What is search preparation?
Before a title can be examined, the file needs the right materials in one place: who owns the property, how it's legally described, what prior title work exists, and what the search needs to cover. Search preparation, often called search prepping, is the groundwork that makes the search and examination faster and more reliable.
What we prepare
Depending on how your office works, search preparation can include:
- Confirming the property's legal description, parcel ID, and county from the order and available records
- Identifying the current owners and every name that needs to be searched, including name variations
- Locating and attaching prior title policies or starter files your office has on record
- Gathering the vesting deed and related documents available to your office
- Noting tax information and other items your examiner needs
- Organizing everything in the file in the order your examiners expect
We follow your office's instructions on what to gather, where it comes from, and how the package should be set up.
Why it matters
Examiners are most valuable when they're examining, not hunting for a legal description or a prior policy. A well-prepared file cuts down on back-and-forth, lowers the chance of searching the wrong names or the wrong property, and helps commitments go out sooner.
Built into a consistent process
Every prepared file goes through a quality review before it's handed back, and anything we can't confirm is flagged for your team rather than guessed at. We work in common title production platforms, including Qualia, SoftPro, and RamQuest, and adapt to how your office already works.
How it fits with our other services
Search preparation follows order entry and feeds directly into commitment typing. Many offices use us for all three so a file moves from intake to commitment with one team. See all title support services.