What Every Realtor Should Know About Title Insurance
You are a trusted advisor to your clients, and work to effectively and efficiently guide them through the home-buying process to a successful closing. However, as the closing transaction gets closer, the amount of paperwork and associated fees can be overwhelming to even the most experienced home buyer.
Among those fees that the client may question is the cost of home title insurance. As such, it is important that you are able to help the homebuyer understand the value of home title insurance and the risks that they may incur by foregoing it.
What is Home Title Insurance?
For many people, the purchase of a home is the largest single investment they will make, so it makes sense to protect it. The home title insurance policy protects the homebuyer’s ownership rights as long as they—or their heirs— have an interest in the home.
Just like a homeowner’s policy will protect against loss from theft or fire and wind damage, it protects from hidden title hazards that threaten the owner’s financial investment in the home. Title insurance is unusual in that it protects from losses caused by errors that may have occurred in the past, while most insurance products protect from losses incurred if something happens in the future.
How Does Home Title Insurance Protect Your Investment?
A title search does due diligence during any property transaction, but mistakes can be made and things can be missed. Oftentimes a home or piece of land has been owned by numerous people stretching back a century or more. Home title insurance protects from possible errors, and from future claims or undiscovered interests. Such errors and claims might include forgery of deed documents, fraud, and mistakes in public records.
Is Home Title Insurance Necessary for a New Build Home?
The construction of a new home has the potential for exposure to unique pitfalls. Prior to your client, there were likely numerous owners of the unimproved land over the years who may seek to claim ownership rights. There is also the potential that the home’s builder failed to pay subcontractors or suppliers during the construction of your home, which could result in a lien being placed on the property. Real estate is too big of an investment to leave the validity of your ownership to chance.
In a highly competitive industry with all the pitfalls that can occur with financing, Ohio Real Title clearly stands out. We love what we do, we’re really good at it, and we think it’s important—because everyone deserves an easy, successful transaction during a stressful time. This is who we are. Contact us today.
