Owning real estate is one of the most precious values of freedom in this country. You want the assurance that the property you are buying is being transferred without hidden liens or encumbrances. Title Insurance protects an owner’s property rights and a lender’s investment. Title insurance can insure a property owner with an Owner’s Policy or a lender with a Loan Policy). A policy insures status of the ownership rights, protects from financial loss against a successful claim up to the cost of the title policy and pays legal costs if the insurer has to defend your title.
Initially, a search of the public records is performed and a Commitment for Title Insurance is issued. The commitment states who is the current owner of the property, the full unique legal description of the property and any exceptions to the full bundle of ownership rights. Exceptions may be easements, reservations, restrictions, covenants, and conditions of the subdivision, liens, mortgages, judgments, and homeowners’ association dues. Exceptions are a result of documents recorded in the office of the State Recorder in the district where the property is located. The commitment states specific requirements for issuance of a policy and general exceptions of items excluded from coverage.
A policy of title insurance protects an owner as long as they own the property and a lender for as long as the loan is outstanding. Once the owner purchases the property, a policy is issued. The policy will be subject to any exceptions stated in the commitment unless we are provided with evidence of release or termination of the exception. New exceptions may be added to the policy to reflect new loans or agreements being recorded as part of the property purchase. The same applies to a lender’s policy.
In addition to the Owner’s and Loan policies, we offer a variety of other title products such as Certificate to Plat, Owner’s Consultation Report, Trustee Sale Guarantee, Litigation Guarantee, Property Profile, and Research Package.