Title Insurance

You fell in love with the hardwood floors and the charming front porch. Now make sure it's legally all yours.

Imagine accepting a deed to the home of your dreams only to find that someone else has claims to the property that put your ownership in question. The purpose of an owner's title insurance policy is to protect you from such hidden defects.

Many situations can stand between you and good or valid title. That's why you should not accept a deed without having your attorney conduct a thorough title examination of the property.

In real estate, title refers to the rights of ownership and possession of a particular property. Adeed is the formal written document that transfers ownership rights from seller to buyer. It must contain an accurate legal description (not the properties address) and is delivered at the closing.

The point of title insurance is to secure your claim to the property and protect you against title defects (such as rights to the property claimed by someone other than the owner). Hidden defects can be discovered even after the closing. With title insurance, the title insurer pays the costs if you are forced to defend your ownership in court, and covers any financial loss if the defects are unfixable.

A title search performed by Landmark Title Company involves learning the legal history of a property, by researching the public records which will disclose "obvious" title defects. When these defects are disclosed the seller is usually responsible to clear them, or you can withdraw from the deal. A standard purchase/sale contract provides for this, but the small print that requires clearing of defects may not protect you from losing a good interest rate because the seller may be given too much time to correct these defects. An experienced lawyer will know when to change the boilerplate language in a standard contract to protect you against this danger.

Title insurance protects you against hidden defects, that some title examiners are not aware of, such as:

• Forged deeds
• A married seller who represents that he/she is single
• Someone who is a minor or mentally incompetent
• Claims of undisclosed heirs

Using a trained professional is your first line of defense. A title insurance policy is your second line of protection for hidden defects that are not disclosed in the title exam.

Before you decide on a lawyer, ask them to send you free written information about their qualifications and experience.