Surprises are rarely a good thing when it comes to real estate transactions. Yet many REALTORS® leave a crucial step, one that could prevent these surprises, until the final stages of closing a deal. By proactively obtaining a Parcel Register, you can access vital property and ownership information upfront, ensuring smoother transactions and safeguarding both your interests and those of your clients.
A Parcel Register provides essential, up-to-date information about a property, including ownership details, registered mortgages, liens, easements, and more. By reviewing this data early in the process, you can identify potential red flags before they become deal-breakers.
In this blog, we’ll explore the registry data provided by a Parcel Register, along with additional documents that can complement its information—helping you close deals with confidence.
Understanding the Parcel Register:
The Parcel Register* is an official product of the Ontario government pursuant to provincial land registration statutes. The registered data provided by a Parcel Register is derived directly from POLARIS (the Province of Ontario Land Registration System) and allows you to see when a transfer, charge-discharge or other documents appear against a subject property. Available in the GeoWarehouse Store, this electronic report discloses crucial information about a subject property such as:
- Legal description of a property
- Property Identification Number (PIN)
- Registered owner(s) of the property
- Ownership history
- Registration and discharges of any mortgages, liens or other types of encumbrances that have occurred since the property was brought into the automated land registration system.
To learn more about how a Parcel Register can benefit your business, click here.
These insights allow you to conduct thorough due diligence and catch any issues early in the process. Want to see for yourself? Click here to view a sample Parcel Register.
Click here to also view our “How-To Video and Tips for Success document” on how to request a Parcel Register in the GeoWarehouse store.
Enhancing Your Investigations with Complementary Documents:
While the Parcel Register provides essential property information, certain situations call for a deeper dive. GeoWarehouse offers additional documents that can complement the Parcel Register, ensuring you’re fully informed about the property. But first, let’s clarify what the Tile Check tool is and why it matters in your due diligence process.
Understanding the Title Check Tool:
The Title Check Tool quickly identifies the most common encumbrances on a property, such as liens or mortgages. The Title Check Tool go hand-in-hand with the Parcel Register. If encumbrances are found they will appear on the Title Check Tool and the details will appear on the Parcel Register. If interested, you can take your due diligence further by purchasing additional instrument documents like: Instrument Images, Registered Plans, or Property Survey Images. These documents give you a clearer picture of the property’s status and help you make more informed decisions.
You can explore the Title Check tool further in this “How-To Video and Tips for Success document”.
Now let’s review how these additional documents are helpful and how you can leverage them.
1. Instrument Images: Investigate Registered Documents
Instrument Images are essential for comprehensive due diligence, especially when investigating items flagged in a Parcel Register. They reveal documents registered against a property’s title such as charges, transfer documents, discharges, liens, and more.
If you encounter an undisclosed private mortgage on the Parcel Register, you might want to reach out to the private mortgage lender. In such cases, the purchased Instrument Image will provide all the necessary information needed for the lawyer who registered the mortgage and often the mortgagee as well.
Obtaining an Instrument Image is easy. Click here to view our How-To Video and Tips for Success document on How to request an Instrument Image in the GeoWarehouse store.
2. Registered Plans: Visualize Boundaries and Encumbrances
Registered plans provide a visual representation of property boundaries, lot dimensions, and physical features, as well as any registered encumbrances. They are crucial for validating property dimensions and understanding potential restrictions. The two most common types of registered plans are Plan of Sub-division and Reference Plan.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the difference between these plans:
- Plan of Sub-division: This registered plan gives you the exact surveyed boundaries, numbering and dimensions of lots including streets, schools, and parks. These plans create new and separate parcels of land, and are used for larger subdivisions of land.
- Reference Plan: This deposited plan provides a visual representation of a property, depicting boundaries, location, dimensions, and any physical documentary evidence that could affect the title of the subject property. These plans are typically used when subdividing into four lots or less.
3. Property Survey Images: Understand the Full Picture
A Property Survey Image is an image of the surveyor’s plan portion of the surveyor’s real property report, building location survey, or other unregistered/undeposited survey plans. These historical plans show the location of buildings, structures, physical features, and registered encumbrances on or immediately adjacent to the property.
Click here to view our How-To Video and Tips for Success document on How to purchase a registered plan or survey image in the GeoWarehouse store.
Take Your Due Diligence to the Next Level
By leveraging the information provided in a Parcel Register & Title Check Tool and these additional documents, you can ensure a higher level of service and diligence for your clients. To learn more about Parcel Registers and other registered documents, register for training or learn more in the GeoWarehouse Academy.
*The Parcel Register is an official product of the Ontario government pursuant to provincial land registration statutes. The Parcel Register may not include all the information that is required to guarantee your commission. The Parcel Register can be used as a tool in your due diligence process to reduce the risk of closing issues that can affect your commission. The Parcel Register does not guarantee your commission.
**The Title Check tool is available to specific 2024 subscription types and will be accessible upon account renewals.
