What is title insurance?
Send to friendWhat is title to a property?
The term "Title" refers to the aggregate ownership records for a property. This includes all previous ownership and encumbrances on the property. Title to your home lists your legal rights to use, own, posses, control or sell. Selling your title to real property including the land, buildings or other improvements on the property can be complex. Land usage and rights to the property often changes over time. An example would be transferring certain rights on the property such as mineral rights for someone else to use.
What is an encumbrance?
An encumbrance is anything that affects or limits the title of a property, such as deeds of trust, leases, easements, liens, or restrictions.
What is a title defect?
A title defect is a problem or omission in the ownership records of a property that may impair your legal rights to that property. Here are a few examples:
- Errors and omissions in recorded deeds
- Missing or undisclosed heirs
- Conflicting in wills
- Fraud or forgery
- Instruments executed under invalid or expired powers of attorney
- Deeds by minors or persons of unsound mind
- Liens for unpaid estate taxes
- Mistakes in recording of legal documents
- Deed to or from a “corporation” before incorporation, after loss of corporate charter or unauthorized signor
- Claims resulting from the use of “alias” or fictitious names
What is Title Insurance?
Title insurance is a contract in which the title insurance company, in exchange for a one-time premium, protects against future losses resulting from defects in the title to real property that exist at the time of purchase but are unknown or undisclosed.