In Rhode Island we call the title insurance companies and they search their database for any policies that were issued on the property. If they never had insurance I do a full search. The problem is when all that is requested is a present owner. This is the scary part. If a property has never been insured and I just do a present owner and then a title company issues a policy based on that search who's to say that the back title is good? Then the next examiner comes along and relies on that policy to go forward. Granted, if there is no policy on a property it's likely that it's been in the same owner or family for more than 40 years (the standard for a full search in Rhode Island). So I would end up doing a full search even for a present owner. This has happened to me. Really the only instance I where I can conceive a problem happening is if someone acquired a property without a mortgage and no title search was done. This would be a rare event here as I don't know any attorney who would close a sale without a title search. The real problem with these "quickie" searches is all the loose ends that never get tied up because no one is doing thorough work.
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