8 Things to Know about Title Services Insurance Companies Provide
Becoming a home-owner is one of the most exciting moments in a person’s life. All the hard work you’ve put into house-hunting pays off once you’ve made your payments and gotten your keys, right?
Well, like with any other major purchase, first you’ll need to deal with the legal side of things to protect yourself and your new property. This is exactly where Title insurance companies come in.
Here, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about title services insurance companies provide to help you finalize your home purchase as smoothly as possible.
What is a Title?
In short terms, a Title is a legal document which proves ownership of a certain property. When you’re buying a home, you’ll need to obtain a clear Title, which means there are no other claims or liens on it.
Without a clear Title, you can’t become a legal owner of the property, no matter how many contracts you’re willing to sign or how much money you’re prepared to spend. Essentially, if there are any issues with the Title, the property cannot be transferred from one person to another.
While this document is most commonly associated with real estate, it’s used to prove ownership of many different types of assets, including vehicles, jewelry, and even animals!
What is a Bad Title and how can it affect you as a future homeowner?
A bad Title is a Title with major defects. It prevents anyone who holds it from selling or transferring their property until the issues are resolved. While these issues could be anything from a simple clerical error to an actual claim on the property, it’s better not to risk it. You can protect yourself by getting insurance on your Title, but more about that later on.
If you attempt to purchase a property whose seller is a Bad titleholder, you’re up for an unpleasant surprise. It’s certainly something you wouldn’t want to miss, so make sure you’ve done your research to protect yourself.
Title insurance and why everyone should get it
Title insurance is the best way you can protect yourself and your property before you invest too much of your time, energy and, money on something that will only create issues for you.
Title insurance companies offer all kinds of title services, including title research, property surveys, and title opinions. All of this, including the insurance itself, will help you put your mind at ease and protect you from any potential damage later on.
All grand purchases, especially real estate ones, need guarantees and protection. Title service companies such as https://sunnysidetitle.com/ are the perfect place to get that for yourself.
Now, we’re not saying the aforementioned worst-case scenarios are bound to happen if you don’t take insurance on your title, but prevention is always better than cure. This especially goes when we’re talking about something as significant as a home purchase.
Title research
The first step every title service company does when you hire them to evaluate your purchase is certainly title research. These companies spend days, sometimes even weeks researching the title to ensure everything’s in order with it. They’ll be looking for things such as restrictions, easements, leases, and even late mortgage payments to ensure the property’s Title is as clear as it can be.
Again, title service companies have the resources to examine the title carefully, which is something you’d hardly be able to do on your own. If you’re having even the slightest doubts about buying the property, make sure you’ve talked to your agent and hired a reliable title service company to help you get the most out of your purchase.
Property surveying
In some cases, a title insurance company may also request a survey on the drawing of the property. This is to ensure there are no encroachments that could be damaging to your property in the future.
Again, this doesn’t happen in every case, but it’s still something to keep in mind when you’re working with a title service company.
Once property surveying is over, the company will know whether they’re comfortable insuring your title or not.
Either way, you’ll know whether your Title is perfect or bad and whether the house is a worthy investment to make in the first place. All of this could save you from many troubles later on, so it’s certainly worth the effort.
Title insurance for lenders and buyers
As you can probably already guess, there are two types of title insurance: one for the buyer and one for the lender. As the lenders have a big financial interest in your purchase, they’ll need to be covered for potential damages as well.
How to pay?
Title insurance payments are usually done via an escrow account to ensure all interested parties stay protected until the process gets finalized.
We advise you to work closely with your insurance agent. They can guide you through the entire process while ensuring you’re getting the most of it all.
Choose the right company
As a home buyer, your goal should be to find the best possible title service company you can.
Make sure to do your research both online and in real life. Browse the web for reviews and ratings and don’t forget to seek help from other buyers you know.
As long as you choose the right company, you won’t have any issue with your Title nor your newly bought property. So, choose wisely!
The bottom line
Title services are crucial to every transaction on the real estate market. Companies that provide Title insurance also do extensive checkups and research to ensure you’re making the right call. As long as you find a high quality company and do your research properly, you won’t have anything to worry about when it comes to your purchase.
All in all, we hope our article helped you learn a bit more about title insurance and we wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.