When you purchase real property, you will receive a written document (called "the deed") which transfers the ownership (title) of the property to you as the purchaser. The deed gives you formal title in exchange usually for a specified amount of money. The conveyance of real property is not complete until the deed is delivered to you or your authorized agent.

When you get the deed, you should record it with the county recorder in the county where the property is located. The purpose of recording the deed is to give "notice to the world" that you now have an ownership interest in that particular piece of real property.

Recording also tracks the chronological chain of title. Anyone who wants to know who owns a piece of real property can check the records of the county recorder for the county where the property is located. Before you purchase real property, you can follow the chain of sales and transfers of the property - from the original grant of the land all the way to the current owner. When title insurance is purchased, the title insurer checks the change of title to determine whether any defects occurred in prior conveyances and transfers - defects may then be pointed out and excluded from coverage. As a purchaser of property, you want to check that every time in the past, when the property was transferred, the grantor had clear title to the property and the previous purchasers obtained clear title. If someone in the past got less than "the whole bundle of sticks" you will not get clear title.