By Marc Shaw
Because owner’s title insurance is not required in many states, real estate buyers will often forego the expense just to save a little money on their transactions. If you’re currently buying a property, you may think that buying an owner’s title insurance property isn’t worth the cost; after all, what’s the worst that could happen?
At World Wide Land Transfer, we are here to tell you that going without an owner’s title insurance policy would be a huge mistake and that the coverage your policy provides will be well worth the cost, now and in the future.
If you took out a loan to purchase your property, you may be thinking that you already paid for a title insurance policy. While that is true, the policy you bought won’t cover you; it will only cover financial liabilities to your lender if a title defect is found. Once your loan is paid off, the lender’s policy will expire.
Owner’s title insurance, on the other hand, covers you for the entire time you own your property. All you have to do is pay your premium on closing day and your coverage will begin. Not only will you be covered for title defects, but if you pass your property down to your heirs, they will be covered as well. When you consider that you will be getting potentially decades of coverage for a one-time premium, you will see that purchasing an owner’s title insurance policy is a great investment.
When any title insurance policy is originated, the title company will go over all available public records and determine if any title defects exist. They may find issues like existing liens, easements, and public records errors that will be listed on the title report. In those cases, you can choose to pay to resolve the defects, or you may be able to negotiate with the seller to resolve them. If no issues are found and the title is clear, they will issue an insurance policy and you can rest easy knowing that you will be covered in the future.
You may be wondering why you would need coverage if the title was determined to be clear. The answer is that not every title defect can be discovered in a public records search. While title companies always conduct a thorough search, some things just can’t be found in the records. If you buy or inherit a property and you don’t have an owner’s title insurance policy, resolving any defects that are discovered in the future will be your responsibility.
For example, if a previously undiscovered will would name another person as the heir to your property, you could find yourself in the middle of a costly legal dispute that could end up with you losing ownership of your home. With title insurance, your financial losses related to resolving disputes like this will be covered. You may also choose to add certain endorsements that will cover specific situations that may not be discoverable in a records search, like if another party would come forward with a mineral rights claim located on your property. Without title insurance coverage, you might have to pay for the removal and replacement of structures on your property to accommodate the mineral extraction operation.
As you can see, your one-time premium payment is relatively small compared to the amount of coverage your policy can provide. You may own your home for years and not experience any issues, but when something does come up, you will certainly be glad you had a policy in place to protect your investment.
If you are interested in getting owner’s title insurance coverage for a property you are buying or for one that you already own, it’s as simple as speaking to a title agent today! At World Wide Land Transfer, we have been serving buyers, sellers, and lenders all over the country for nearly two decades, so get in touch with our team no matter where it is you call home.
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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