Even if you don’t consider yourself to be especially tight with your purse strings, it’s likely that when you’re purchasing a big-ticket item—such as a television or a new laptop—you’re checking around to see how much it costs on average and what the very low end and high end of the pricing looks like. The reason why? You want to understand why it’s valued so much in order to justify the expense. So then what is an appraisal? More or less the same thing, just on a grander scale.

When it comes to property lines, it might seem straightforward that what falls on your property is yours, and what’s on your neighbor’s side is theirs. But if you’ve ever reviewed property survey records, you know it’s not always that simple.

When you move through the home buying or selling process, there are endless things to keep track of. You may be so focused on financing the home, you overlook some other key details. In the flurry of paperwork and home inspections, you may forget about one small but important element—a property title search.

Buying a home seems simple: you find a property you like, make an offer, and move in. While that may cover the broad strokes, owning a property involves a lot more legwork and legal paperwork, including a deed.