Purchasing any kind of property is a risky business because it is a costly transaction. The price of the average real estate can be anywhere between $200,000 and up to $1,000,000. That is a lot of money. Because of this, to make things safer and easier for buyers and sellers, there are a bunch of different documents that go along with the transaction. Unfortunately, sometimes, those documents that need to be your insurance can be forged, improperly filled or who knows what else. In other words, there is still a danger of losing your property even when you have all the required documents.
What can you do to ensure that you are the owner of the real estate property you have bought? If you cannot even trust the documents, what or who can you really trust?
You do not have to worry or lose hope because with title insurance you can make this entire process much more secure. It does not matter whether the documents have been forged or whether you are working with a fraudulent seller, you will be safe.
However, it has come to my attention that not a lot of people understand title insurance or even know about its existence. To help you understand what all of this means, I decided to write this article and provide you with several tips and tricks for buying such security.
What does it do?
Before we can delve deeper into the things you should consider when buying title insurance, I think I should explain what it does. Why should you buy one?
Well, it is not complicated at all. Think of it as any other type of insurance that you have bought previously. But, there is still a clear difference.
Usually, this kind of piece of paper protects you from any future events that might cause damage to your property. It reimburses you and protects you from thieves or from other similar situations.
While with title insurance, you protect yourself from events that have already occurred. For example, you have bought a house with forged documents, but because you have this type of insurance, you are safe from any kind of product. What happened in the past, happened and it does not matter.
Keep in mind, this is a costly service, but it is going to last you as long as you own the property.
Do I need it?
Since I mentioned in my previous paragraph that this kind of service can be a bit pricey, I assume that you are probably wondering whether you should get one at all.
The answer to that question depends on the situation. Of course, in some situations when you know the person or if you know the history of the property, there is no need to protect yourself from any possible problems in the future. Everything is clear and resolved, so there is nothing to be afraid of.
However, if you are buying a piece of property from a stranger, there is a risk. Also, if you are unable to find any documented history about the owners of the house, that also increases the risk. In other words, this is the situation when you should consider getting title insurance.
In my opinion, I believe that is much better to waste a few thousand dollars now instead of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the future when someone takes your property away from you.
Find the promulgated rate
There are tons of businesses that offer title insurance and many of them offer different pricing and features. I am certain that you will spend at least a few days researching the different companies to see which one will satisfy your needs. Of course, the pricing is also going to be a huge factor in your decision.
Nevertheless, you will have to remember that the more expensive services are not necessarily of higher quality. Many of these companies are just asking for a premium without providing any extra services.
Fortunately, it is easy to find the promulgated rate nowadays thanks to the Internet. A promulgated rate is the legal minimum price a company can offer to customers. This promulgated rate depends on the city, country, or state. For example, if you are in Florida, the promulgated rate is $5.75 per thousand dollars. In New York, it is probably a lot more than that.
However, this makes things a lot more complicated. This is why I recommend just using one of those many national rate calculators like the one you can find at www.sunnysidetitle.com. All you have to do is just input the location of your property, the date, transaction type, loans, and the final cost of the house. But with the calculator, you will get accurate and realistic pricing of the title insurance.
Get owner’s and lender’s insurance together
Many times, the lender of your loan, or in most cases, the bank is going to ask you for a separate insurance policy. Just like you feel the need to have some insurance on the newly bought property, so does the bank. Because of this, you will be required to buy that same kind of policy for the bank.
Fortunately, many of these companies that offer such services can provide you with a better rate when you get simultaneous policies. Sometimes, the company might even offer you the other policy for zero dollars. In other words, you could save hundreds to thousands of dollars by going with the simultaneous issue rate.
Do not miss out on this because this is the best trick in the book you can use when buying title insurance.
Of course, if you are not getting a loan, you have no need to get a second policy for the bank since you are not getting a mortgage at all.
As you can see, buying a piece of property is a risky business, but if you get title insurance, you get rid of all that risk. And, if you follow these couple tips and tricks I mentioned above, you could save some money.
