My parents signed a real estate contract in NM in 1962. The warranty deed and title policy were handed to them but the deed was never recorded. They divorced and used a quitclaim deed to assign rights to my mother, which was recorded. The 1969 release from mortgage was recorded. Last week's title search found nothing and could not prove my mother's ownership. She wants to sell the house to my sister. I assume this can't be done until it is proven my mother in fact owns the house. How can this be done? If I take the case to an attorney, what information do I ned to gather? And at what cost? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Try the bank, get a copy of the release of the lien. Who does the county clerk say the property belongs to?

You need to deal with the county clerk to straighten this out.

Hello wch:

I think you are absolutely going to need the services of a real estate attorney to straighten this out.

In terms of cost and what you'll need?? Make a few calls. Shop around - it's free. If you find an attorney you like, he'll tell you exactly what he charges and what to bring to the appointment. Maybe, you can find one who will wait till the house is sold for payment.

Be warned - it's not going to be cheap - nor should it. When shopping for lawyers, it's often best NOT to hire beginners.

excon

She can sell it, if the buyer accepts her deed she will give them.

This will be a issue in the deeds, and future buyers may have issues, but she can sell it on a deed to someone who is willing to accept it.
A quick claim deed does not even warrant that you own the house, it only says you are giving what ownership you have in the property over to the other party, and you can sign them a limited warranty deed.

Or you can sell them the house under a warranty deed if you are willing to give them a warranty on the deed. So if the deed latter proves no good you pay them back.

You would have to ( to clear the title completely) go back to the original owners and have them sign a release, or at least their heir,

In general what can happen at this point, is the original owners could claimi they still own the house. If they had as stated above a mortgage when they bought the house, the bank would have had a copy of the deed.

Go back to the original title insurance company if you don't have the original deed... if it is NOT recorded, then it should be somewhere and if it is lost, then the title company should have a duplicate to base their insurance policy on.

Thanks much, everyone. The various perspectives have been most helpful in figuring out what I don't know and what to do next. Looks like a call to some lawyers...

A bit more info:
There is nothing of record at the county clerk's office except the QD. The original WD was given to my parents and was lost before being recorded. In addition, the original title policy was lost. To make matters worse, the original real estate contract was through a now-defunct savings and loan. All I have is a release from the mortgage dating from 1969.

I would love to know what process a lawyer goes through to reconstruct a title.

Thanks again!

Scott,
The county clerk was at a complete loss for what to do except hire a lawyer. The real problem is that the title ownership will have to be settled at some point so that a title company will guarantee it.
Bill

First, you didn't answer one question which is who does the County show the property owner as? They have to show someone as owner. How else do they bill taxes?

This is just a guess on my part. But what I suspect the lawyer will do is first try to find the previous owner to see if they have a copy of the deed to your parents. Barring that, they will probably have to file legal notices in local papers of the assigning of title to your mom. Unless someone comes forward, in a set amount of time, with proof that they own the property, you will then be able to file a document with the county giving your mom clear title so a sale can be consummated.

My mom is listed as owner with the county and has paid taxes the entire time.

Originally, my parents financed the house through the builder, who went backrupt 6 months later. The REC through the S&L came almost 2 yrs later, after the court battle.

If your Mother can remember the name of the closing attorney or the Realtor involved that would be a good place to start. The attorney was responsible for recording the Deed. He should be able to do the
Research in his office. It would help to have the name of the seller.

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