Protecting Your Home with Title Insurance

Buying a home may be the biggest investment you make in your lifetime. So before you close, you need to be sure that that nobody else has a claim to the property.

Determining that your rights and interests to the property are clear is the business of a title company.

You pay the title insurance company a single premium which includes the cost of verifying clear title and covers you in case some fault is later discovered in the title.

The title company searches the title history of the property. Through its research, the title company can usually identify any title problems that may arise and clear up these problems before you close on the property.

Because Real Estate Law is so complex, you need an expert to make sure that all previous transactions have been correct, so you don't end up with legal problems or a problem with the title to your property. Your owner's policy will describe the property and outline the limitations on your ownership. It will also set forth the title company's responsibilities should any claim covered by the policy terms arise. Typically your title insurance will protect you in the following cases:

• Contested title — This usually happens when someone who owned or even lived in the home before you claims to still hold an interest. If this happens, the title company will defend your title at no expense to you.
• Defective title — This is a general term for a legal problem with the title that cannot be corrected and includes "contested title" above. Other examples of title defects include problems with legal access to the property, easements that make the property less usable, unusable, or unsaleable. Many other complex problems define "Defective title." The title insurance policy will protect you from these errors if the title company misses them.