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When you take out a mortgage, one part of your closing costs will be title insurance. The premium is a one-time charge, and the policy protects the lender. You also can purchase owner’s title insurance to protect yourself, but it’s not required.
Here’s what you need to know about what title insurance: What it covers, how much it costs and whether you should buy it.
What Is Title Insurance?
Title insurance is a policy that covers third-party claims on a property that don’t show up in the initial title search and arise after a real estate closing. A third party is someone other than the property’s owner, such as a construction company that didn’t get paid for its work on the home under a previous owner. The term “title” refers to someone’s legal ownership of the property.
A title claim could arise at any time, even after you’ve owned the property with no problems for many years. How could this happen? Someone else might have ownership rights that you don’t know about when you make an offer to buy a property. Even the current owner might not be aware that someone else has a claim on the property. In the case of an overlooked heir, even the person who has those rights might not know they have them.
Before your home loan closes, your mortgage lender will order a title search from a title company. The title company searches for public records related to your home to try to find any title defects that could affect the lender’s or buyer’s property rights such as:
- Liens can get placed on the property by a contractor, tax authority or lender who hasn’t been paid. You don’t want to get stuck paying a previous owner’s unpaid bills.
- Easem*nts are someone else’s right to use your property even though you are the owner. For example, if there are utility lines in your backyard, the utility company will have an easem*nt that allows them to access your property if they need to work on the lines. The easem*nt could limit your ability to use your property however you want.
- Encumbrances include liens (also called “financial encumbrances”) as well as easem*nts, but also include zoning laws, restrictive covenants imposed by homeowners associations and leaseholder rights.
A title company searches public records including deeds, mortgages, divorce decrees, court judgments, tax records and child support orders.
If the title search reveals any problems (also called “clouds”), the title company will try to resolve them. In some cases, your real estate agent will need to work with the seller’s agent to get the seller to resolve the problem. In other cases, the problem may be significant enough to derail the sale.
What Does Title Insurance Cover?
A title insurance policy covers underlying issues with a property’s title that might have been missed before you bought the home. Basically, it comes in handy if the public record search conducted by the titled company failed to catch any liens or ownership disputes.
These are some of the issues an owner’s title policy can protect you against:
- Property survey errors
- Boundary disputes
- Errors on the property deed
- Building code violations by a previous owner
- Conflicting wills
- Claims by an ex-spouse who didn’t sign off on the sale
- Forged documents
- Liens from contractors, taxing entities or previous lenders
- Encroachments
- Improperly recorded documents
What Does Title Insurance Not Cover?
That said, title insurance doesn’t protect homeowners against all possible infringements on their property rights. For example, it doesn’t protect you against title problems caused by your own actions, such as failing to pay the company that replaced your roof or failing to pay your property taxes. It also doesn’t protect against eminent domain, which is when a government seizes private property for an ostensibly public purpose.
In short, it doesn’t protect against issues newly created after you buy the property. It protects against issues that might have affected your decision to purchase the property had you known about them at the time.
Types of Title Insurance
There are two types of title insurance: lender’s title insurance (also called a loan policy) and owner’s title insurance.
- Lender’s title insurance: This type of title insurance policy protects the financial interests of the company that issues the mortgage (just like mortgage insurance does). It makes sure the lender has the top claim on the property above any other liens. You’ll have to purchase lender’s title insurance any time you take out a mortgage, whether you’re buying a home or refinancing.
- Owner’s title insurance: This policy protects you—the homebuyer. For an owner’s title insurance policy, the coverage amount is usually equal to the purchase price and remains constant for as long as you or your heirs own the home. Owner’s title insurance is optional and only needs to be purchased once.
Major mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who frequently buy home loans from lenders after closing, require the lender’s title policy coverage to be at least as much as the mortgage principal. As you pay down your mortgage principal, the lender’s coverage declines accordingly.
How Does Title Insurance Work?
An owner’s title insurance policy can cover the costs of paying off a previously undiscovered lien or defending against a lawsuit filed against you by someone claiming a right to the property. It can also provide a cash settlement to a new owner who unwittingly purchases a property with a forged deed from a fraudulent seller who did not actually own the home. Furthermore, owner’s title insurance protects your ability to sell the home one day if a problem turns up during a later title search.
You’re probably less concerned about how a lender’s policy works since it doesn’t protect you. But you might still be curious as you’re paying for it.
Let’s say you lose your home because it turns out the property was fraudulently sold to you. You’re not going to keep paying the mortgage. The lender will then file a claim with its title insurance company to recoup the mortgage payments it was expecting to get from you.
Under other circ*mstances where you stopped paying your mortgage, the lender could foreclose and recoup its losses from selling the home. But if it turns out that someone else has a right to the home, foreclosure isn’t an option.
Pro Tip
You can check out the industry standard forms used for owner’s and lender’s policies on the website of the American Land Title Association (ALTA), a large national trade group of title agents.
