Title is a legal term for an owner’s interest in a piece of property If you have good Title it means that you have a legal right to possess the property and to use it with the restrictions imposed by authorities.

Title insurance is protection against loss arising from problems connected to the title to your property. Before you purchased your home, it may have gone through several different owners. Defects in the title can exist and can affect your ownership rights and cause you a financial loss. Title insurance covers the insured party for any claims/losses and legal fees that arise out of such problems.

YES! Title insurance is the only way that you can protect yourself from financial loss in the event that problems develop regarding the rights to ownership of your property. Even though you may have had a title search reviewed, there may be unforseen problems not readily detectable, such as past fraud. Besides protecting you from financial loss, title insurance pays the cost of defending you against any covered claim.

A title search is a close examination of all public records that involve title to a piece of real estate. The examiner is making sure that the title has passed correctly to each new user by looking at past deeds, mortgages, wills, trusts, etc. They try to verify that all prior liens, judgments and mortgages have been paid in full.

Not necessarily. There are two types of title insurance. Your lender likely will require that you purchase a Lender’s Policy. This policy only protects the financial interests of the lender from title defects that have already occurred, but are not known about at the time of closing. An Owner’s Policy, on the other hand, protects the owners equity against hidden title defects that existed prior to the closing. Examples would be a forged deed somewhere in the chain of title or a pending legal action.