Issues with title to real estate have been affecting people since the act of purchasing established tracts of property became common. Prior to the concept of insuring title, properties were bought and sold, and simple searches of public records would be performed to establish rights to title. Liens or encumbrances were addressed as thoroughly and effectively as possible. However, with resources being limited as they were, purchasing property still posed significant risk. If an unresolved issue were to arise, there was little recourse available to the purchaser and/or lender. The only way to legally force collection for damages from the seller of the property was to prove the seller guilty of legal negligence, which proved very difficult. As a result, many people in these situations were left not only with no property, but with no recompense.
The issuance of a policy of title insurance for your property provides two very important benefits: First, reassurance that your property is just that- yours. Second, recompense in the uncommon event that the title to your property is jeopardized.
Prior to issuance of a title insurance policy, we conduct a very thorough search of public record, ensuring that we learn as much as possible about your property with the resources available. Once we have all of the information we need, we issue a commitment for title insurance, which discloses all information relevant to the property (and accompanying transaction, if applicable). This information includes the current status of the property as well as any potential issues to be addressed.
When we issue the policy, we take on the risk of loss for you. In the event of loss, we’ll do what we can to make the situation right, up to and including payout for losses.