What we investigate

Five disciplines

Records forensics and title investigations

AFX is a multidisciplinary research and investigative service provider. Most of what we do is ordinary title work. The rest is what happens when the record is broken, disputed, or has been deliberately obscured.

Title Forensics

Forensic title and chain-of-title investigation

Reconstructing a chain of title from the record when it is broken, disputed, or has been obscured by defective conveyances.

A forensic examination goes past the standard search: every recorded instrument in the chain is pulled and read, gaps and out-of-sequence recordings are documented, and the result is a written reconstruction of what the record actually shows. It is the work behind a quiet-title action, a lender’s defective-assignment claim, or a dispute over which of two deeds got there first.

Asset Discovery

Real property asset discovery research

Locating real property and recorded interests held by a named party, county by county, from the public record.

Searches run against a name rather than a parcel: recorded deeds, mortgages, judgments and liens that name the subject. What comes back is what has been recorded and indexed under the names searched — it is not a complete inventory of everything a person owns, and no report can be.

Asset Recovery

Asset recovery records research

Records work supporting the recovery of real property and recorded interests — establishing what exists, and who recorded what, when.

The research half of a recovery matter: identifying the recorded instruments that establish an interest, tracing subsequent transfers, and documenting the recording sequence so counsel has a record-based footing. The legal strategy belongs to the attorney; we supply the record.

Corporate Due Diligence

Corporate real property due diligence

Records research on the real-property holdings behind a transaction, a counterparty, or a portfolio under review.

Ownership, encumbrances and recorded obligations across a portfolio, assembled to a schedule a deal can run on. Volume work across multiple counties is normal here — coverage is nationwide, and the report says plainly which counties reported and which did not.

Title Search & Abstracts

Real estate title search and abstract preparation

Standard ownership and encumbrance searches, and the written abstracts and affidavits that document them.

The ordinary case: ownership of record, open mortgages, involuntary liens, judgments and recorded encumbrances for the property searched, in the county where it sits. Certified title abstractors do the work, and the abstract is written to stand on its own as a document.

Scope, stated plainly

What a records investigation establishes — and what it does not

What you get

What the record shows: Ownership, encumbrances and recorded instruments for the property or the names searched, in the counties searched.
The recording sequence: Which instrument reached the recorder first, and where the chain skips.
A document that stands alone: A written report, abstract or affidavit. Ours have been admitted as evidence at the state, county and federal level.
An honest scope note: Which counties reported, and what could not be established from the record.

What it is not

Not a title insurance policy. A policy is issued by an underwriter and insures against loss. We report and analyse the record; we do not insure it.

Not a legal opinion. Whether someone holds marketable title today is a legal conclusion, and it belongs to an attorney licensed in the state where the land sits.

Not a complete inventory. A search reports what has been recorded and indexed under the terms searched. An interest held through an entity, a trust or a name variation we were not given will not surface, and an empty result does not establish that nothing exists.

Not a universal rule about local practice. Recording and indexing practice is set county by county and it varies — some counties report their records electronically and some do not. Scope is agreed county by county rather than assumed.

How it runs

Scoped before it starts

Forensic work is quoted against a scope, because the size of the chain decides the size of the job. We agree what is being searched, and in which counties, before anyone starts pulling documents.

01
Scope the question
What you need established, the property or the party, and the counties in play. Forensic work is scoped before it starts, because the size of the chain decides the size of the job.
02
Pull the record
Abstractors work the county where the property sits — the recorder, the clerk, the tax rolls — plus state and federal indexes where the matter reaches them.
03
Read the chain
Every instrument is read in recording order. Gaps, out-of-sequence recordings, defective conveyances and competing interests are documented rather than smoothed over.
04
Deliver the findings
A written report, abstract or affidavit stating what the record shows, which counties reported, and what could not be established from the record.

Who we work for

Clients who have to be able to cite the record

Attorneys and law firms
Government agencies
Auction and foreclosure investors
Lenders and banks
Title underwriters
Insurance companies
Investment corporations

For a standard search, the AFX property that specialises in it will be faster — see the specialty searches or the state directory. Bring forensic work here.

Common questions

Before you scope a search

What is a records forensics investigation?

It is a records examination that goes past a standard search. Rather than reporting the current owner and open encumbrances, a forensic investigation pulls and reads every recorded instrument in the chain, documents gaps and out-of-sequence recordings, and produces a written reconstruction of what the public record actually shows. It is the work behind a quiet-title action, a defective-assignment claim, or a dispute over which of two deeds reached the recorder first.

How is that different from an ordinary title search?

A title search answers a present-tense question: who owns this property of record, and what is recorded against it. A forensic examination answers a historical one: how did the record get into this state, and where does it break. The searches overlap — both start in the county where the property sits — but the forensic version reads the whole chain instead of the current position, and the deliverable is a written analysis rather than a report form.

Can you find every property a person owns?

No search can promise that, and we do not. An asset discovery search reports real property and recorded interests that have been recorded and indexed under the names we search, in the jurisdictions we search. Interests held through an entity, a trust, or a name variation we were not given will not surface under the name searched, and an empty result does not establish that nothing exists.

Do you provide title insurance or a legal opinion?

No. We report and analyse what is in the public record. A title insurance policy is issued by an underwriter, and an opinion on who holds marketable title today is a legal conclusion that belongs to an attorney licensed in the state where the land sits. Our abstracts and affidavits are written to be read by those professionals, and they have been admitted as evidence at the state, county and federal level.

Which states and counties do you cover?

All fifty states. AFX has certified title abstractors in every US county, offices in California, Washington, Florida and Michigan, and a dedicated title search property for each state. Recording and indexing practice is set locally and it varies — some counties report their records electronically and some do not — so the scope of a search is agreed county by county rather than assumed.

Do I order a search on this site?

Not directly. AFXTitle.com does not take orders or quote prices; each search is ordered on the AFX property that runs it, and the specialty and state directories here link straight to them. If you are not sure which one fits, describe the matter and we will point you at the right one, or scope the investigation ourselves if it is forensic work.

Next step

Scope an investigation

Tell us the property or the party, the counties in play, and what you need established. We will tell you what the record can support and what it cannot.

Request a Search What We Investigate

Call 877-848-5337 or email info@afxllc.com