New to the Game, Lots of Questions :-)

[stillsleepy]

**EDIT**
I've tracked town answers to a lot of my questions, and I've inserted them into my original post (below) in RED  

So as you may have seen in the new members/introductions forum, I'm very green and have a lot to learn. As a result I've got a million questions and will probably post them in this thread... Perhaps in the future it will become a go-to source of information for new members.
For the time being, I've got a question about liens.

I've done some research and as I understand it, a lien is basically a "claim" on the value of an object. The circumstances I'm questioning are property, of course, so banks and other lenders claiming monetary values against the houses/properties for whatever value they're owed.

My questions are this:

    - I understand that a title search is the way to check for liens against a property (correct?) in addition to other information. My questions relating to this are: Can this be done with only the address and related info, or do you need the "technical" information? (i.e. lot number, PIN number, and all that other gibberish) Just as well, can it be done with only the technical info and not the postal/street address?
A Title search can be done with the technical information, OR the street address. Catch is, you may have to do (pay) for other searches to get the rest of the information to then conduct the title search.
    - Is it possible that a lien wouldn't show up on a title search, or be added between the search and the final sale process? If so, is there any insurance against this? Should you just wait as long as possible to check for liens? Should you check them again the day of or day before buying/bidding?
Yes, it is possible for a lien to be added any time before the property has been transferred. It is advisable to wairt till the last day to conduct a title search, or better to conduct a title search and then a follow up search. It is also advisable to also conduct an execution search against the owner, as they may have liens against them.
    - Are lawyers the only ones who can do title searches? Would city hall be able to give me (or anyone) lien information? Basically, is there any alternative (READ: CHEAPER) way of checking for liens? Assuming of course that you have the address or other necessary info.
Anyone can conduct a title search and/or an execution search. This is typically done through the local offices for the jurisdiction, but these days can be done online (for Ontario) through the "Teranet" public-private partnership.. Or something.
    - Are the results of a title search usually in "layman's" English, or are they in technical/law terms?
Technical terms, unfortunately. Though if you get a lawyer to do the search they may translate it for you
    - Would the results of a title search (or whatever the correct method is) show the current lien against a house? Or would it only show the initial value, and then the interest rate and other info needed to calculate what the current debt is?
Still not sure about this one.. I suspect it's initial value only.

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Will Add more Questions in this area soon  
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I have a pretty good idea what the answer is to some of the above, but to save space and time I'll just ask them in the forms of questions, rather than "is it true/correct that .... under x circumstances, but y under other circumstances?" etc
Thanks a bunch!!  

[BlueskyCan]

This forum is a rich knowledgebase. 2-4 hours of reading per week will answer most of the questions. I am also new in this, 6 month in the game, won 1 property, was 2nd in two deal. Just reading helped me quite a bit. I have actually deviced a formula for bidding value and have checked it against 4-5 property and my numbers either wins or becomes 2nd. Only issue is I don't have a lot of fund to play, so as a newbie I would suggest please keep reading.

[stillsleepy]

Thanks for the reply.. Your "formula" sounds pretty interesting, I'd be interested to know more about that if you're willing to share.

I've been doing a lot of reading, probably 12-20 hours in the last week (although not only from this forum) and obviously I'll continue doing so. I just want(ed) clarification on the points I asked about, because the problem with information on forums is that it isn't always 100% correct, and/or it can also be conflicting. For example, my question regarding exactly what happens/if it's possible that a lien has been registered after you've done your title search.. I've heard that it is possible, but then you have legal grounds to cancel your sale and offer... But then I've also heard that it isn't possible, because a crown lien would have existed for a long time on the property (or something?)

Plus I'm still confused about damn title searches.. Do they show all liens? Are they required to? Does that mean the bank(s) have to register their liens against the property in some database? Or is a title search actually called a "search" because every lending institution that could possibly have an interest in the property is questioned? Or are liens automatically registered with City Hall whenever they're created? Or... is it a mix of the two, where the company holding the lien is registered, but then part of the title search is contacting that company to determine the value of the lien?

Obviously, I either ask too many questions or tend to over-complicate things... or do both