You may have heard that Parcel Registers are beneficial tools that real estate sales professionals can use, but what exactly are they?
A Parcel Register is an official product of the Ontario government pursuant to provincial land registration statutes. Delivered as an electronic report, it presents the property’s legal description, the PIN (Property Identification Number) and the registered owner(s) of the property – including the percentage and type of ownership. It details the history of ownership, along with the 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. Every registered document appearing on the Parcel Register has a corresponding registration number. If you want to dig a little deeper you can use the registration number to request the corresponding instrument and view an image of the document that was registered.
Now that we’ve established what a Parcel Register is, let’s talk about how this report can benefit your business.
Parcel Registers are very useful when it comes to strengthening due diligence practices because with one simple search you get a lot of additional insights about a property. The report can help you identify encumbrances on title that may affect land use or equity early in the client engagement. Looking at the legal homeowners, for example, may reveal individuals on title that weren’t previously disclosed to you. Digging into the dates, parties to and amounts of transfers and mortgage registrations can help you identify any undischarged mortgages that may delay a closing. Additionally, using a Parcel Register will help you assess how heavily encumbered the homeowner is with respect to mortgages and liens and how that equity position may affect their ability to finance your commissions.
A Parcel Register also includes the legal property address that can be used on your contracts. Other pieces of information may include registration and transfer history when you choose to include deleted instruments. With this additional insight, you can see the complete history of the property since the records were automated or the PIN was created. The PIN, types and percentages of homeownership, liens and charges on title, as well as many other data points help you learn more about a property and reveal any issues that may arise and could prevent the transaction from closing.
Parcel Registers, as well as Instrument Images, are available online through the GeoWarehouse eStore.
If you have further questions about how to use Parcel Registers as a part of your due diligence, please contact us at geowarehouse.training@teranet.ca.
