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Before immovable property changes hands, the buyer ordinarily has the seller's title examined. The purpose is to establish that the seller has the right to sell, that the chain of ownership is unbroken, and that the property is free from claims that would pass to the buyer.
The examination begins with the documents of title themselves — the sale deed or other instrument by which the current owner acquired the property, and the instruments before it, generally going back a number of years. Each transfer in the chain should be traceable and properly registered.
Alongside the deeds, a search is made of the records of the sub-registrar to identify registered encumbrances such as mortgages, and of the revenue records to confirm that mutation has been effected in the seller's name. Where the property is agricultural or subject to a statutory restriction on transfer, additional approvals may be required. In a co-operative society or an apartment, the society records and the no-objection position also matter.
Certain checks fall outside the documents: whether the person in possession is the owner, whether a pending suit affects the property, and whether any part of the land is subject to acquisition. These require enquiry rather than inspection of a deed.
A title report states an opinion on the documents that were produced. It cannot account for a document that was withheld, a forgery that is not apparent, or an unregistered claim. That is why possession, receipts for outgoings, and the seller's own declarations are examined alongside the deeds.