How to run a land title search before you buy.
Where the records live, how to trace a deed chain backwards, and how to spot the liens, easements and severed rights that quietly decide what a parcel is worth.
Start at the assessor, not the listing
Look up the parcel number in the county assessor's record. Confirm the owner name, deeded acreage, assessed value and tax status. Compare the acreage against the county GIS boundary — mismatches are common and meaningful.
Move to the recorder or register of deeds
This is where the actual instruments live: deeds, mortgages, liens, easements and restrictions. Search by owner name and by legal description, because indexing errors hide records under one but not the other.
Trace the deed chain backwards
Work back at least two transfers. Each deed should convey from the prior grantee. A gap, a quitclaim from a stranger, or an estate transfer with no probate reference is a break in the chain worth resolving before closing.
Read every easement in full
Note who benefits, what it permits and where it runs. Utility, access, drainage and conservation easements all restrict use differently, and a recorded access easement is often the only thing keeping a parcel from being landlocked.
Check for severed rights
Mineral, timber and water rights can be severed and sold separately, sometimes decades ago. A prior reservation clause in an old deed still binds today's buyer.
Confirm taxes and judgments
Unpaid property taxes, tax-sale certificates, mechanic's liens and money judgments against the owner can all attach to the parcel. Check the treasurer and the court index, not just the recorder.
Title search questions
Can I do a title search myself?
Yes. Most counties publish assessor data online and many have searchable recorder indexes. A self-run search is enough to screen a parcel; a title company's search plus an owner's policy is what protects you at closing.
How much does a land title search cost?
Doing it yourself usually costs only copy fees. A title company search typically runs a few hundred dollars, and an owner's title insurance policy is priced off the purchase price.
What is the difference between a title search and title insurance?
A search is research into the public record. Title insurance is a policy that pays if something the search missed — a forged deed, an unrecorded heir, an indexing error — surfaces later. You want both.
Vacant land title search: do-it-yourself worksheet
Use this worksheet to run a vacant land title search yourself. Fill in each box before you order a survey or title insurance. The goal is to find the questions that would make a title company pause — then answer them before you close.
Download a printable version in the full 47-point checklist PDF.
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Related reading: the 47-point land buying checklist and how to buy land.