain and that many times when a person buys land he does not get title to it like he is “supposed to”. While it may seem a distinction without a difference, it is true that what you actually get when you buy land is the title and not the land itself. No one can pick up a piece of land and hand it to you. You can’t put it in your pocket or carry it away. All that you get is the title, and the title gives you the right to enter upon the land and to possess, occupy, use, control, enjoy and dispose of the land.