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Welcome to the first section of our checklist: what interest is being sold? Before you look at price, financing, or closing dates, you need to

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answer a more basic question— what is the seller actually offering to sell? Most buyers assume a house listing means the seller owns the property

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outright, in what the law calls fee simple. That is the broadest form of ownership, but it is an assumption, not a fact.

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Let me show you why with a hypothetical we will follow throughout this course. Maya and Daniel are first-time buyers.

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They tour a house in the fictional town of Fairview, listed by a seller named Rosa at a price noticeably below comparable homes.

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The listing says the seller owns the property. But suppose Rosa's late husband's will left her only the right to live there during her lifetime,

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with the remainder going to his children from a previous marriage. If that is the true structure, Rosa may hold only a life estate.

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Maya and Daniel would not be buying perpetual ownership— they would be buying a right that ends when Rosa dies.

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The same house could instead be a leasehold, a condominium unit, a cooperative share, or a time-share, each with very different rights attached.

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Who holds title? In an alternative version of our hypothetical, Maya and Daniel must confirm who owns the interest.

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They ask Rosa for her deed, and it shows the property is recorded in the names of Rosa and Elena, as joint tenants.

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Elena is Rosa's sister. Under the general framework of co-ownership, a joint tenancy carries a right of survivorship: when one joint tenant dies, the survivor

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usually takes the whole interest, outside of probate. But joint tenancies can be severed, and states differ on exactly how and when that happens.

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So if Elena has died, Rosa may now own everything— but Maya and Daniel should not simply take Rosa's word.

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The title search should confirm it. Other structures raise different questions. If a trust holds title, the trustee, not the beneficiaries, generally signs, and the

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trust document controls the trustee's authority. If an estate holds title, check the representative’s authority and any required court approval.

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And in some states, a spouse who is not on the deed may still hold rights in a homestead, which can affect whether one signature

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is enough. Community-property states add their own rules. Here is the practical checklist instruction: get the current vesting deed, read exactly how title is held,

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list every person or entity who must join the conveyance, and verify authority through title records and evidence.

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Section three: what burdens affect the land? This is where the checklist gets physical and financial, because many burdens run with the land and survive

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the sale no matter who owns it. Back to Fairview. Maya and Daniel receive the title report on Rosa's house, and it discloses three items.

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First, a recorded utility easement lets the power company maintain lines across the rear corner of the lot— which limits where they can build or

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plant. Second, a recorded declaration of covenants from the subdivision developer requires exterior approvals. Under the general framework of covenants running with the land, those

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promises may bind successors when all enforceability and notice requirements are satisfied. Third, and most surprising: Rosa's nephew has been living in the basement apartment

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for two years under an oral lease Rosa forgot to mention. A lease, even an informal one, can bind a buyer in many circumstances, depending

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on the state and on notice. The checklist also covers liens— unpaid contractor bills, tax liens, judgment liens— which can attach to the property and

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follow it to the buyer unless cleared at closing. Physical burdens matter too: a neighbor's fence crossing the lot line can ripen into a claim

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over time in some states. So investigate actively. Read the title report line by line.

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Pull and review the recorded easements and covenants. Ask for an occupancy disclosure. Walk the boundaries.

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Section four: contract and conveyance formalities. These are not technicalities— they determine whether your rights exist at all.

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Back to Maya and Daniel. They email Rosa an offer; she replies, ' deal, let's talk details,' and they immediately spend money on inspections.

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Under the general framework, a contract to sell land generally must satisfy the statute of frauds— a signed writing containing the essential terms.

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Whether that email exchange qualifies depends on the state, and doctrines like part performance can sometimes enforce oral agreements in narrow situations, but building your

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purchase on an exception is risky. So the contract checklist: confirm the agreement is written, signed, identifies the property with a legally sufficient description, and

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states the price and essential terms. Then comes the deed itself. A general warranty deed, a special warranty deed, and a quitclaim deed carry very

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different promises about title. A quitclaim conveys only whatever the grantor has, with no promises— which matters enormously if a defect appears later.

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Deed formalities under the general framework include a competent grantor, an identifiable grantee, words of conveyance, a sufficient legal description, the grantor's signature, and delivery.

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And delivery is a legal concept, not just a physical handover— the deed must be transferred with present intent to pass title.

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Suppose Rosa signs the deed but leaves it in a drawer, saying it is' for later. ' Title may not have passed at all.

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Section five: recording and priority. Who wins when property claims compete? Recording systems give the public constructive notice of interests in land, and state statutes

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determine how documents are indexed and what recording accomplishes. Here is our hypothetical dispute. Rosa, facing debts, signs a deed to the Fairview house to

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her creditor on a Friday. The following Monday, she signs a deed to Maya and Daniel.

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Each claimant relies on a signed deed. Analyze the first transfer and recording statute to determine priority.

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That depends on the state's recording regime— generally described as race, notice, or race-notice systems— and on whether the later claimant recorded first and had

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notice of the earlier interest. Recording rules differ. Race emphasizes recording order; notice protects qualifying later purchasers without notice; race-notice generally requires both lack of

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notice and recording first. So here is the buyer's checklist. One: order a title search before closing to surface every recorded interest— that is how

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Maya and Daniel found the easement and the covenants. Two: confirm at closing that prior liens and mortgages are paid off or released through escrow.

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Three: record your deed promptly after closing, but priority depends on the statutory regime, value and notice, not date alone.

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Four: consider an owner's title insurance policy, which allocates the risk of defects the search missed, including some unrecorded matters.

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Our final section: mortgage and possession issues. The paper is nearly settled— now come the money and the keys.

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Maya and Daniel need a loan for the Fairview house. Under the general federal framework administered through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's mortgage rules, residential

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lenders must provide standardized disclosures about loan terms and closing costs, so borrowers can compare offers before committing.

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Your financing checklist: get a loan estimate early, compare rates and fees across lenders, review the closing disclosure before you sign, and know which costs

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are negotiable and which are fixed. Watch for lender conditions, too. Remember the basement apartment?

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A lender evaluating Rosa's house may treat an occupied rental unit differently from a purely residential property, which can affect the appraisal and the loan

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terms. Possession raises its own checklist. When do you take possession— at closing, or later under an occupancy agreement?

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If Rosa needs time to move, put it in writing: duration, compensation, who pays utilities, who is responsible for damage.

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And the nephew's oral lease comes back. Determine the lease’s legal effect and any lawful agreement with its occupants; selling does not itself erase their

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rights— because your possession rights are only as strong as their alignment with the occupants' actual

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rights. Finally, confirm property taxes, insurance, and escrow arrangements, and make sure utilities transfer smoothly.