As a wise man named Ferris Bueller once said: “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Master Title Agency is entering its 20th year in the Carolinas, and one would be amazed to see just how much North Carolina alone has grown and changed over those 20 years. Forests and farmland have transformed into homes and businesses with people relocating here from all over the country. In 20 years, some have bought and sold countless properties. However, there’s also those special few who have been happy to live in the same home for those 20 years or even more. Maybe they grew up in the home and inherited it from their parents or maybe it was the first home they purchased with their spouse and are keeping it for their kids one day. They know every inch of the home, every brick and every plank, every crack in the driveway and every branch on the trees. They know the neighborhood and the neighbors; they’ve put down roots. But a lot can change in 20 years and some of those changes might even go unnoticed. When someone purchases a piece of property, the attorney who oversees the transaction has a title search performed so that he or she can give an opinion as to what the state of title is. The buyer could even purchase a, highly recommended, owners title insurance policy. What both of these provide is a snapshot of title but, like a photograph, it’s only a picture of what title is at the time of the transaction - not what can happen over 20 years.

Sure, some of these changes are certainly noticeable. They’re going to notice that the farm next door is now a movie theater or that the neighbor has put up a new fence. What they might not notice is that they’re now in violation of new zoning setbacks or that the neighbor’s fence actually encroaches over the property line. They might not know that the HOA restrictions they have lived with for 20 years are now unenforceable or have been extinguished allowing for changes to the landscape of the community. These are things that a survey or a title search might find but there’s just been no reason to get one. Not all changes are bad, a lot of them are great. It’s just a matter of being aware of them so they don’t come as a surprise. A homeowner can always make themselves aware of these changes by doing a title search or getting a survey even if they aren’t in the midst of a real estate transaction or by speaking with the HOA or checking zoning laws. It’s about having peace of mind. A lot can change in 20 years, but if you stop and look around once and a while you can enjoy the next 20 years.