What is Title Insurance, and Why Do I Need it?

Title insurance protects real estate owners and lenders against any property loss or damage they might experience because of liens, encumbrances or defects in the title to the property.  The owner, the owner's family, and the owner's heirs may have rights or claims in and to the property that is being purchased.

Title insurance is designed to protect against unknown claims to the title of a property that sometimes are not found in the title search and examination process. Title insurance exists to protect from future loss caused by a past event.

Title insurance is required by 100% of lenders. The reason for this is that the risk of losing property rights is too high to go uninsured. Lenders make their living on smart investments. Title insurance is a smart investment, and should be a part of every real estate transaction, whether it involves commercial lenders or not.

Title insurance is also unique among other insurance products in that the premium is only paid once upon the start of the policy. Unlike casualty products like automobile insurance and medical insurance, title insurance is only paid for once, and is not a recurring cost.

The buyer, seller and lender all benefit from issuance of title insurance.

What is a Title Search?

A search of the public records for any defects or encumbrances in a property's chain of title.  Title searches are needed so that prospective buyers and secured creditors are not later surprised by ownership disputes that could have been foreseen.

In simpler terms, a Title Search is a search to make sure that the property is within the rights of the seller to sell, that there are no outstanding debts associated with the property that could pose a future risk to a new owner, and that the property is cleanly transferred to a new owner without parties laying claim to the property after the sale. There are many more facets to title searches beyond this, which is why we're here to offer our expert service and make sure the job is done correctly.

 What is escrow?

Escrow refers to the process in which the funds of a transaction are held by a third party pending the fulfillment of the transaction. For example, escrow services can be performed for an individual buying a home. In this case, the funds for the home would be held by an intermediary such as a title company until the closing process is completed. This allows for a more secure transaction involving more trust between parties.