Title Insurance 101

To avoid carrying any potential financial burden from the previous owner, and to insure that your ownership in the property is established.

When you buy title insurance for your property, a title company searches all the records in the county that the property is located to find - and remedy, if possible - several types of ownership issues. First, the title company searches public records to determine the property's ownership status. If there are any issues within the chain of ownership, the underwriter will determine the insurability of the title.

Even the most skilled title professionals may not find all problems associated with a property, though. Some risks, such as title issues due to filing errors, forgeries, or undisclosed heirs, are difficult to identify. So after the title company finishes its searching, it also provides a title insurance policy that will help protect you from a variety of issues that might be uncovered later.

• Improper execution of documents

• Mistakes in recording or indexing legal documents

• Forgeries and fraud

• Undisclosed or missing heirs

• Unpaid taxes and assessments

• Unpaid judgments and liens

• Unreleased mortgages

• Mental incompetence of grantors on the deed

• Impersonation of the true owners of the land by fraudulent persons

• Refusal of a potential purchaser to accept title based on the condition of the title

SHORT ANSWER:

The one-time premium is related to the sales price of your property, and is charged based on a set formula calculation, and is the same through-out Texas no matter where you close.

LONG ANSWER:

Want to know how Title Calculates your policy rate? We use the formula below and have a tier for each bracket of 100k-1million, 1Mil-5Mil, and so on. Below is one of the most commonly used tiers.

(1)

Policy Amount

[$100,001 - $1,000,000]

(2)

Subtract

100,000

(3)

Multiply by

0.00527

(4)

Add

$832

Step #1 use your sales price/ loan amount, subtract $100,000 from it, then multiply that figure by .00527, and simply add $832.

IS THIS OVERWHELMING? CALL US AND WE'LL DO THE WORK FOR YOU!

Owner’s Policy:

An owner's policy of title insurance gives you peace of mind by insuring your ownership rights to the property. Even though you'll pay for this policy only once, your coverage will last as long as you own your home.

Lender’s Policy:

If you take out a mortgage loan when you buy your property, your lender will require a loan policy of title insurance. This protects the lender's interest in your property until your loan is paid off or refinanced.