Title Insurance Cost
Title insurance is a one-time, up-front fee—not an ongoing expense. An owner’s policy is based on the home’s purchase price, while a lender’s policy is based on the loan amount. Both policies together usually cost about 0.5% to 1.0% of the home’s purchase price, or $1,500 to $3,000 on a $300,000 home, according to ALTA.
In some states, the price for title insurance is the same no matter which title insurance company you use. In others, you stand to save money by shopping around.
You can get an estimate of what title insurance costs in your area using Old Republic’s rate calculator and Fidelity National’s rate calculator. You also can get a quick quote from First American Title’s fee calculator or Stewart’s rate calculator. You may be able to get estimates for other closing services at the same time.
Can You Lower Your Title Insurance Cost?
Yes, you may be able to lower your title insurance cost by shopping around. While your mortgage lender will choose a title company for you, title services are usually one of the services you can shop for on your mortgage loan estimate.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) encourages homebuyers to ask multiple companies for pricing to look for a better deal. If you’re not sure where to start, you can ask your lender for a list of reputable title companies.
That said, the company your lender recommends could end up being the most affordable option. Also, some lenders may require you to work with a certain title insurance company.
Who Pays For Title Insurance?
No one wants to get tricked into paying for something they don’t have to. Here’s who is supposed to pay for title insurance when you take out a mortgage.
Who Pays for Lender’s Title Insurance?
The buyer—or, for a refinance, the homeowner—pays for the lender’s title insurance policy as part of their closing costs. Even though the policy protects the lender, you’re the one who wants to borrow the money.
If you take away the formality and imagine that you’re borrowing money from a friend, it can be easier to see how this arrangement makes sense. You need to convince your friend that if you can’t repay the loan, she’ll get your house—and no one else will be able to take that house away from her. Without that guarantee, your collateral isn’t nearly as valuable. Title insurance provides the guarantee.
Who Pays for Owner’s Title Insurance?
“The responsibility for purchasing owner’s title insurance varies by region, but is typically paid for by the seller at closing,” says Kathy Kwak, COO of Chicago-based Proper Title LLC. “For example, in Chicago, the seller has the responsibility to purchase an owner’s title insurance policy for the buyer.”
Buying an owner’s policy at the same time as a lender’s policy can reduce the cost of the owner’s policy through what’s called a “simultaneous issue charge.”
Where to Buy Title Insurance
As a homebuyer, it’s your choice which title insurance company to use. You may get recommendations from the seller or your real estate agent, but you might not want to go with their suggestions without doing your own research.
You can go with your lender’s recommendation because their financial interests in the property are aligned with yours. However, some lenders also have a financial interest in the title companies they recommend to borrowers.
That doesn’t mean you won’t get a competitive price if you go with the lender’s recommendation, but it does mean you might want to do some price comparisons. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, you may be able to save up to $500 by shopping around.
To find a title insurance company, you can conduct an online search of the ALTA Registry for companies in your state using the advanced search function. You also could opt for one of the major title insurers: Fidelity, First American, Old Republic or Stewart. Make sure the company’s financial strength ratings and reputation check out.
Do I Need Title Insurance?
Lender’s title insurance is required if you’re using a mortgage to buy a home.
Owner’s title insurance protects the buyer against potential title issues that may arise after the home purchase. … Most importantly, an owner’s title policy guarantees the deed to the home is being sold by the correct person so no one else can claim it.
— Kathy Kwak, COO of Chicago-based Proper Title LLC
It can also help new homeowners avoid unexpected expenses such as balances owed on previous mortgages, unpaid taxes and contractors’ liens discovered after closing. Additionally, owner’s title insurance protects against potential easem*nt issues.
What Is Warranty of Title?
A warranty of title is the seller’s guarantee that no one else has a claim to the property. It’s a standard part of any sales contract. The seller can back this guarantee with the results of a professional title search showing that the title is clear.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I buy title insurance after closing?
You’re required to purchase lender’s title insurance as part of the mortgage agreement. The lender will not approve the loan if you don’t have a title insurance policy. But you can purchase an owner’s title insurance policy any time after closing.
Do I need title insurance if I pay cash?
You don’t need to get lender’s title insurance if you’re paying in all cash to buy the home. However, you might want to consider getting an owner’s title insurance policy to protect your investment.
How long is title insurance good for?
A lender’s title insurance policy stays in place until the loan is paid off. An owner’s title insurance policy, however, lasts for as long as you own the property.
What is a commitment for title insurance?
The title commitment is issued by the title company before closing. It lists any potential issues, exclusions, or exceptions, and says the title company is willing to issue title insurance under certain conditions and if the seller fixes certain problems. The title commitment also warns the buyer of issues that exist and could cause problems in the future.
What does title insurance protect against?
Title insurance protects the buyer and lender from financial loss in the event there are problems in the title of the property.
