The non-issue of duplicate Certificate of Titles (CTs) has become increasingly common, and provides yet another reason to perform a Title Search upon listing a property.
As you know, Landgate holds an original Certificate of Title for each property in Western Australia, and issues one duplicate CT to the property owner. If the property is under mortgage, the lender will hold the duplicate CT.
In recent years, it’s become increasingly common to request a non-issue of the duplicate CT, which means that Landgate will not issue a physical CT to the owner or lender. Banks have increasingly favoured non-issue of duplicate CTs, as it reduces holding costs and removes the risk of the Title being lost.
This shift could benefit home owners, because they no longer need to personally look after their duplicate CT. However, there is one scenario in which a non-issue could become a source of stress when it comes time for the owner to sell their property.
When an agent is listing a property that doesn’t have a mortgage, the seller would have traditionally held the duplicate CT somewhere in their home. However, if the client had requested a non-issue, there would be no duplicate CT to be found.
If the seller had forgotten that they requested a non-issue, there may be some panic around finding the Title. Lost Titles are one of the most common causes of long settlement delays.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to relieve this stress. A Title Search will reveal if a duplicate CT has been issued.
Carry out a Title Search at the time of listing, for every property you list.
Image by Tim Caynes via Flickr.
