Genealogy & Title Research Specialist

Job title: Genealogy & Title Research Specialist
Type of employment: Full-time
Shift Schedule: Monday–Friday, 10:00AM – 7:00PM CT

A specialized research role focused on identifying heirs, confirming ownership, and resolving title complexity for Texas property deals. You will conduct hands-on genealogy research, deep recorder-of-deeds investigations, and public records work to produce a complete, caller-ready research packet—so the sales and calling team can move cases forward without back-and-forth.

This role operates across two parallel research tracks:

Track A (Tax List Method): Screen high-volume delinquent tax lists, confirm deceased ownership, identify heirs, and skip trace contact information for caller handoff.

Track B (Title Intelligence Profile Method): Conduct deep recorder-of-deeds investigations on individual properties—reading every recorded instrument in the chain, tracing ownership, and identifying hidden defects invisible to anyone working from a list alone. This is the harder and more valuable track, and it is a core requirement of this role.

About the Company

A real estate acquisition business that helps property owners and heirs solve complex, often stressful property problems (family ownership, liens, taxes, title issues) before the situation worsens, creating a win-win outcome by taking on problems sellers don't know how to solve.

Objectives of this Role

• Produce accurate heirship identification and contact pathways through professional genealogy research

• Deliver clean, complete title chain findings with defects clearly identified and actionable next steps for the caller and closing team

• Execute deep recorder-of-deeds investigations (Track B) that surface hidden opportunities and defects no list-based approach will find

• Reduce bottlenecks by handling hard cases—deep-dive skip tracing and complex public records investigations—that basic tools cannot solve

• Improve speed-to-close by documenting findings in CRM in a structured format the caller can use immediately without follow-up questions
  

Responsibilities

• Death Confirmation & Identity

  • Confirm property owner identity and verify deceased status using obituaries, public records, SSDI (as applicable), and Ancestry.com

  • When obituaries are unavailable (common pre-2000s), rely on alternative indicators such as deed dates, payment history, and court records.

• Genealogy & Heir Identification

  • Build family trees and identify all legal heirs using birth, death, marriage, divorce, and probate records

  • Use Ancestry.com birth record searches by parent name to quickly surface children without requiring a full family tree build—a high-value technique for fast heir identification

  • Read funeral home condolence comments, obituary mentions, and similar sources to identify family members not captured in formal records

• Title Chain Research — Track A (Standard)

  • Search county recorder of deeds portals by owner name and parcel number

  • Read and interpret recorded documents: deeds, mortgages, liens, releases, affidavits of heirship, judgment liens

  • Trace ownership history and flag defects for caller handoff

• Title Chain Research — Track B (Deep Investigation, Core Requirement)
  • Conduct full Title Intelligence Profile (TIP) investigations:

    • Search by grantor/grantee name (all variations) and legal description—not just parcel number

    • Review all recorded instruments chronologically (deeds, mortgages, liens, trusts, quitclaims, etc.)

    • Verify signatories, roles, and consistency across documents

    • Identify and flag defects (unreleased liens, breaks in chain, missing signatures, trust issues, misfiled documents, suspicious transfers, etc.)

    • Validate findings directly against recorder data, recognizing common database inaccuracies (~30%)

    • Review Secretary of State records for entity status and ownership; flag inactive/dissolved entities

    • Search PACER for bankruptcy filings, tax liens, and federal records

• Public Records Investigation

  • Conduct research across probate, tax, divorce, criminal, bankruptcy, and civil records. Check both county and state databases for all individuals connected to a property.

• Skip Tracing
  • Perform deep-dive skip tracing for hard-to-find heirs using social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) and non-standard methods. 
  • Focus on difficult cases—avoid bulk tracing and verify all data against the heir profile.
• CRM Documentation
  • Document findings in CRM (Podio preferred) in a structured, complete format usable by callers without follow-up. Each research summary must include:

    • Confirmed heirs with supporting evidence

    • Contact information and best outreach path

    • Title issues and deal impact

    • Deal classification (e.g., probate, tax-driven, trust issue, etc.)

    • Recommended next steps

• Title Defect Identification & Flagging
  • Identify required curative instruments (e.g., affidavits of heirship, corrective deeds), explain each defect, its impact, and resolution path. Drafting of basic curative instruments is included.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Hands-on genealogy research experience (professional or directly relevant)—building family trees, identifying heirs, working with birth, death, marriage, and divorce records
• Proficiency in Ancestry.com, including birth record searches by parent name
• Hands-on title chain research experience: reading recorded documents, tracing full ownership history, identifying defects across the complete range of instrument types
• Deep recorder-of-deeds investigation capability: ability to search by name AND legal description, sort chronologically, read every instrument type, and identify hidden defects—not just standard deed and mortgage pulls
• Strong public records investigation capability across probate, tax, divorce, bankruptcy, entity, and federal court records
• Strong skip tracing capability beyond basic report pulls: social investigation and creative non-standard methods
• Exceptional documentation discipline: structured CRM notes that require no clarification from the caller before they can act
• Strong written English and ability to summarize complex findings clearly and concisely
• High attention to detail and comfort working with sensitive, high-stakes information
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple files simultaneously, and prioritize without daily direction

Preferred Skills and Qualifications

• Background in a Philippines-based title support company supporting US clients—particularly one that conducted full chain-of-title investigations, not just standard report pulls
• Prior curative title experience for a US-based title company (highly preferred)
• Experience with Texas counties' recorder and tax systems (will train on specific county portals)
• Experience using Podio or similar CRMs
• Experience with skip trace tools: TLO, BatchSkipTracing, IDI Core, or similar
• Experience in estate, probate, or heirship research roles
• Familiarity with PACER and federal court record searches