In smaller places the local lawyers know how to make up an
abstract and one should be employed. Never trust the search of the
inexperienced.

An abstract of title is a memorandum taken from the records of the
office where deeds are recorded, and showing the history of the
title from the Government up to the present time.

The seller should furnish the buyer with a certificate from the
proper county officer, showing whether or not all taxes have been
paid up to the last assessment.

In addition to this, before the money is paid and the deed
accepted, the purchaser should be satisfied that there are no
mortgages, liens, attachments or other claims against the
property.

If such claims exist and are known to the buyer, he may assume
them as a condition of the sale.

PARTIES TO A DEED

The person selling the land and making the deed is known in law as
the Grantor. The person buying the property is known as the
Grantee.

A deed is a form of contract, and in order to have its terms and
statements binding on the maker, he must be twenty-one years of
age, or over, and he must be of sound mind.