Everything You Need to Know About the GSCCCA Real Estate: Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority
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Accessing Real Estate Records in Georgia
Do you have questions about real estate matters? The attorneys from Faulkner Law, LLC provide answers about GSCCA Real Estate and more. Please contact us today!
Author: Stan Faulkner, Founder, Perigon Legal Services, LLC
Mr. Faulkner is an experienced counselor and litigator with 15 years of experience, having held bar licenses in four states (Mo, Il, Ct and Ga). Stan Faulkner uses this experience and focuses his skills in the pursuit of assisting individuals in probate (trust and estate) matters, guardianships and conservatorships, estate planning, business disputes and contract disputes. Published on November 23, 2022.
If you’re trying to purchase a house or land in Georgia, doing your due diligence about the property history is crucial before making any payments.
Real estate records are as vital as real estate properties themselves. With these records, you can obtain information about a parcel of land, such as who owns it and whether there is an existing lien on the land. The information you obtain from the real estate records can help you decide whether or not to close the transaction with the help of your real estate attorney.
In Georgia, you can find such information at the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA).
What Is the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority?
The Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority was established in 1993 by an Act passed by the Georgia General Assembly. It took over the Notary service in 1997.
The organization facilitates online access to Georgia’s real estate and personal property records. Anyone can easily access property records from any location through the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority’s website.
The GSCCCA and Real Estate
Real estate property closings require the confirmation of title to any property subject to a sale and the filings for transferring the property in question to a new owner.
This involved a manual and time-intensive process in the bad old days. The GSCCCA has improved the situation and has provided real estate E-filing services and a real estate index.
Filing Real Estate Forms at the GSCCCA
Two methods can be used when using the GSCCCA real estate E-filing platform to file real estate forms and documents online.
The first involves using an approved participant, such as a trusted Georgia real estate attorney or estate agent, who has obtained permission or a license from the GSCCCA to submit real estate forms and documents online through the Authority Portal. Payment is made to the submitter, who settles the official fees on your behalf.
The second method allows registered individuals to submit documents directly through the Authority e-file portal. With this method, you make payments directly on the website using an ACH transfer, credit card, or escrow account. After paying the fees, you can proceed with the filing by following the directions on the portal.
How to Perform Real Estate Searches on the GSCCCA Website
Property ownership records are public documents in Georgia, and the GSCCCA helps to make them freely accessible.
The GSCCCA website provides real-time access to the Georgia Consolidated Real Estate Indexes. From the site, you can:
- Conduct title searches to determine who a property owner is. This could come in handy if you’re involved in a real estate dispute and unsure who the actual owner is.
- Confirm whether a lien or any other encumbrance is attached to the property. This is an important step, especially when you’re about to purchase a property. Before making a decision, you can confirm whether the previous owners used the property as collateral for a debt or any other liability.
You can search for information on a property using the property owner’s name or the property’s registration details.
Some counties in Georgia, including Fulton, Gwinnett, Clayton, and Cobb, allow you to search their property indexes using the property’s location (lot, subdivision, unit, or block) information.
If you need to search for any property in Georgia and are unsure how to proceed, you can contact a real estate attorney in Atlanta for help and directions.
Find a Copy of Your Property Title Deed Online at the GSCCCA
The GSCCCA website also provides convenient access to your property deed in Georgia.
You can request a certified copy of your property documents online by submitting an e-certification request via the website. After paying the required fees, you will receive a certified copy of your real estate documents through a link sent directly to your email.
GSCCCA Apostille Documents
Apostille here means to authenticate real estate documents for use in other countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention of 1961. It is the duty of the GSCCCA to issue apostilles for documents originating in the State of Georgia.
Note that the GSCCCA cannot apostille the following documents:
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Documents made for an out-of-state property: Contact the relevant state for authentication.
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Federal documents, sealed and signed by a federal agency or federal court, including the consular report of birth abroad: For this, please get in touch with the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office.
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Documents that have been photocopied: Unless the photocopied document has been certified by a Georgia notary, it cannot be authenticated by the GSCCCA.
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Documents originally issued by a foreign country: Contact the issuing country for an apostille.
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Documents that will be submitted to non-apostille convention countries
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Documents that will be used within the United States of America
How Much Is GSCCCA Membership?
While some of the features on the GSCCCA website, like a name search, are free, others require a paid subscription. A subscription would give you access to more information and allow you to file certain real estate documents online, including:
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Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) documents
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PT-61 for filing information on the Real Estate Transfer Tax
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Real estate deeds
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Real estate liens
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Real estate plat and access to the plat index ( a state-wide record of land maps).
From the information on the website, a regular subscription account will cost you $11.95 per month. This is charged per user and is for unlimited use. The amount is charged monthly until you deactivate your account.
A premium account would cost you $24.95 every month.
Get Help With Your GSCCCA Questions and Real Estate Investigation at Faulkner Law
If you have further questions on real estate matters and the GSCCCA, we might be able to help.
At Faulkner Law, we are diligent about helping our clients with their real estate transactions and resolving real estate disputes. We understand that real estate disputes often originate from badly concluded transactions.
To avoid this, we help our clients evaluate their transaction documents, conduct due diligence, and close the real estate transaction. Our real estate litigation attorney also offers quality representation in real estate litigation.
So, if you’re dealing with any real estate dispute or want to purchase a property, call us at (770) 268-2630 to schedule a free consultation. We’d be glad to be of service.
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