Fairfax Title Company Blog

As a real estate agent, you’re always aware of the sometimes overwhelming pressures your clients experience when purchasing a home. It is very common for a client to experience frustration and confusion associated with the heaps of paperwork that must be signed. Many buyers are also unaware of all of the fees.

Homebuyers often overlook and misunderstand owner’s title insurance when closing on their transaction. Owner’s title insurance provides great value to homebuyers. As a key advisor to your clients, you must be able to address the values of owner’s title insurance as well as the dangers they may accrue without it.

What Is Title Insurance?

Owner’s title insurance is what protects a homebuyers property interest. Similar to how lenders require a lender’s title insurance policy, homebuyers obtain title insurance to protect their legal claims to a property.

How Owner’s Title Insurance Protects Your Client

As an example, there may be a case where a client purchases a home from a builder, but the builder failed to provide payment to the roof contractor. Still expecting a payment, the roof contractor files a lien against the property. With the absence of owner’s title insurance, the client is responsible for the payment of the roof out of pocket. This is just one of many unforeseen possibilities a homebuyer may experience without owner’s title insurance. Owner’s title insurance ensures your client’s protection from certain legal or financial responsibilities.

Enduring Value

Fortunately, owner’s title insurance protects homebuyers financially. With the one-time fee when closing, homebuyers can be at ease knowing that their home is protected against any unknown defects that may cause a financial loss.

State Regulations And CFPB

The costs for title insurance are regulated by the Bureau of Insurance in Virginia. Closing and settlement practices are regulated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) which can impact title insurance. Due to the differences in state laws and local real estate customs, you should keep in mind that title insurance industry practices and premiums may vary. The paying party for owner’s title insurance also varies from state to state, as well as regions within a state.

Resources For Realtors

Real estate agents, land title insurance professionals and other stakeholders involved in real estate transactions can collectively protect homebuyers as well as provide them the peace of mind they deserve while going through the process of home closing.

Agents are encouraged to direct questions to Mathis Title.

Reach Out To Mathis Title Company For More Information On Title Insurance

The title insurance professionals are ready to answer your questions. We are here to help the home buying process be as easy as possible. Call us at (703) 214- 6620 or by contacting us online.

If you’re purchasing a home for the first time, there are a lot of steps to the process that you may have not been aware of. One of these is purchasing a title insurance policy on your property. Purchasing title insurance is important because it will not only protect you in the event there are legal issues with your title in the future, but it is also required from most mortgage lenders. Title insurance will protect you in the event that someone claims to have ownership rights to your property. It will cover the legal fees, and in the event that the title is found to be rightfully theirs, your title insurance policy can compensate both you and the lender. Reach out to Mathis Title for more information about our service offerings.

What Is Title Insurance?

Title Insurance is a form of indemnity insurance that insures against financial loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity or enforceability of mortgage loans. Policy coverage defends against a lawsuit attacking the title, or may reimburse the insured for the actual monetary loss incurred up to the dollar amount of insurance provided by the policy. Overall, title insurance will protect you in the case of a challenge to your ownership of the property.

Title Insurance differs from other types of insurance policies because it protects against future occurrences, whereas title insurance protects insurers against claims for past occurrences. It is also different because it usually only requires a one-time payment, rather than monthly payments. If you ever refinance your home, it’s possible that you may get a discount on your new lender policy due to having an existing owner’s policy.

When it comes to title insurance, there are two types- Owners and Lenders. A real estate owner can choose to purchase title insurance, while most lenders will require you to purchase it. Property owners purchase title insurance to protect their investment in the property. In Virginia, the borrower will also have to pay for the lender’s title insurance. Lenders will only have title insurance so long as there is a mortgage. If the mortgage is paid off, then the coverage the lender has will expire. If the mortgage is refinanced, then the new lender will want their own policy.

What Title Insurance Covers

Title insurance commonly covers errors in the public record, undiscovered liens, omitted heirs, and fraud. A title examiner will look through public records to ensure that the property passed either by sale, through will, or perhaps even a gift to the correct or intended person. The examiner will confirm that the property has changed owners legally. They will also check to ensure that there are no current legal claims against the house, including encumbrances such as liens, mortgages, or any instance that makes the title non-marketable. Title insurance protects the small number of people who have a problem with their title after having purchased the property. Title insurance is highly valuable because there is no way of detecting a problem before they arise.

Why You Should Obtain Title Insurance

Skilled title professionals can predict most problems associated with the property based on their experience. Usually, these problems are filing errors, forgeries, or undisclosed heirs as they are difficult to identify. Obtaining a title insurance policy helps protect you in the event that some of these issues are uncovered after you have purchased the property. It will help defend against any litigation that challenges the validity and legality of you as the new property owner.

Title Insurance is also designed to ensure your ownership rights to the property. While you will only pay for title insurance once, the coverage will last as long as you own the home. Reach out to Mathis Title Company at (703) 214- 6620 or online for more information and to learn more about our services.