What is Title Insurance?

What is Title Insurance?

If you are planning on buying a home, you are going to need title Insurance. Title insurance is extremely
important yet rarely talked about and even less understood by most. If you have already purchased a
home with a mortgage, title insurance was required and obtained for you. So what is title insurance?
Unlike typical insurance like car insurance for example which protects your vehicle against accidents in
the FUTURE, title insurance protects you and your home from events that have occurred in the PAST.
Common title issues that occur and put you at risk Include:

• Errors in public records at the city, township or the county.
• Ownership by another party not discharged from some point in the past.
• Incorrect signatures on recorded documents which sometimes can indicate fraud or forgery.
• Unrecorded easements which could restrict where you can build a structure on your property
• Judgments, liens, and lawsuits which have been attached to the property due to nonpayment or
  have not been released properly. You could be responsible for paying these if you sell or
  refinance your home.
• Undiscovered will – This happens when a prior owner of your home dies and the home is not
  put through the legal probate process properly. Years later a relative or even the state could
  put your ownership in jeopardy.
• Tax Liens – These could be property or personal tax liens against your property that may be
  unpaid. You could be forced to pay these should you want to sell your home or refinance.
  And many more !

There are over 70 examples we have on file of title ” defects “ from the past that could potentially cost
you a lot of money or even to lose your home. Most often issues that arise are due to clerical error or
problems that can be resolved quickly, but sometimes problems are discovered that could cause you to
be faced with financial loss or even the loss of your home. This is where a good title company becomes
necessary when buying a home.

Here’s why: Title companies are tasked with protecting you and your mortgage company from these common
scenarios by providing title insurance. We do this by researching the history of your property (A Title
Search) for at least the past 20 years at the state, county and city level as well as other sources. When
the title search is completed the title company underwriter approves the title search and an insurance
policy is issued protecting you and your mortgage company.

For decades mortgage companies have required title insurance, now you should too.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact Crystal or myself for “ Crystal Clear” answers.
Thank you for reading,

-Mark Moore

Cislo Title Company
Phone : 810.245.6950

The above Title Company I work with and recommended for great service and adequacy.

Crystal Zabel, Realtor
“Your Crystal Clear Realtor”
Coldwell Banker Professionals
67395 Main Street
Richmond, MI 48062
586-727-2741 – Office
810-683-4560 – Cell
micrystalclearrealtor@gmail.com
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