Mother Deed

Every property has a story. Someone owned the land, sold or gifted it, it was divided among a family, and later a builder came in. The mother deed is the older document at the head of that story, the one the later transfers trace back to. The documents in between are often called link documents. Together they make the title chain.

If you only see the latest deed, you only see the latest owner. The mother deed and link documents show whether that owner had the right to sell. Gaps are common in older land: a sale signed by only some heirs, a missing death certificate, an inheritance never recorded. These are the problems that surface years later, often when you try to sell or take a top-up loan.

The law does not name one number of years for a title search. Lawyers decide how far back to go; many trace the chain for several decades, often to a mother deed.

• A copy of the mother deed and each link document, in date order.
• Encumbrance certificates covering the same years.
• Family trees and legal heir certificates where the land passed by inheritance.
• Land records (RTC) and the DC conversion order for the survey number.
• The builder’s agreement with the landowners.

A builder who is confident in the title will share these. If a document is “not available”, ask why, in writing.