A clear title is sometimes also referred to as a clean or good title. The term basically indicates that there is no other party with an active lien or levy against a piece of property and that there is no question as to who holds the legal ownership.

A vehicle with a clear or clean title means that there is no dispute in ownership. If the car was still financed through a lending institution the bank in question would still have a lien against the vehicle and it could not be sold to another party without their permission or a lien release.

Clear Title Research

Before any major transaction, like a real estate sale, can be completed, a title search must be performed to ensure that the selling party has the full and legal right of ownership. If there is another party who can claim some portion of ownership, the title cannot be cleanly transferred to an interested buyer.

Clear Titles Are Necessary for Property Sales

While real estate transactions are one of the more common reasons why a title search needs to be performed, they are not the only time when the concept comes into play. Real estate just happens to be the most common place where a title problem can become an issue, as the length of most mortgages can mean that heirs or previous owners have could potentially have an interest in the property. Should this prove to be the case, the sale of a property might be disputed.

With some older properties, there could, for example, be an heir from a prior owner who may still have some degree of ownership or claim to the real estate in question. In cases like this, the prior owner may have granted a portion of a property to the heir, even though they didn’t take an immediate active role in owning the property.

In a situation like this, the rights of a partial owners could potentially be passed on to their own descendants who may or may not even be aware of the situation. With some of these cases, ownership may have been placed into a trust, a blind trust or another body which provides some legal claim to the property in question. To prevent a problem like this from occurring title searches are performed to identify any ownership issues before a potential buyer is required to commit the necessary funds to acquire the property.

At the same time, fraud prevention is also an important benefit of possessing a clear title. There have been instances where a false deed has been entered into the public record. When this happens, the person who submitted the fraudulent document may attempt to use the false deed to try to illegally sell the property.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that an active lien will likely also hinder a sale from proceeding. If the current owner still owes payments, has an outstanding mortgage, a second mortgage, or still owes contractors for refurbishments they performed, it could impede the process of selling the property. In a case like this, the property could potentially be sold while liens are active. Yet the title would not be clear, which means that the new owner would then be held responsible for resolving any active liens.

The Value Of A Clear Title For Other Assets

Of course, vehicles and real estate are not the only places where a clear title is beneficial. In some situations, a title search may need to be performed on another type of assets such as precious metals like gold, silver, or platinum.

There are a variety of services that can specifically identify a precious metal asset’s title to ensure that always remain the exclusive property of the owner. The essentially administer the title search on your behalf, following your instructions closely. These services take particular pride in their ability to provide their clients with the accessibility and liquidity that they need. They are often performed in a well maintained and fully transparent environment, where security is always the top priority.

The benefits of a precious metal clear title include:

  • Having direct ownership of specific credentialed, investment grade bullion bars which are fully protected by established bailment law
  • No credit requirements, third-party asset management or potential counterparty risk
  • Granting direct access to the international Primary Bullion Market
  • The ability to execute an order execution at the spot market price for the precious metal
  • Full liquidity is possible within a standard two-day settlement period
  • The ability to physically possess your precious metal or bullion
  • A chain of custody with integrity and the security of an e good delivery system
  • Periodic inventory audits which are performed by an independent international accounting firm
  • Account audits that also include multiple layers of security as well as audit trails which are performed by a reputable third-party auditor
  • Your assets can be insured to their full market value
  • Secure account access online
  • Full-service reporting support which includes the ability to quickly generate an accurate financial report
  • No undefined collateral relationships or cash-settlement clauses
  • Bailment Law Protection

Precious metal title and security firms are governed under bailment law. With this type of agreement, they are not the owner of the gold, silver or precious metals. You, as the owner, retain all ownership rights which include the ability to freely sell or liquidate the precious metal in question.

Each precious metal bullion bar will bear a unique serial number. At the same time, all bullion bars are carefully segregated from other bars that are possessed by other account holders in the same secure location.

Furthermore, all bullion bars can be physically verified on a quarterly basis by an independent auditor to ensure that each and every ounce is accurately and physically present in the vault to which the asset is assigned. All this information is then provided to you, the client, to further guarantee compliance as well as the safety of your precious metal assets.