Why Title Searches are Important
A title search is important because it reveals if there are any defects in the title of the property. There are three types of title policies:
- Owner's Title Policy – Covers clear title, incorrect signatures, fraud, forgery, defects in recordation, restrictive covenants, encumbrances and judgments
- Extended Owner's Title Policy- Covers building permit violations from previous owners, subdivision maps, covenant violations from previous owners, living trusts, structure damages from mineral extractions, and encroachments and forgeries after title is issued
- Lender's Title Policy – Covers mechanic's liens and unrecorded liens, unrecorded easement and access rights and defects and other unrecorded documents
Conducting Title Searches
The title company searches the title records of the property starting with the current owner backwards. Depending on what part of the country you are located, the title company will either prepare a preliminary title report or a title commitment, showing the legal description of the property, the current owner's name, all encumbrances, liens, judgments, deeds and other underlying documents such as easements and right of way documents that have been filed and recorded pertaining to the property.
If there are any outstanding issues, the title company will work with the seller to make sure that the items are satisfied, paid and/or removed before closing. Otherwise, the property will not be able to close.
Benefits of Title Insurance
Title insurance gives the buyer and his or her heirs protection against any serious financial loss due to a defect in the title of the property. Title insurance is a single one-time premium. The seller usually pays for the owner's policy, and the buyer usually pays for the lender's policy. All lenders require title insurance.
The title insurance covers claims arising out of problems that could have been discovered in a public records and those that are considered non-recorded defects that could not have been discovered in a public records search.
A lender's title insurance policy provides the lender against the loss of security as a result of a title problem. The lender's protection remains in effect until the mortgage is paid and satisfied.
Title insurance protects the seller against breach of warranties. It also protects the real estate attorney beyond the attorney's title opinion, which is only limited to recorded maters.
Brokers and real estate agents like the security that title insurance protection gives the parties in the transaction so that they know that the transfer of the title is safe and legal. They want their clients to trust doing business with them so that they will refer them future business.
Fizber offers a Current Owner Title Search, which is perfect for foreclosure and tax auctions, short sales and for sale by owner (FSBO) purchase transactions. The Fizber Full Title Search is also recommended for any real estate transaction where the buyer wants to know about all outstanding liens, mortgages and judgments recorded against the property.
The full title search is particularly useful for the purchase of bank owned properties (REO's), but can also be used for foreclosures or short sales. With a Full Search, you receive copies of all relevant documents such as prior and current owner's deed copies, open mortgage copies, lien copies, judgment copies, foreclosure judgment and copies of bankruptcy proceedings.
Fizber Guarantee
Fizber has a professional title examiner who verifies the quality and accuracy of all our title search reports before they are ever released to our clients. If a title search is proven to have any substantial errors, we will refund the full price charged for the search. All you need to do is to notify us of any suspected errors. Once confirmed that our staff made the errors, we will refund your payment in full. We are proud of that fact that we have never made a single significant error in our title search process. We completely guarantee and stand behind our title search process, and want to reassure our clients that we believe that accuracy is everything in our business.
In addition to the title search, Fizber performs federal, state and municipal lien searches, and judgment searches, and we also retrieve foreclosure summaries along with bankruptcy and tax status.