72°
Congratulations! Youve seen tons of houses, found one you love, negotiated a price, and youve secured your mortgage. Now youve just got to get through that pile of paperwork your closing attorney has assembled for your signature.
Phil Toohey practices real estate law in New Canaan and says that one of his priorities is making sure there is a clean title. When you buy a house, he explains, your rights in the property are known as the title.
Before a new owner can take possession of a property, the closing attorney researches the title, usually through the services of a title search company. If youve ever been to your Town Hall and seen people busily studying the land records and making copies, youre probably observing title searches in action. The title searcher takes the property address and searches back at least forty years, says Toohey. The search verifies that all sales and purchases were recorded correctly and that there are no encumbrances on the title, such as a lien placed on the property by a creditor. Most titles come back clean, allowing the sale to proceed.
But what happens if theres a problem? I have a property that were working on at the moment which could take years to fix, says Toohey. Years ago a member of a family deeded an interest in a property to a family friend who subsequently left the country and has become untraceable. The family heirs are unable to sell because another person is listed on the title. Until we can find that person, or his descendants, we cannot remove his name from the title, Toohey adds.
When Phil Toohey isnt guiding homeowners through legal intricacies, he spends as much time as he can with his three kids. I coached all of them in basketball, he says. Recently, hes been driving his thirteen-year old, Michael, to bass fishing competitions. Hes amazing, says Toohey. Michael has won three state championships. I dont know how he does it. We can be sitting next to each other, two feet apart, and hes pulling in fish after fish while I get nothing. If we switch spots, he still catches fish, he laughs. Sounds like Michael might be a fish whisperer, if there is such a thing.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
