The title search report is considered one of the most important documents to be obtained by the buyer prior to buying a property as it provides essential information on the legal status of the purchased property be it a piece of land, a factory, residential building or a commercial office space.
The title search report helps to secure the buyer prior to singing the final contract with the seller. Normally, such a report would include: a brief description of the property, ownership and chain-of-title, price of land, relevant licenses and permits, registrations, ownership rights transfer procedures, purpose of land allocation, and also, the lawyer's opinion and recommendation with regards to the 'goodness' of the property at stake.
Our law firm conducts many title search reports for individuals and companies in Egypt and these reports help our clients to perform the necessary due diligence when they are considering to buy and also to avoid the risk of fraud or legal issues associated with the ownership transfer or obtainment of necessary registration documents.
The title search report in Egypt is similar to the most of reports conducted in many other countries, but the research is done manually as the lawyer goes and searches for the property related information and documents in the Notary Public, City Development Authority, Tax Authority and Industrial Development Authority.
The main information that can be found in the Title Search Report is as follows:
A) Property information :
This includes current owner for the property, the address of the property and the person assigned to sell or to deal with the property.
B) Property description:
Include information of the size, license number and structural percentage of the property.
C) Property price :
Includes the current price for the property, excellency percentage and installment status (if any)
D) Purpose of allocation:
The purpose of allocation contains information related to the assigned purpose of the real estate whether it is residential, commercial or in case of a plot of land with a plant, the current license granted for the type of manufacturing. Also, it includes legal requirements for amendment/change of such a purpose.
E) Chain-of-Title:
This section outlines all owners in chronological order and supporting legal status which allows the buyer to track the ownership transfer history of the property and the legitimate current owner of the real estate.
F) Ownership Rights Transfer:
This section provides a clear description of the ownership transfer procedures and relevant authorities. The section allows the buyer to understand the procedure and documents which would be required for the abdication of ownership rights.
G) Legal Opinion and Recommendation:
Finally, this is where the buyer receives legal opinion of the lawyer with recommendations with regards to the property and its 'goodness' to buy from legal stance. And, particularities are outlined in case there are difficulties in ownership transfer, or change of license, or change of activity. The legal solution herein is normally provided.
The title search report is a brief legal report on the property to assure the buyer there are no issues with the property being purchase such as mortgages, installments, pledges or third party owner or conflict between the authority and the owner of the peace of property.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.