The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-02-25
Perfect Title First Consideration.

llrSt cOnSlCeratlOn TO all concerned. rWnen
lawyer has been called In to examine into
the records for flaws. and. for a fee, has
rendered his opinion OF title he lis through
with tho transaction, but the man who ac-
cepted the title upon the attorneys opinion,
and who finds something wrong years after
ward. searches out the agent through whom
he bought The lawyer and the former
) owner are exempt; the agent is the man to
whom he looks.
The examining attorney assumes no re-
sponsblllty In his opinion of title. He
searches the records to the best of his knowl-
edge and reports the result to the agent
Here 1t Is that the agents judgment and
aexper!ence are most needed. 1t may be said
that every piece of property has It's ira
ditonal records" In addition to tho writ
ten public records. For this reason every
well equipped real estate office in Chicago
has q dover book /" and other historical
records relating to family histories Chi
cago is an example OF the necessity for such
records. too, by reason Of the destruction
of the public records In the great fire of
1871; but while this fire disturbed many IT,
ties, It also quieted many more by the de-
structlon Of the ancient records which re-
vealed defects in conveying caused by the
ignorance or carelessness OF the early law
yers and notaries,
The greatest menace to a title. perhaps, is
the old claim for q dover right in the prop-
erty. A man. once owning the property and
selling 1t as bachelor, leaves a widow who
rises up In after years to claim that she
Gid not sign away her rights in the realty and
asserting that she wants her interest salts
fed. recall the sale OF piece Of property
where the possibility OF such n claim for
dover was menace. The former owner
was dead and buried In the east wrote
letter TO the postmaster of the town, In
closing So to pay him for going to the ce,ne-
terry and copying the inscription on the Jones
monument. The copy came, showing that
Jones had been dead moro than seven years.
the period which outlawed the claim Of the
supposed widow. 5 g s
Must Know All About Property,
How TO get such information is one of the
tests of the real estate man. Naturally,
when the attorney looking into the records
Of piece OF property finds the least trace of
a flaw. he is ready to report upon 1t. his
business depends upon his keenness In this
respect. but also in a great measure the
practical experience of the agent Is needed
In weighing these objections and obviating
them, always with the purpose that they
NAV never be raised In the future, for no
real estate Office ever had a worse enemy
than a dissatisfied customer at large, The
satisfied man forgets to talk about his good
treatment at the hands OF an agent, but the
dissatisfied one will talk always
The real estate man, In his care of the prop
erty in his harsds. will be obliged TO attend
the meetings of boards of local improve
ment, keeping In touch With the needs Of
public Improvement, as we'll as to defendJhe
property against extrnvagances lie viii
be obliged to know about nssessrlen ts OF the
property, seeing that they are not too high,
/ and hence must have thorous u knowledge Of