Robosigning focuses attention on title companies

TIC-TOC…

SFGATE-

Chain of title – proof of who really owns a house – underpins the entire U.S. system of real estate.

Broken chain of title due to slipshod paperwork was a serious issue uncovered in the nationwide robosigning scandal and again last month in a city report that found San Francisco foreclosure paperwork riddled with errors.

Those revelations draw new attention to title companies, which insure a home’s clear title for both buyers and lenders.

“If there is not a clear chain of title in the foreclosure process, how can there be a clear chain of title for the person buying foreclosed property?” said San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, who commissioned the audit. “Given our report, it calls into question whether entities selling a foreclosure really have the right to transfer that property to somebody else.”