Title Examiner

Search real estate records, examine titles, or summarize pertinent legal or insurance documents or details for a variety of purposes. May compile lists of mortgages, contracts, and other instruments pertaining to titles by searching public and private records for law firms, real estate agencies, or title insurance companies.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Abstractor; Advisory Title Officer; Commercial Examiner; Commercial Title Examiner; Examiner; Title Abstractor; Title Agent; Title Examiner; Title Officer; Title Searcher

Tasks

• Prepare and issue title commitments and title insurance policies, based on information compiled from title searches.
• Examine documentation such as mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, plat books, maps, contracts, and agreements to verify factors such as properties' legal descriptions, ownership, or restrictions.
• Examine individual titles to determine if restrictions, such as delinquent taxes, will affect titles and limit property use.
• Prepare reports describing any title encumbrances encountered during searching activities and outlining actions needed to clear titles.
• Prepare lists of all legal instruments applying to a specific piece of land and the buildings on it.
• Copy or summarize recorded documents, such as mortgages, trust deeds, and contracts, that affect property titles.
• Verify accuracy and completeness of land-related documents accepted for registration, preparing rejection notices when documents are not acceptable.
• Read search requests to ascertain types of title evidence required and to obtain descriptions of properties and names of involved parties.
• Retrieve and examine real estate closing files for accuracy and to ensure that information included is recorded and executed according to regulations.
• Confer with realtors, lending institution personnel, buyers, sellers, contractors, surveyors, and courthouse personnel to exchange title-related information or to resolve problems.
• Obtain maps or drawings delineating properties from company title plants, county surveyors, or assessors' offices.
• Enter into record-keeping systems appropriate data needed to create new title records or to update existing ones.
• Direct activities of workers who search records and examine titles, assigning, scheduling, and evaluating work, and providing technical guidance as necessary.
• Summarize pertinent legal or insurance details, or sections of statutes or case law from reference books for use in examinations or as proofs or ready reference.

Knowledge

• Administrative
• Customer and Personal Service
• English Language
• Computers and Electronics
• Administration and Management
• Production and Processing

Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Active Listening
• Speaking
• Critical Thinking
• Writing
• Monitoring

Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
• Written Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Near Vision
• Written Expression
• Deductive Reasoning
• Speech Recognition
• Problem Sensitivity
• Information Ordering
• Speech Clarity
• Inductive Reasoning
• Flexibility of Closure