I would suggest looking into buying a small piece of land on the edge of town and request a title search (get a list of previous owners). There you will see the

I would suggest looking into buying a small piece of land on the edge of town and request a title search (get a list of previous owners). There you will see the mess that currently exists. We can create the most efficient process in the world with great technology, but it will take a long time before we can have confidence that all of the past records are recorded. If your title company fails to notice a deed from 1912... That's what the insurance is for. Even with the technology the insurance would still exist because it's silly not to buy the insurance. You are protected if the title company screws up with title insurance. In the future insurance would protect you from the "title chain" having bad data.