Job title: Genealogy & Title Research Specialist
Type of employment: Full-time
Shift Schedule: MondayFriday, 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 packetso 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 propertiesreading 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 casesdeep-dive skip tracing and complex public records investigationsthat 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 builda 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 descriptionnot 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 casesavoid 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 defectsnot 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 clientsparticularly 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
