In a typical purchasing scenario, a buyer may not see the deed that will be recorded at the courthouse to transfer ownership to them for the property that they are purchasing . . . until after the closing, after the deed has been recorded. This could have serious implications!

First, to give the benefit of the doubt to local attorneys and title companies, many will briefly show the buyer the deed before having the seller sign the document --- though typically this is only to make sure that the buyers' names are spelled correctly. Again, this could have serious implications!

Here are a few recent conversations I have been a part of, or heard about:

• A property owner in a newish subdivision only recently discovered (after having owned the property for many months) that they must pay Property Owners Association (POA) dues, as their subdivision has a POA. There may have been other reasons why this homeowner didn't find out about the homeowners association, but their deed does reference the restrictive covenants for their neighborhood, and that document references the existence of the POA.
  
• A few days before closing, a buyer discovers that the property they are purchasing has deed restrictions affecting their future use of the property. The restrictions are not entirely unreasonable, but they go beyond the restrictions otherwise imposed by zoning ordinances.
  

These are only two examples, but they illustrate the value of knowing the restrictions that are placed upon one's use of a property based on verbiage in the deed, or by other documents referenced within the deed.

Where do we go from here? I am not a title examiner --- thus, though I will begin to pull recorded deeds for my buyer clients, I will not necessarily always be able to pinpoint all of the associated documents. A great solution, however, is to use a title company or closing attorney who will initiate the title search process as soon as the property is under contract. If deed restrictions (of any kind) exist, at least they will be discovered early on, as opposed to after the closing has taken place.