Proof of ownership necessary for home sale

Q : In 1970, my husband and I had a modest home built on an acre of land. It was given to us by his parents (who are now deceased). In their generosity, they held the mortgage. The mortgage was paid off, but we never received any proof we did that. The lawyer in town at that time said his parents never registered that information with the county.

When we go to sell our home — which we’ve lived in for 47 years now — what proof do we need to show that we are the owners? We purchased an adjoining parcel, and we have faithfully paid school and land tax on both parcels all these years. What do we need to do now? — K. L. A.

A : If you had been dealing with strangers, your county public records office would contain copies of the deed by which you acquired ownership of the acre, a copy of the mortgage document and a certificate saying that the mortgage had been satisfied, or paid off.

You can forget about the mortgage. Evidently, it was never filed in the first place, so there was no need to enter a satisfaction piece showing it had been paid off. The mortgage wouldn’t be enough to prove you owned the land anyhow, and neither would the fact that you’ve been paying the taxes.

It’s possible your in-laws did sign a deed giving you that acre and did enter it in the public records office.

Anyone is entitled to search the documents filed at the office. In many counties these days, a computer-savvy person could search it online. You’d search by the address or the names of the people involved. It’s simplest to ask a lawyer to do it.

Then again, if you have a deed signed by your in-laws, you could take it over and file it yourselves.

If, as is likely, there’s no deed and your in-laws’ wills didn’t mention that land, there are legal means for straightening out the record.

If you don’t ask a lawyer to do this now, your buyer will require it when you sell. At worst, it could cause a minor holdup during the closing.

Q : Can you tell me what to expect when an out-of-town bank, “THH,” (I’m not sure of the full name) owns the house next door? It didn’t sell after the family left (largely, in my opinion, because the agent didn’t advertise it or show it), and, evidently, the former owners could no longer maintain the payments.

In any case, the house was padlocked by the bank after about six months. What happens now? Have you heard of THH? Will a bank keep the lawn mowed? How long will it be before the bank tries to sell? Is it likely that the bank will try for market value, or will it want to get it off the books as soon as possible? — H. S.

A : There’s no way I can say what will happen, but I can at least reassure you on one point: Your local government will keep the grass mowed.

Q : I want to let you and your readers know that having renter’s insurance is a good idea. As you said in a previous writing, the costs are reasonable, and I would argue that the cost is necessary. Years ago, when I was renting, someone smart told me to get it, so I did.

The lady who lived below me fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand, which caused a fire. Luckily, everyone got out safe, including my kitten, Sunni. There was a lot of smoke damage to everything in my unit, including all my clothes. I didn’t know smoke damage could be so bad. Black soot was everywhere, and the smell was horrible.

Within a day or two, the renter’s insurance took care of everything. Just wanted to share with your readers who may be on the fence about buying it. —S.B.

A : You’re right. Tenant’s insurance is inexpensive and well worth it.