Four signatures on a five heir deed and I recorded it anyway
40 acres, half pasture half scrub, in a county where the average parcel trades a couple times a decade. Seller called off a letter, said she had inherited it from her father in 2019 and wanted it gone. $21,000, cash, closed at a title company an hour away because that is what was available.
Here is what I skipped. I did not order a title search before closing. The seller had a copy of her father's deed, the tax bill was in the estate's name, and the price was low enough that I told myself the risk was priced in. The title company handled the deed and disbursed. No commitment, no search, no insurance.
Eleven months later, my cash buyer's title company ran the chain and found the estate had never been probated. Father died with five children. My seller had signed a warranty deed for all 40 acres and she owned an undivided interest in it, not the whole thing. Two siblings did not care and signed quitclaims for $500 each to cover their trouble. One wanted to be paid, and I bought her interest for $2,500. The fifth had died and his share went to his own kids, which is where the attorney fees started.
Total: $3,900 in legal work, $3,500 to heirs, eleven months of taxes and mowing, and a sale at $29,500 instead of the $44,000 on terms I had planned. Cleared about $1,100 for nearly two years of calendar time. This kind of thing turns on state law and probate specifics, so an attorney licensed where the land sits does the work, not me.
What I would do differently: on anything inherited, a title search before I wire, every time, no exceptions for small dollars.