The kicker? Most of these issues are discoverable before you sign the LOI.
Signing a Letter of Intent without proper title review is like buying a house without checking if the seller actually owns it. Except in utility-scale power development, the stakes are higher, the timelines are longer, and the capital at risk is exponentially greater.
A systematic pre-LOI title review process identifies deal-breakers early — when you still have leverage, flexibility, and zero capital committed. This isn't about slowing down deals. It's about moving fast on the right deals and walking away from the wrong ones before they cost you millions.
Why Pre-LOI Title Review Matters Now
Tax equity investors and project finance lenders have tightened title requirements. What they'd overlook three years ago now kills deals at NTP. ITC safe harbor pressure means developers are discovering title defects at commercial operations — when fixing them requires contract renegotiations that blow timelines. Portfolio buyers are walking from M&A transactions over title issues that should have been caught in development-stage diligence.
"Pre-LOI title review isn't due diligence theater. It's deal protection."
The 7-Step Pre-LOI Title Review Process
Confirm Chain of Title
Verify the landowner actually has the right to lease the property. Review recorded deeds going back 30–60 years, identify all current owners and ownership percentages, and flag any breaks in the chain requiring title cure.
Identify Encumbrances and Restrictions
Every recorded document affecting the property is an encumbrance until proven otherwise. Critical items to identify:
- Existing easements that may conflict with project infrastructure
- Restrictive covenants limiting commercial use
- Agricultural or conservation easements prohibiting development
- Mortgages requiring lender consent
Analyze Mineral Rights
Severed mineral rights give subsurface owners the right to access their minerals — which in many states includes surface occupancy rights that trump your lease. Determine whether minerals are severed, who owns them, whether there are active leases, and the jurisdiction's legal framework for conflicts.
Review Tax Assessments and Liens
Tax liens follow the property, not the owner. Verify current property tax status, review assessment methodology, identify special assessments, and assess property tax treatment of power project improvements in that jurisdiction.
Verify Access Rights
A landlocked site is worthless. Confirm legal access to public roads, verify easement width is sufficient for construction equipment, and determine if access crosses third-party property requiring additional agreements.
Identify Subordination Requirements
If there's a mortgage on the property, your lease is subordinate unless you get an SNDA (Subordination, Non-Disturbance, and Attornment Agreement). Without it, foreclosure wipes out your lease. Start SNDA negotiations before LOI — Farm Credit lenders often need 90–120 days for internal approval.
Assess Title Insurance Availability
The ultimate test of title quality is whether a title insurance company will insure it. Engage a title company for preliminary commitment before LOI, review all exceptions to coverage, and determine if any issues are uninsurable — these are automatic deal-killers.
The Desktop Methodology Advantage
Desktop title review provides 80% of the value at 20% of the cost — and delivers it in 5–7 business days instead of weeks.
- Screen out bad deals before spending capital on surveys and engineering
- Surface deal-killers while you still have negotiating leverage
- Make informed walk-away decisions before your reputation is attached to the project
When to Walk Away vs. Negotiate
Not all title issues are fatal to a project. A critical component of the review is distinguishing between repairable defects and absolute deal-breakers.
| Category | Issue | Action / Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-Away | Conservation easements with development prohibitions | Absolute deal-killer; usually won't be waived. |
| Walk-Away | Uninsurable title defects | If a title company won't insure it, lenders won't finance it. |
| Walk-Away | Missing heirs or unlocatable co-owners | Creates a "veto power" risk after project announcement. |
| Negotiable | Mortgage subordination | Requires SNDA; Farm Credit lenders often need 90–120 days. |
| Negotiable | Conflicting easements | May be resolved if they don't conflict with the project layout. |
| Negotiable | Tax liens | Landowner may agree to cure the lien as part of the deal. |
Title Review for Power Projects
TerraPro Solutions provides title review and land risk assessment for utility-scale power projects. Our specialized methodology identifies deal-killers during pre-LOI screening — when you still have the leverage to walk away or negotiate solutions.
We've supported Fortune 500 clients across decades of power project development. From tax equity due diligence to M&A transaction support, we understand what kills deals in late-stage financing.
The utility-scale power industry rewards speed, but speed without certainty is just expensive failure. Pre-LOI title review accelerates the right projects and stops the wrong ones before they consume capital, credibility, and competitive advantage.
"The question isn't whether you can afford pre-LOI title review. It's whether you can afford not to."
Evaluating a site pre-LOI? Get a title review in 5–7 business days.
Talk to our team