No Apn, No Legal Description, Not Tile Report

[Smokey Bear]

I'm doing a new home, there's no APN, no legal description and the lender has not ordered , and is not planning to order, a prelim. Would you turn in a report without this info and just use the street address? I'm inclined to hold out for a title report.

Edited: apparently my spelling skills have evaded me today, and there doesn't seem to be any way to change my topic title. Sorry folks.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Sure you can turn it in. If you are sure it is the right property, do you job. It is not your fault there is no assigned APN. You can put "not assigned" on that line. You can put "to be determined" on the legal description, but you will probably have to correct that line when the lender finally produces a legal description.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Run like the wind!

 

[Chris Colston]

Ask the lender who the title will be and get the legal description from them. Somebody owned the land, there shouldbe some sort of legal description

 

[Smokey Bear]

And to top it off, there's two different spellings of the street address in the purchase contract. Greg Hatch and Greg Thatch. Hey, isn't Greg Hatch a member of this board? Are they starting to name streets after appraisers? :blink:

 

[John Papa]

Originally posted by Cynthia Hamilton@Sep 20 2005, 12:25 PM
I'm doing a new home, there's no APN, no legal description and the lender has not ordered , and is not planning to order, a prelim. Would you turn in a report without this info and just use the street address? I'm inclined to hold out for a title report.

Edited: apparently my spelling skills have evaded me today, and there doesn't seem to be any way to change my topic title. Sorry folks.

Does the city/county have a website (tax assessor?) where you can look up parcel numbers and/or legal descriptions?

How are you going to appraise a property if you can't verify where the boundaries lie through a legal description and/or platmap?

 

[Smokey Bear]

It's too new, not on the maps yet. I'm just telling the lender to get a prelim. It's not like they can close the loan without a title report, so they just need to suck it up and get it to me.

 

[CANative]

If it's a new house in a new subdivision and the sales office is still there, get the subdivision map and any other documentation they have. The assessor and the planning department can be of help too. If it's a purchase, the contract should have the name of the seller. Search assessor records. At this point there is probably just one number of a parent parcel from which the lots are being created.

 

[Bill_FL]

Yeah, sometimes you have to do that. If the parcel is to be surveyed out of a larger parcel, then you can do " A portion of " type legal, with the APN to be assigned. You do need to get a copy of the prelim plat or at least the contract needs to state how large the lot will be etc. I would make the owner or buyer meet me at the property and be sure that they or their car is in one of my pictures. In my report, I would state that they identified which parcel it is and that the report is subject to the survey and the house being built on that lot.

 

[Smokey Bear]

The house is built and complete, just having problems with the apn/legal description. And of course the city offices closed at 3:30, so I'll try them in the AM. The builder didn't have the apn and referred me to the lender. I sent them a message telling them I need the prelim and I'm happy to put the report on hold until they get it.