Title Search

An examination of property records (at the Sub-Registrar's office and other government databases) to verify: (i) clear and marketable title; (ii) absence of prior encumbrances; (iii) validity of the seller's or mortgagor's ownership. Banks conduct title searches before accepting immovable property as mortgage security. A defective title can render the mortgage invalid and SARFAESI enforcement unsustainable.

In practice, a title search is the due-diligence step that decides whether a mortgage will survive a fight years later. Before accepting immovable property as security, banks examine records at the Sub-Registrar's office and other government databases to confirm clear and marketable title, the absence of prior encumbrances, and that the person creating the mortgage actually owns the property. The reason this matters at the recovery stage is blunt: a defective title can render the mortgage invalid and make SARFAESI enforcement unsustainable, so a search skipped or done carelessly at sanction surfaces as a fatal weakness when the borrower or a third party challenges the bank's charge. Borrowers and guarantors, conversely, scrutinise the search and the underlying ownership chain to test whether the security was validly created at all. Search reports are paired with an encumbrance certificate to show registered charges. Well-advised lenders confirm a clean, marketable title before disbursing against immovable security.