Title Insurance

A home is a large investment, so it’s important to keep it protected.  Prior to closing, a title search is run to insure the seller conveys clear and marketable title to the new owner.  However, despite the fact that a title search should uncover problems, it may not catch them all.  A title search looks for items in the courthouse records including judgments, tax liens, and lawsuits.  It may not uncover forgery, fraud, unknown heirs, lost wills, etc…

For this reason, title insurance protects the large investment for both the new owner and the lender (bank).  This could be anything from a lien placed on the home after the initial title search was run (for example, the contractor wasn’t paid for his repair work and put a lien on the property) to a long lost heir claiming ownership.

There are two types of title insurance:  lender’s title insurance and owner’s title insurance.  Lender’s title insurance is a required item (included in the estimated closing costs) which protects the lender against any title problems.  This does not protect the new owner in any way.  Although not a required item, owner’s title insurance is highly recommended to protect the owner in cases stated above.

Title insurance is easily obtained through the selected title (settlement) company.

Hampton Roads Real-e-statement is written by Alyssa Godwin, a Realtor with Liz Moore and Associates. For questions regarding buying or selling contact Alyssa at 757-329-6161 or alyssagodwin@lizmoore.com. You can also find Alyssa on Facebook or on the web at www.lizmoore.com/alyssagodwin.