TGIF! Another fun closing with Jason Specht of Gary Mercer KW, Greater West Chester. Always great to work with you, my friend. Congrats also to Ana Krauthamer and her husband for a fabulous rehab of the property and a successful close for Tim and Sarah and their new home! https://landtransfer.com
Our clients love new construction and so do we at Heritage! What a great morning working with Jeff Mayer of the Cooley Bradley Group and Chris Perez at Fox Roach!
We enjoyed working with this dynamic group this past week! Elizabeth, the buyer, was thrilled to find her perfect home in Chestnut Hill. It is always a pleasure to work with Tyler Bradly of the Cooley Bradley team at Berkshire Hathaway Society Hill! Shout out to Jake Kolen of Prosperity Mortgage for elevating the financing for this renovation and purchase. Way to bring it home, Brian, with this successful listing by Keller Williams. We are honored to continue our partnerships and help all to secure the best title in our 5-star settlement services. Cooley Bradley team at Berkshire Hathaway Society Hill
The closing and settlement time can be overwhelming for residential or commercial buyers. There is a ton of paperwork, required signatures, and various closing fees that can confuse even experienced buyers.
I am sure Owner’s have asked you why they need title insurance and might consider it an optional expense. Let’s walk through some of the basics that help you advise them about title insurance value and the dangers when one goes without it.
What is Title Insurance?
Owner’s title insurance is a policy that protects the homebuyer or commercial owner’s property rights and protects their legal claims to the property.
Protection from Liens
For new construction or renovations, this is particularly important. Let’s say a builder or flip individual fails to pay a vendor they used – the roofer, the electrician, the engineer, etc. That vendor does have a right to file a lien against the property. If your client did not take out title insurance, they would be the responsible party to pay the vendor. And that is an expense they should not have to endure (in fact, they already paid for it in the original purchase price!) With owner’s title insurance, your client would be protected from certain legal or financial responsibilities.
Protection from Unknown Defects
Owner’s title insurance protects residential and commercial owners financially, as long as they or their heirs own the home. For a low, one-time fee at closing, homebuyers can rest assured, knowing they are protected against unknown defects that could cause financial loss.
Heritage Land Transfer – A Valuable Resource for Realtors
The team at Heritage works every day with realtors, attorneys, and buyers to help them understand the options they have for land title insurance. We provide all stakeholders involved in real estate the best insights and advice for protection and provide the peace of mind your client should have at closing.
Heritage Land Transferis proud to offer a national platform of title insurance and comprehensive settlement services at the most competitive rates. Please get to know us and contact us if you are a realtor, broker, buyer, seller, lender, attorney, investor, or a developer looking for a partnership and resource with a trusted title company. https://landtransfer.com/about/about-us/
Most people only purchase title insurance a couple of times in their life. So it’s not at all unusual for customers to have questions about this. We believe that all title service customers deserve to have a thorough understanding of what they’re buying and why it is important. As such, we are always happy to answer our customers’ questions about title insurance. Below, you’ll find some of the most common questions we receive — along with their answers.
What are the two types of title insurance?
The first type of title insurance is owner’s title insurance, which protects your interest in the home as its owner. The second type is lender’s title insurance, which protects the bank that holds your mortgage. Lender’s title insurance is required in most cases. Owner’s title insurance is not always required, but it is highly recommended. The best title insurance companies will talk with you about your risk and help you decide whether an owner’s policy is needed.
Do you need owner’s title insurance and homeowners insurance?
Sometimes customers assume that if they have homeowners insurance, they don’t need owner’s title insurance. However, both types of insurance are important because they cover different risks.
Homeowners insurance applies to your home and physical property. The owner’s title insurance protects the deed to your property and your actual ownership of the property. If any liens against the property or other defects in the deed were to be discovered after closing, title insurance would protect your ownership of the home. It would also pay for any fees or costs related to the discovery.
Do you need title insurance when you refinance?
When you refinance a mortgage, you do still need a lender’s title insurance policy. This policy protects the bank from any unknown liens or judgments against the property.
Do you need title insurance on new construction?
In most cases, you should still purchase title insurance when buying new construction. Even though the building is new, the land is not. The land will have had at least one owner before you. In this case, title insurance will protect you and the lender against any potential defects in the title for the land.
How do you pay for title insurance?
Title insurance is typically paid for during closing. If you close with a title company in Pennsylvania, the fee for title insurance is often wrapped up in a closing fee that also includes the title search and the settlement fee. The fee for title insurance is a one-time charge.
