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Land titles
Encumbrance An encumbrance is a right to, interest in, or legal liability on real property that does not prohibit passing title to the property but that diminishes its value.
Encumbrances can be classified in several ways. They may be financial or non-financial.
Alternatively, they may be divided into those that affect title or those that affect the use or
1.Accounting: A contingent liability, contract, purchase order, payroll commitment, tax payable, or legal penalty that is chargeable to an account. It ceases to be an encumbrance when paid-out or when the actual liability amount is determined and recorded as an expense.
2. Real estate: A charge, claim, liability, or regulation that is attached to and is binding upon a property. It may affect the clarity of a good title (see clear title) or may diminish the value of property, but may not prevent transfer of title.
An encumbrance can take several forms: mortgages, claims by other parties, court judgments, pending legal action, unpaid taxes, restrictive deed or loan covenants, easement rights of the neighbors, or zoning ordinances.Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/de...#ixzz3QhTLxpbH
Deed restrictions create limitations on property use and are encumbrances.: Also known as covenants or conditions, deed restrictions are limitations on how a property is used or on the type of structures that can be placed on a property.
These are very common when new subdivisions are developed. The developers and builders place deed restrictions in order to control the uses of the property and maintain standards of construction.
Restrictions or covenants that are extremely restrictive can have either positive or negative results in value over time.
Tight restrictions to maintain value can so limit use that they also limit the pool of potential buyers. http://realestate.about.com/od/reale...oencumbrnc.htm
Real estate deed restrictions are restrictions on the deed that place limitations on the use of the property. Restrictive covenants are an example of these restrictions. Such restrictions are usually initiated by the developers - those who determined what the land would be used for, divided the land into plots, and built homes, office buildings, or retail buildings on it. Deed restrictions come with the property and usually can’t be changed or removed by subsequent owners.
Deed restrictions such as restrictive covenants are often put in place to maintain a desired look in a neighborhood. To that end, they may prevent owners from building more than a pre-established number of homes on one lot. These restrictions can also specify what materials or style a building may or may not be constructed of, and how close to the street it can be. They can even specify the minimum size that a house on the lot may be!
It’s important to be aware of the deed restrictions on a property before making an offer. Some covenants might seem too restrictive or prohibit you from making a change to the property that is important to you. If your real estate agent or the seller does not offer you a copy of the deed restrictions, you can find the information at the county courthouse. Make sure you read the deed restrictions closely, as you don’t want to end up getting trapped into a covenant you strongly disagree with.
A land patent is an exclusive land grant made by a sovereign entity with respect to a particular tract of land.
To make such a grant “patent”, a sovereign (proprietary landowner) must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document (patent), and openly publish the documents for the public to see.
An official land patent is the highest evidence of right, title, and interest to a defined area.
It is usually granted by a central, federal, or state government to an individual or to a private company.
Besides patent, other terms for the certificate that grants such rights include first-title deed and final certificate.
In the United States, all claims of land ownership can be traced back to a land patent, first-title deed, or similar document regarding land originally owned by France, Spain, United Kingdom, Mexico, Russia, or Native Americans.
A land patent is known in law as "letters patent", and usually issues to the original grantee and to their heirs and assigns forever.
The patent stands as supreme title to the land because it attests that all evidence of title existent before its issue date was reviewed by the sovereign authority under which it was sealed and was so sealed as irrefutable; thus, at law the land patent itself so becomes the title to the land defined within its four corners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_patent
LAND PATENTS AND FORECLOSURES
Thanks Chex for this lead into Letters Patent. I have begun to follow my land title an have searched the Tax records back to the original "Donation Land Claim". Tomorrow I am off to county records to see if I can trace the assignment of title to hopefully an unbroken chain from then to present.
This pretty much sums things up
Unless the Attorney General gives prior written approval of the sufficiency of the title to land for the purpose for which the property is being acquired by the United States, public money may not be expended for the purchase of the land or any interest therein. http://law.justia.com/codes/us/2001/.../chap3/sec255/