Chain of title

Timeline of property ownership A chain of title is the sequence of historical transfers of title to a property. It is a valuable tool to identify and document past owners of a property and serves as a property's historical ownership timeline. The "chain" runs from the present owner back to the original owner of the property. In situations where documentation of ownership is important, it is often necessary to reconstruct the chain of title. To facilitate this, a record of title documents may be maintained by a registry office or civil law notary. Chain of title for real property Real estate is one field where the chain of title has considerable significance. In real estate transactions in the United States, insurance companies' issue title insurance based upon the chain of title to the property when it is transferred. Title insurance companies sometimes maintain private title plants that track real estate titles in addition to the official records.[according to whom?] In other cases, the chain of title is established by an abstract of title, sometimes, although not always, certified by an attorney. In the United States, some holders of mortgage debt may be unable to establish chain