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Dec 2023
Do You Need Title Insurance When Buying Vacant Land?

Do You Need Title Insurance When Buying Vacant Land?

By Marc Shaw

We often talk about title insurance in the context of buying a home, commercial building, or other structure, but what if you are buying vacant land? Do you need title insurance to protect your property rights? Can a title insurance policy protect you from incurring financial losses due to title defects on vacant land? The team at World Wide Land Transfer is here to answer these questions for you!

Title Insurance for Vacant Land

Buying vacant land is a bit different from buying land with structures on it. You will have to make various considerations, including whether or not you can legally build on that land. You will need to find out if it is connected to public utilities, if it is accessible from the road, and if any zoning restrictions will affect how you use the land. Although these considerations are much different from those you will have to make when buying an already-constructed home, it is still crucial that you purchase an owner’s title insurance policy. That’s because any of the same title defects can come up that will affect your property rights. These include:

  • Various types of liens
  • Forgery or fraudulent documents in the chain of title
  • Records errors
  • Easements
  • Structures from neighboring properties encroaching on your land
  • Unknown heirs and undiscovered wills
  • Boundary disputes

If any of these title defects should come up after closing, you could be legally responsible for resolving them. This could mean incurring legal costs, being forced to pay for the removal of encroaching structures, or even having to give up ownership of all or part of the land. A strong title insurance policy can protect you from these costs.

How to Find a Title Insurance Policy for Vacant Land

Buying vacant land is usually an investment for the future, and if you want to protect that investment, you need a title insurance policy that will cover you against any defects that might come up. You should also remember that the policy your lender required you to buy during the sale will not cover you; this is a lender’s title insurance policy that covers the lender against losses related to title defects. You will need a separate owner’s title insurance policy to cover you during and after the sale.

If you are interested in finding a title insurance policy for an upcoming vacant land purchase, get in touch with World Wide Land Transfer right away. We serve clients all over the country, and we will be happy to answer any questions you have about owner’s land title insurance, lender’s title insurance, enhanced title insurance, and more.

Visit our contact page to find the phone numbers for our regional offices and call to speak with an experienced title agent today!

World Wide Land Transfer is a service-oriented PA title company with offices in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. With a record of going above and beyond, we are trusted to close everything from complex commercial transactions to residential refinance and purchase transactions.

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