Hopefully, these questions and answers have cleared up some of the queries you had about title services. If you’re looking for a title company and an escrow agency , contact Heritage Land Transfer. With more than 30 years of experience, our award-winning team of professionals always put the clients’ needs first. We partner with industry leaders and employ our own team of in-house attorneys to ensure a smooth, worry-free closing process.
When you purchase real estate with a mortgage, there are a number of fees you’re required to pay. One of these fees will be for the lender’s title insurance. It may sound strange, at first, for you to pay for insurance for your bank. However, once you know the basics about lender’s title insurance, it becomes more clear why such a policy is needed. Here are the key facts that all potential home buyers should know about lenders’ title insurance.
What Is It?
Title insurance exists to protect the policy holder from any defects in the title that are revealed after the sale of the home. For example, if a home is found to have a lien against it years after you purchase it, title insurance will come into play. It will also come into effect if someone else is found to have a claim to the property after the sale.
Why Does the Lender Need It?
It’s important to point out that the lender’s title insurance protects the lender — your mortgage holder — and not you, personally. If someone has a claim or lien against the home, this policy ensures they can not come after the bank for the money they claim to be owed. The insurance company will instead pay any necessary costs.
Do You Have to Buy It?
Yes. If you take out a mortgage to purchase a home, buying a lender’s title insurance from a title service is required. You should be informed as to the cost of such a policy early on in the home buying process. It’s generally wrapped into your closing costs.
How Much Coverage Does It Offer?
A lender’s title insurance policy usually offers coverage equal to the loan amount. For example, if you take out a $200,000 mortgage, your lender will need a title insurance policy for $200,000. As you pay off your mortgage and the lender’s interest in your property decreases, the title insurance coverage decreases, too.
Should You Have Title Insurance, Too?
If you also want personal protection from any liens or claims against your property’s title, then you will need to purchase what’s known as owner’s title insurance. This is a separate title insurance policy from the one that protects your bank.
Owner’s title insurance is not required by law, except under some very specific circumstances. However, holding such a policy is a good idea, especially if you have reason to believe there may be claims or liens against the home that weren’t uncovered in the title search.
Purchasing a lender’s title insurance is an important part of any real estate transaction that involves a mortgage. If you’re looking for a title company Philadelphia residents rely on, consider Heritage Land Transfer. We’re a full-service title company and escrow agency that offers a superior experience, thanks to our client-centered approach and decades in the industry.
Buying commercial property always comes with some risks. One of those risks can be related to the property title. Commercial title histories can be long and complex, and it’s not terribly rare for previous liens or claims to a title to show up. The good news is that commercial title insurance from a title company can protect you and your lender from these risks. Here are a few key things you should know about commercial title insurance.
1. There Are Two Key Types of Title Insurance
When you’re purchasing a commercial property, there are two separate entities that should take out title insurance policies. The first is your lender. In fact, most lenders are required to have title insurance in order to hold the loan on a commercial space. This title insurance ensures that if there is an issue with the title, the lender is protected from financial risk.
The second party that should buy insurance from a title service is the buyer. In commercial transactions, this is generally the LLC, sole proprietorship, or corporation that is buying the property. This policy is separate from the one held by the lender, and it protects the business financially should any title problems come to light.
2. Title Searches Don’t Negate the Need for Insurance
Before you buy a piece of commercial real estate, you should have a title company conduct a title search. This search should turn up any liens or claims to the title prior to purchase. However, the title search process can occasionally miss liens. As such, a title search is not a replacement for title insurance. Even the best title company Pennsylvania has to offer may not be able to uncover everything in the search process, and insurance protects you from this possibility.
3. Commercial Title Insurance Is Paid For Once
Commercial title insurance is not something you or your business need to pay for month after month. Rather, you pay for this insurance via a one-time fee due at closing. The escrow agency will typically hold the funds while you’re in the process of purchasing the real estate. Then, when you sign the closing documents, the title insurance company will be paid for the policy or policies.
4. Title Insurance Offers Continued Protection
Policies to protect both you and the lender last for as long as you own the property. Or, in the case of the lender, they last as long as there’s a loan out on the property. So, if an issue with the title comes up in 5 years, you’re protected. If an issue arises in 15 years, you are still protected. It’s nice to get such long-lasting risk reduction for a one-time payment at closing.
Commercial property can be a sizable investment, so it is worth protecting your investment. Your lender will likely require title insurance, and you should strongly consider taking out a policy to protect your business, too.
Contact Heritage Land Transfer to learn more about our title services. Our stellar customer service, unmatched resources, and guaranteed lowest rates are brought to you by an award winning team of professionals, dedicated to helping our clients and partners have the most seamless transactions.
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