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What is
title?
What is a
title search?
What is Title
Insurance?
What if
I'm just refinancing, do I need title insurance?
What
about new construction, do I need title
insurance?
How much is title insurance? Who pays for it?
How can I get a reissue Credit?
Terms
What is title?
It is
the right to own, possess, use, control and
dispose of land. It is your lawful ownership of
real property.
^TOP^
What is a title search?
A title
search is a detailed examination of the
historical, public records concerning a
property. These records include deeds, court
records, property and name indexes, and many
other public documents.
^TOP^
What is Title Insurance?
It is
insurance that protects your legal property
ownership rights from any claims. There
are polices to protect the owner, the lender or
both.
^TOP^
Do I need
Title Insurance?
A title
search reveals issues that are detectable by a
search of recorded documents. However all problems
that may come about are not identifiable through
recorded documents. Title insurance protects your
investment from the unknown history of the
property.
A quick example:
A title company or an attorney does a search on
your property, and the title looks clean.
However one of the previous owners had an
unknown wife &/or children in another state that
was not identifiable. Should that wife or
children make a claim of ownership there is a
high likelihood that without Title
Insurance…..the buyer could lose his ownership.
With an owners
policy of title
insurance, if a claim is made against the title,
the underwriter must pay any and all costs
associated with defense against the challenge,
up to the value of the policy, and if unsuccessful in that defense, reimburse
the landowner for any reduction in the value of
the land.
^TOP^
What if
I'm just refinancing, do I need an
owners policy of title
insurance?
Most
people purchase title insurance at the time of a
sale because that is the time of which the
necessary expenses are occurred, however it is
possible to purchase an owners policy at any
time.
Because of the work needed to be performed…..the
process of purchasing title insurance at the
time of refinancing can take more time than
doing a refinance without Title Insurance, therefore
it is not typically done. If you buy an
owners policy at the time of a purchase, it
would be necessary to purchase another policy at
the time of refinance
^TOP^
What about
new construction, do I need title insurance?
Yes. Construction
of a new home raises special title problems for
the lender and owner. You may think you are the
first owner when constructing a new home on a
purchased lot. However, there were probably many
prior owners of the unimproved land. Purchasing
owner’s title insurance will protect you against
these problems and pay for any legal fees
involved in defending a claim. If you are
considering a New Construction loan it is
preferable that work begins only after the
mortgage has been recorded
^TOP^
How much is title insurance? Who pays for it?
Title insurance
charges vary in different sections of the
country, however it is based on the purchase
price of your home and/or land. You pay for an
owner's policy of title insurance only once.
There are no monthly premiums.
If you have ever
had a previous owners policy with ANY title
insurance company there is a "reissue credit"
given and you pay a reduced premium.
If you are
required by a lender to pay for a lenders policy
(which protects the lenders money from title
claims for the duration of the loan), and you
also elect to pay for the owner's policy to
protect your interests for as long as you own
the property…..there is a SIGNIFICANT
multi-policy discount. Ask your closing agent
about the rates.
^TOP^
How can
I get a reissue Credit?
If you have ever
had a previous owners policy with ANY title
insurance company there is a "reissue credit"
given and you pay a reduced premium.
If you are
required by a lender to pay for a lenders policy
(which protects the lenders money from title
claims for the duration of the loan), and you
also elect to pay for the owner's policy to
protect your interests for as long as you own
the property…..there is a SIGNIFICANT
multi-policy discount. Ask your closing agent
about the rates.
^TOP^
Terms:
Warranty Deed
Quit
Claim Deed
Limited
Warranty Deed
Contract for Deed
Joint
Tenancy
Tenants in Common
CRV
Warranty
Deed:
states that the seller has good title to the
land with no material defects. It is a deed in
which the grantor warrants the title against
defects that might have arisen before or during
his or her period of ownership.
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Quit
Claim Deed:
does not imply that the
seller holds title, but gives buyer interest or
rights which the seller had; the seller abandons
claim or interest in the property.
Or….a deed that conveys any interest in a
property that the grantor has at the time the
deed is executed, without warranties.
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Limited Warranty Deed:
states that the seller has
done nothing to make the title bad while they
owned it. Does not guarantee the title before
or after ownership. Or……A deed in which the
grantor warrants title only against defects that
may have arisen during his or her period of
ownership. Also called a special warranty deed.
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Contract for Deed:
legal agreement to which
seller agrees to provide deed when conditions
agreed upon between he and buyer are met. Upon
conditions being met… a warranty deed is
created. A CD is considered a “sale” and must be
reviewed by an attorney. Or….A contract for the
sale of real property in which the buyer pays in
installments: the buyer takes possession of the
property immediately, but the seller retains
legal title until the full price has been paid.
Also called a conditional sales contract,
installment sales contract, land contract or
real estate contract.
^TOP^
Joint
Tenancy:
parties on title have
equal say, with the provision that upon the
death of a joint tenant, this share in the
property passes to the surviving tenants (like a
parter, not heirs). A joint tenant cannot
legally sell or encumber his interest without
the consent or joinder of all the other joint
tenants.
^TOP^
Tenants in Common:
parties have equal say,
each person holds separate individual interest,
and each may sell his interest or dispose of it
by will, if persons holding interest should die
without a will, his heirs inherit his undivided
interest.
^TOP^
CRV
=
Certificate of Real Estate
Value – does not include personal
possessions/property. It does list and excludes
the possessions, and need a "bill of sale"
^TOP^
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