DO I REALLY NEED TITLE INSURANCE?
I'll make this short and sweet! When you purchase a home you often will buy a title insurance policy that covers the lender's interest in the home.
WHAT IS TITLE INSURANCE?
Title insurance is a one time expense when a home is purchased that covers the parties for the life of the loan. As I stated above most home buyers are required to purchase a policy that covers the lender, however, for an additional fee the home buyer can cover himself as well.
The title insurance policy, unlike home owner's insurance does not renew annually. Once purchased it lasts as long as you own the home.
Title insurance covers many things, including, but not limited to errors the title company makes, against claims by parties who perhaps were not paid for work that was done on the property prior to the purchase, and against claims from heirs to the property.
Rather than get into a lot of variables, I recommend home buyers take a look at the title insurance being offered and give it careful consideration
A good example in the Northern Kentucky area is a builder a few years ago who was closing on new homes and not paying the sub contractors. The sub contractors put mechanic's liens on the properties where they worked and did not get paid.
The title companies I use present a brochure describing the insurance at closing and make an owner's policy available up to 30 days after closing. It gives a home buyer time to review the information and make a decision.
My personal recommendation is that a home buyer take an owner's policy, the one time expense of a few hundred dollars would quickly be offset in the event a problem does arise.
