All You Need to Know About Title Insurance with Mark Stipkovich from Lawyer’s title

Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance that protects both buyer and seller during the transfer of real property. It makes sure that a particular property has a "clean title" before being transferred over to the new owner.

Once escrow is opened your title insurance company looks up the history of the home’s title to see if there are any “clouds” on title. The term cloud refers to any encumbrances, easements, encroachments, lawsuits or liens, or other items that you don’t want to inherit or should know about as the new buyer. If any of these items are discovered the buyer and seller will be made aware with a report from the title company and your title insurance team will work on getting those items cleared before your escrow closes. 

Your title team is typically working in the background of the transaction and unless a significant defect in the property's title does arise you may never hear from them. Although fairly uncommon, when title issues do arise they can take days to weeks to get worked out thus delaying the transfer of the property and prolonging your escrow.

In Southern California it is customary for the sellers of a property to pay for the cost of title insurance during the sale. However, if you are a buyer making your purchase with a loan (not cash) you will have to cover the portion of the title insurance relating to your lender. This will be a part of your closing costs.

We highly recommend that when purchasing a property you make sure you have title insurance involved in the transaction, and along with that a great lender and realtor looking out for you as well!!

 

Still have questions? Or are you ready to get started with your real estate process? We’re here for you! Contact Lauren today! 818-406-9646