| Real Estate is the nation's largest asset. Title
problems arise in one out of every four real estate transactions.
A home purchase is the biggest investment people will make in
their lifetime.
A title search is an examination of records in the county
offices. These records cover all recorded documents, judgments,
other liens, general taxes, assessments, easements and other
matters. This review of these records provides advance notice
of potential problems so they can be eliminated whenever possible.
However, there can be any number of problems that remain undisclosed
even after the most careful search of public records. These
hidden 'defects' are sometimes not discovered for months or
years after you purchase your home. You could be forced to
spend substantial amounts of money for legal defense costs.
Title insurance is an insured statement as to the condition
of title or ownership rights to a property.
There are two basic types of policies: Lenders title insurance
(loan policy) and Owner's title insurance (Owner's policy).
The loan policy insures the amount of the mortgaged debt and
protects the lender's interest in property. The owner's policy
is issued in the amount of the real estate purchase and protects
the owner and his/her heirs forever.
Owner's title insurance protects you against what you don't
know. It protects property owners against human errors of
lawyers, surveyors and others that may cause the owner financial
loss. It also provides legal defense to property owners in
all legal acts or proceedings alleging the title to be other
than as insured.
How much does it cost? All title insurance rates in Ohio
are the same. The one-time premium is directly related to
the value of your home. Typically, it is less expensive than
your annual auto insurance! It is a one-time only expense,
paid when you purchase your home.
NEW: The new extended coverage
owner's policy offers more coverage for minimal additional
premium. For an additional 15% premium, you receive 19 new
expanded coverages, including:
- Zoning violations
- Subdivision law violations
- Post policy forgery
- Post policy encroachments
- Post policy cloud on title
- Restrictive covenant violations
- Encroachments by boundary walls and fences
- Expanded access coverage
- Building permit violations
- Increased coverage amounts!!
- Living trust coverage
The first line of one of the conditions in the First American
extended coverage policy reads: "This policy insures
you forever, even after you no longer have your title".
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