A title is a document that shows legal ownership to a property or asset. A title can represent ownership of a real asset such as a car or an intangible property or assets such as a trademark.A title might show ownership of property rights of an individual or business, which is the ownership of resources whether they're tangible (physical in nature) or intangible. Titles can be obtained by purchased or inherited as an estate.Understanding Titles
Three components apply to the concept of a title: ownership, occupation or possession, and the right of possession. While there are various types of titles, two are most commonly obtained: personal property titles and real property titles.
Personal Property Titles
Titles to personal property allow individuals the rights to own things that don't fall under the real property category. Any right or interest in personal property is also included. Personal property generally falls into two main categories. The first category includes bodily personal property, that is, any property tangible or tangible. This includes items such as merchandise, jewelry, and animals. The second category includes intangible personal property, that is, items that are not necessarily tangible or not tangible. This includes items such as copyrights, patents, bonds, and stocks.
Ownership of Real Estate
Unlike personal property, real property (automobiles and real estate) has title indicating ownership. Whenever an asset is sold, ownership passes to the purchaser.
All personal property that is sold or traded must be free of liens and other debts before the property can be transferred to another party.
In other words, the title must be a clear title, which is when there are no creditors claiming ownership due to extending credit to a borrower. A clear title means that the owner has an undisputed claim to the property or asset. If the title is not clear, it might be considered a bad title because there could be outstanding liens against the property, back taxes owed, or unresolved building code violations.It's important that a title search is performed by a title company to ensure that there are no liens, back taxes, or issues with the title that would prevent the sale of the asset.Types of Real Estate Titles
Real estate ownership, or titles, may take one of several different forms. Primary forms of real estate ownership include:Tenancy in common, which involves two or more individuals who jointly hold a real estate title. Cohabiting tenants have individual ownership of that portion of the property. Each individual may assign or pledge his/her property rights. Ownership may be bequeathed to another party.
A full Tenant is a title that transfers ownership to a legally wedded couple, treating them as if they were one person. In the event of the death of one of the spouses, ownership of the property passes in full to the surviving spouse.
A joint tenancy in which two or more persons jointly own the property and both have equal rights to the property for life.
Common Property, a form of property owned by a couple who intend to own property together during their marriage. Both spouses have the right to sell, give away, or transfer half of their property to another individual.
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