Freeport, IL asked in Real Estate Law for Alabama

Q: My family owns 80 acres and wants to sell some of the land to me for as cheap as possible. How would this work?

The land is forrest and we are looking to possibly buy to build a home and they are willing to sell the land for as cheap as possible or gift it. Just need to know what the law and requirements are for such a process in AL.

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: The short answer is that all you need is a deed. The better answer is that you need to purchase a title insurance policy that will insure that you will receive good title to the land. How you do that is that you select a title insurance company and tell them what you want to do. They will research the title and provide you with a title commitment, which reflects whether your family has good title to the land, any problems with the title to the land that need to be cleared up, and the identity of the members of your family who will have to sign the deed in order for you to receive good title. This will not be an expensive undertaking unless the title search reveals serious problems with the title that need to be cleared up. If that happens you will have decisions to make as to whether it will be worthwhile to incur the expense of clearing them up. The title company will have the deed prepared by an attorney they trust, and his fee for preparing the deed will be paid by you or your family at closing.

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