505 East Jackson Street-Suite 303 - Tampa, Florida 33602
Phone: (813) 387-7724 - Fax: (813) 387-7727
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505 East Jackson Street-Suite 303 - Tampa, Florida 33602 Phone: (813) 387-7724 - Fax: (813) 387-7727
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THE IMPORTANCE OF TITLE INSURANCE The point of owner’s title insurance is to secure your claim to the property and protect you against title defects, which are legal rights to a property claimed by someone other than the owner. A title search involves learning the legal history of a property. This is done by researching public records to disclose the previous owners of record, prior deeds, mortgages, court judgments, probate proceedings and divorces, foreclosures, tax and construction liens, and other things that can affect title. If a title search reveals obvious defects, you can ask the seller to undertake legal proceedings to clear them up. Or, you can withdraw from the deal. Hidden defects can surface even after you’ve gone through 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 title defects are fixable. Some examples of hidden defects include the following:
Use Your Real Estate Attorney’s Title Expertise Many companies sell title insurance. But a “lay” title agency (one that’s not affiliated with a law firm) only prepares title documents for closings and issues your title insurance policy. A lay title agency cannot
Since the one-time fee for title insurance will be about the same with or without a real estate attorney – ranging from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars, depending on the home’s sale price – it just makes sense to get the added value of legal advice. Know The Exceptions To Your Title As part of the title search, your real estate attorney will list any “exceptions” – situations where the title owner relinquishes control over a given aspect of the property, as in phone lines running across the property or shared driveway.
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