Title Insurance: Helping Homebuyers

Title insurance protects the owner of a property against loss due to defect of title. In plain English, it ensures you aren’t stuck with a house you can’t sell or a boat that’s been repossessed because there’s some cloud on the owner’s title.  To obtain title insurance, you will need to contact a licensed title insurance agency, such as MacGregor Abstract.

Title insurance companies will generally issue a policy for any property where the owner of record is one person or company and the person buying it (or refinancing it) is another. If your lender requires it, you can be sure you need it.

There are three different kinds of title insurance: lien search, policy, and attorney review. The first two are available to consumers who are buying a home or refinancing an existing mortgage. Law firms will offer their services to review the title before an attorney prepares documents for closing.

A lien search is essentially a check to see if anyone has an interest in your property — a judgment, tax lien or unpaid bill that hasn’t been satisfied. Lien searches provide a detailed report on who has liens on the property and what type they are. Most policies offer this as well, but from time to time someone may have put up collateral for work done on the house without notifying the county recorder’s office. A lien search may uncover these.

New York state law requires title insurance for all real estate transactions. Title insurance is a type of insurance policy that protects you against losses resulting from defects in the title to your property.

A title examination is conducted by a licensed attorney or an authorized officer of the NY State Department of Law. Your lawyer will review a copy of the recorded deed and check to see if there are any liens or other legal claims against the property recorded on the Land Records.

The purpose of this search is to make sure that no one else has a valid claim to your home’s title, in which case they may be able to take it from you. For example, if your home was foreclosed upon and you didn’t know about it, they could legally take the home away from you.

If there are no liens or other claims against your home’s title, then the title can be issued without a problem.

In New York State, there are two types of title insurance policies: lenders’ policies and owners’ policies. Lenders’ policies are issued when you purchase a home with a mortgage (loan). Owners’ policies are issued when you purchase a home without taking out a mortgage.* If you’re buying your home with cash, then an owners’ policy will protect you.

Title insurance is a type of insurance that protects the owner of a property against losses resulting from defects in the title. The policy generally covers losses due to errors or omissions in the chain of title, including clouded title, missing heirs and forgery. There are also policies that provide coverage for losses involving boundary disputes.

Taken together this protection is known as “title insurance” because it protects the owner’s interest in the property.

Title insurance protects both real estate owners and lenders from losses resulting from defects in the title to a property. It provides protection against losses that may occur due to errors or omissions in the chain of title, including clouded title, missing heirs and forgery. There are also policies that provide coverage for losses involving boundary disputes between adjoining properties. Taken together this protection is known as “title insurance” because it protects the owner’s interest in the property.

If you’re buying a home, refinancing your current mortgage or taking out a home equity loan or line of credit you’ll need to get title insurance with every closing. You can also purchase title insurance when you’re selling your home and need to clear up any outstanding liens or mortgages on your home before you can sell it free and clear (in other words, without any unpaid