The official record that details the ownership history of a piece of property.
Requested by the lender, usually dating back a minimum of twelve months, a chain of title is n analysis of the transfers of title to a certain property over the a period of time.
The chain of title is required by most lenders today to discourage fraudulent flipping of property. Chain of title shows who has owned a particular and for how long. Length of ownership identifies the possibility of a fraudulent flip transaction, when the length of ownership is for a very short period(i.e. 1 day or 2 weeks) the potential for fraud increases.
The chain of title also is necessary to determine what dates , various liens were put onto a property. This is done in order to determine the order of priority of any one lien -vs- another lien of the same legal priority.
Chain of title is a history of all documents affecting and transferring title of a property, beginning with the original transfer from government to private ownership, and ending with the latest document transferring title. Additional documents recorded in the chain include conveyances, liens, and encumbrances.
