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ZorbaTHut  2yr ago (text post)   31617 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 17, 2022

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Candidly, my knowledge of the housing industry outstrips my knowledge of cryptocurrency.

But, my first thought is that, no, I do not want decentralized titles. I explicitly want centralized titles. I want a lawyer, and a county clerk, and a judge, all talking about who owns what for most people will be the most expensive purchase(s) of their lives, if there is any sort dispute. I do not want ownership of my home tied to password security. I want wet signatures, and I’m bringing a blue pen, so I know if a document presented at a later date has been so much as photocopied.

But, my first thought is that, no, I do not want decentralized titles. I explicitly want centralized titles.

Right now titles aren't really that centralized, which is the whole purpose of title insurance. What I'm proposing is centralizing them.

What I'm proposing is centralizing them.

Then why not just have the state run a database instead of using the blockchain? At least a database doesn't come with gas fees, and errors can be corrected via legal process.

This is called Torrens title, and it is the norm in the world outside the US. The goals of the system are the mirror principle (the register reflects the title, so that anyone who knows they are dealing with the registered proprietor can buy the property without needing to investigate the title or pay for insurance), the curtain principle (anything not needed to deliver the mirror principle, such as the identity of the beneficiaries if the registered owner is a trust, is off the register), and the indemnity principle (anyone who loses money due to the registrar's error, such as allowing a forged deed to be registered, is indemnified at public expense). The details of how this is achieved varies subtly between jurisdictions, but in all case the key is that a State-maintained centralised register is inherently as trustworthy as the underlying State-enforced land title (so blockchain adds no value).

Googling suggests a widespread lack of curiosity as to why the US has not adopted Torrens titles. The best good reason I found is that land law is a State function, and the States cannot impose a register-it-or-lose-it rule on the Feds as applied to e.g. Federal tax liens, meaning that a State-issued Torrens title could not be a true mirror. The likely bad reason is that title insurers have successfully lobbied against the change.

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