What is a Title Insurance Company? It is company that insures the title to real estate. How do they insure this title to real estate? By examining titles By holding settlements By issuing policies to home owners and banks. How does a Title Company differ from an Attorneys Search? A Title Insurance Company is an absolute insurer. The Title Insurance Industry is a regulated industry which will continue on in business with adequate reserves A Title Insurance Company is a place to recover the valve of real estate should an outside party claim title. Examples: (1) A lawyer is only responsible for negligence in searching a title. If the title is bad but the attorney is not negligent, you cannot recover for your loss, because the attorney is not an insurer. A title insurance company is an absolute insurer and would pay you for your losses up to the limit of the policy, which incidentally has a build-in inflation clause. (2) A concrete example of this is if the chain of title, there is a forged deed, a lawyer cannot be held liable for a loss occasioned by this deed since failure to discover a forgery is not negligence. However, since the title insurance company is an absolute insurer, they will reimburse you for whatever your loss is because of this forged deed. This loss may be limited to the amount needed to procure a proper deed or it may be for the value of the entire real estate if you lose your real estate because of this forged deed. What does Title Insurance cost? There are regular rates which are published and controlled by the Commonwealth. Please contact our office to receive the latest pricing information Endorsement 100- This insures that any existing restrictions have not been violated, Example: Set-back lines, construction requirements, easements, etc. Endorsement 300- This insures that the quantity of land as described on the deed is the correct amount, that the location and/or improvements to the real estate are not in violation of any existing codes and against any unrecorded easements. Example: Neighborhood kids or adults using a part of the land as a passageway. How do you pay for this insurance? There is only one premium at the time of purchase or settlement. There are no additional premiums to be concerned with. The policy is good for as long as you own the real estate and has a built-in inflation clause which increases the face amount of the policy in proportion to increases in the United States Department of Commerce Composite Construction Cost Index. The amount of the insurance is adjusted annually on each January 1, upward only with the maximum insurance in force not exceeding 150 of the amount of the insurance at the date of the policy. There are reissue rates available providing you qualify. A home owner who has purchased title insurance at the time he purchased real estate is qualified for the reissue rate should he decide to refinance his property. A person who is purchasing real estate from the present owner who holds title insurance on the real estate qualifies for the reissue rate When title is given to a purchaser from an operative builder or a purchaser of a unit in a condominium is being insured, and the builder purchased title insurance; the purchase qualifies for the reissue rate plus a ten percent (10%) reduction in the reissue rate. This purchaser is entitled to this reduction if: His title insurance commences within five years from the original policy to the builder. It applies only to those transactions involving the sales of lots with completed structures. Are there any differences between Title Insurance Companies? With rates, No, they all charge the same. With service, Yes. Most title insurance agencies have to send away for their policies and binders, our company has the ability to issue policies and binders immediately, right in our office, which is a great time saver. How do you hire us? A quick phone call with the following information. Name of Sellers Name of Buyers Deed book and Page number of last deed Sale Price Name of Bank or Lender Amount of the Mortgage Settlement Date Follow up with a copy of the Agreement of Sale and legal description of the real estate, if available.