What a Title Officer Actually Does (And Why It Matters in the Eastern Sierra)

Most people only meet a title officer at closing, if they meet one at all. But the work that protects a buyer's investment happens long before that — in county records, old deeds, and chain-of-title research.

A title officer traces the history of a property back through every owner, every mortgage, every easement, and every lien to make sure the person selling actually has the right to sell, and that the buyer is getting what they think they're buying. In a place like the Eastern Sierra, that often means digging through records that are decades — sometimes over a century — old.

Here in Inyo and Mono County, the quirks matter. Mining claims, water rights, old homesteads, federal land patents, and rural access easements all show up in title work. A missed easement can mean a property you can't actually get to. A missed lien can mean a bill that follows you home.

My job is to catch those things before they become your problem. It's not glamorous, but it's the quiet work that makes a real estate deal actually safe. That's what I do, and it's why I take it seriously.