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Hi. We paid off our mortgage in 2008, and there is a notice filed in the county clerks office that the loan was paid off. I was actually searching for our "Deed" but there is non. I'm waiting to hear back from the county clerk, but in the meantime, we took out a home equity line of credit later on that same year for college. Could that be the reason why I don't officially have a "deed" on file....because I have a Home Equity Line of Credit???
It would help if we knew where the property was located. Title is from the owner (seller) to the new owner (buyer) - general warranty, special, quitclaim, - the type of deed giving you ownership is state specific.
The loan - or mortgage, is the loan against the person and recorded against the property.
It is not like a car loan where the lender for the car hold the title until the loan is paid in full.
I own my home. I doubt I have a deed nor copy of it. Regardless of what I have, if I ever did anything (mortgage, sale, whetver) there would be a title search no matter what I showed anybody (especially in this day and age of forgery), thus I do not believe I need a "piece of paper" deed.
There is a deed filed in the Recorder of Deeds/Land Records in the town in NJ where you live. It will be found immediately preceding your mortgage; both recorded within 1 week of the closing on your home if not the actual day. You should have the original of that document - probably marked "Warranty Deed". However, if you have lost that deed, the point of "recording" it is to make it a matter of public record.
You can simply go to your town hall, find the land records office, and ask the clerk therein for assistance in locating your deed. If it isn't on computer, a copy will be kept in a large book. The specific book and page (location) are filed in an index which is kept by date. With computerization, those records are often both by date and last name. It really isn't a complicated procedure.
Oh, I was looking at this backward. So the deed is when I actually "closed" on the house from the sellers years ago, and not when I paid off my mortgage? I was looking at it like the title to a car.
Oh, I was looking at this backward. So the deed is when I actually "closed" on the house from the sellers years ago, and not when I paid off my mortgage? I was looking at it like the title to a car.
You can't get a mortgage without first having title (the deed) to the property (but most often closed simultaneously). Same with a Home Equity Line of Credit--you first need to own the property, which is evidenced by the deed.
So, yes, you need to look at when you first bought the house, not when the mortgage is paid off. Paying off the mortgage loan releases the lien from the property--so you would own it "free and clear"...until you re-encumber it with a HELOC or other such mortgage.
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I was looking at it like the title to a car.
