The Two County Haunting of a Missing Deed

Tales from the (Title) Crypt – EP 2

The real estate industry is no stranger to boogie men and fraudsters, but working in title can feel like a ghost hunt at times. Today's tale comes from one of our Stewart Title offices in Virginia.

While the real estate industry has continued to modernize, many counties have records trapped in a time capsule, waiting to be digitized. This makes the title search process a bit more strenuous at times for our folks.

"I have a real estate agent that does a lot of business in rural areas," says Stacy S. "One day, he sent me a contract and when we received the title report back, we were shocked!"

Not only was the property in two different counties, but the title company that did the closing when the sellers bought the property did not record the deed in both counties! This sent a chill down Stacy's spine as this step is crucial and required. The deed was in limbo with only one recording.

But that was not all. Upon closer inspection, Stacy discovered that the two counties had spelled the street names differently. "One end of the street was Crafford Street, and the other end was Crawford Street," recalls Stacy, shivering at the thought of the error.

With this, the Stewart Title team got to work to track down the title company that had recorded the (one) deed and made the mistake. Unfortunately, it was too late. It was no longer in business.

Determined to not let the ghosts delay this closing, Stacy contacted the property sellers to see if they had copies of the paperwork from when they purchased the house all those years ago.

The sellers worked tirelessly, opening box after box in search of any clue that could help correct the mistakes of ghosts of titles past. Finally, after three days of dust diving, Stacy received a phone call and a grainy picture of what appeared to be a deed.

"At last!" Stacy exclaimed. She was ready to celebrate the win until she realized the picture was not the deed, but the copy of it. For those that do not know, a copy of a deed will not work in this case. The original must be in hand to ensure the title transfer. "I called the other county, also in a rural area and without an online presence," says Stacy.

It seemed the fog was beginning to clear. "I called the sellers and told them to meet me at the county clerk’s office the next morning. We were told that we had to have the 'original receipt' from when the deed was recorded or get a letter from ANOTHER city stating that state tax was paid at time of recording," Stacy recalls.

"We left there, got in my car and drove 30 minutes to that city's clerk's office," says Stacy. "We had no time to waste. The person who does their booking leaves for the day at noon sharp!"

Although the booker had left for the day, a friendly attendant informed Stacy and the sellers that, although they were modernizing their processes, their records did not go as far back as when the sellers had originally purchased the property.

"We left feeling defeated," says Stacy. "They wanted to close the next day and now that was not going to happen."

The blue skies were turning grey for our team, but a ray of hope was about to appear.

"To my surprise the wonder lady that was so helpful called first thing the next morning to tell me that a copy of the original receipt was waiting for me up front! I called my agent and seller to update them both, then drove to the second city to pick up the receipt then drove back to the first county so we could provide the receipt and get the deed recorded."

The seller met Stacy to finalize the long journey and was finally able to provide a happy and celebratory closing for the sellers and their real estate agents.

"We took something that was somewhat of a nightmare, worked hard to get done what was required and it paid off for all," says Stacy.

There are many stories like these in the title insurance world. Twists, turns, goblins and ghouls all ready to surprise our team members, but it is thanks to dedicated team members like Stacy that keep the light at the end of the tunnel in focus.

Want to explore other related articles? Check out other Tales from the (Title) Crypt.

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