Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota

Re: Selling a house without an abstract

There's a vacant lot down the street which I would be glad to sell you with no abstract and no title insurance. I'll give you a quit claim deed. Trouble is I don't own the lot. Somewhere along the line you need proof that the sellers actually own the place. Yes, lack of that will make financing impossible.

You can order an abstract from an abstract company, such as Old Republic. There are several such companies in the yellow pages.

The abstract will cost more since it will be made from scratch instead of just updating an old one, however.

It might be better to just get a policy of title insurance. Abstracts are going out of style and being replaced by such insurance policies.

Whether you have a policy of title insurance or an abstract, neither means much to a lay person. For example, the policy will have numerous exceptions and unless you are a lawyer, you can't tell which ones if any you should be concerned about. The abstract might or might not show that the persons selling the place are the owners. Only a competent real estate lawyer can tell you what it means, and then sometimes we have trouble.

You should at least be consulting a lawyer.