Clients ask this question regularly! In general, a preliminary title report reflects ownership, liens/encumbrances and other exceptions to title. That information is obtained from documents recorded against a given property address or the assessor’s parcel number (APN). It is important to note that all preliminary title reports, whether obtained through U.S. Title Records or a local title company or title agency are not guaranteed or insured. A title policy must be purchased and it is issued to close a transaction.

The main difference between a Full Chain of Title report and our Preliminary Title Report (aka Complete Records Package) is that the records package includes the current vesting deed whereas the full chain of title includes copies of all transfers with copies of source documents up to 30 years. If you need to go back more than 30 years, please make that request and you will be provided with a quote.

Easements and information related to restrictions will be included if they were recorded against that particular property address. Certain easements (utility easements, for example) are sometimes found in the legal descriptions and other times found in the survey or plot map, depending on the county and the property. In other cases, easements and/or restrictions are statutory or found in documents governing a given subdivision, i.e., Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. Governing documents are indexed differently by the county recorder so they are retrieved separately using our Abstract Service. Many clients are not interested in easements that are not included in the legal description so they are not automatically included in our regular report, and that helps keep the cost down.