title insurance: Title insurance worth the cost. Do you agree?
- 07/28/22 10:22 AM
Your home is more than just a property. Your home is a shelter for your family. It is a nest egg for your future and the place where you’ll make countless memories. Owner’s title insurance protects your financial stake in your most precious asset – your home. Only owner’s protection shields you from claims that could jeopardize your property ownership or costly matters that can cause heartburn when you go to sell. What do you think? What do you tell your clients? … (1 comments)
title insurance: Owner's title insurance: Is it worth the price?
- 07/03/12 01:20 AM
While a homebuyer is required to pay for the lender’s title insurance premium, the owner’s title insurance is optional to the homebuyer, and sometimes homebuyers who are looking to shave dollars off their closing costs consider opting out of the owner's title insurance policy.
They may feel having an owner's title insurance policy is not worth the expense. A lot of misinformation about owner’s title insurance permeates the blogosphere and, in fact, one Washington DC metropolitan area real estate broker regularly advises homebuyers NOT to spend the extra dollars to purchase owner’s title insurance coverage. Most of the blog entries … (2 comments)
title insurance: Say good-bye to the HUD-1 Settlement Statement
- 06/29/12 01:01 AM
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), by mandate under Dodd-Frank, will soon change our world once again. Just barely two years since the title and mortgage industry was turned upside-down with regulatory changes to the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA), the CFPB will be releasing its proposed forms and regulations next month to replace the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, Good Faith Estimate, and Truth-in-Lending Disclosure. These new forms will be known as the Loan Estimate and Settlement Disclosure Form. On its snazzy website, CFPB states that the current 3-page HUD-1 settlement statement is replete with "... Technical and legal jargon ... that may … (108 comments)
title insurance: How to compare title insurance service providers
- 06/13/12 04:24 AM
Pending home sales in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area are nearly as high as they were two years ago when the $8,000 federal first-time homebuyer tax credit was still in effect, another sign that the market is poised for a turn-around. That's good news for sellers. More buyers hopefully means homes are spending less time on the market and fetching offers closing to the initial asking price. In fact, median home prices in Arlington County and the District of Columbia have returned to their peak levels of the pre-bubble era. Meanwhile, Montgomery County has bounced by about 75 percent of the … (3 comments)
title insurance: Why does Owner’s Title Insurance get a bad rap?
- 06/01/12 02:08 AM
Google "owner’s title insurance," and you will find scores of blogs and other publications scorning this misunderstood insurance product. Frequently, at the settlement table, we hear homebuyers opine that title insurance is a "rip-off" and not worth the cost. Most of these comments stem from a deep misunderstanding of the product and, too often, are merely a regurgitation of the opinions that predominant the conventional wisdom. While owner’s title insurance is optional to a homebuyer, we rarely hear homebuyers bemoan the fact that they are required to obtain homeowner’s insurance. The average owner’s title insurance premium paid by homebuyers to … (0 comments)
title insurance: Standard v. Enhanced Title Insurance: Mechanic's Leins
- 11/29/11 06:00 AM
As a homebuyer, you have the choice in the type of owner’s title insurance coverage. Throughout this series of comparing the two types of coverage (Standard Coverage vs. Enhanced Coverage) you have observed that the primary difference relates to matters affecting your title post-policy date and pre-policy date. That is, the standard owner’s title insurance coverage mostly covers only matters that occur prior to the date the policy was issued, whereas, the enhanced owner’s title insurance coverage protects you against matters arising prior to the date of the policy, as well as, matters arising after the date the policy has been … (0 comments)
title insurance: Standard v. Enhanced Title Insurance: Building Permits
- 11/29/11 05:58 AM
So you’ve just completed the purchase and closing on your new “fixer-upper” home. Now it’s time to hire an architect and spend countless hours planning for a new addition to the family room. You submit an application for your building permit. After a few weeks, your permit is denied based on a prior violation of landscaping rules established by the homeowner’s association. As it turns out, your seller had constructed the $50,000 Arcadia-style garden in your backyard, complete with granite cascade and espalier fruit trees – and in violation of your homeowner’s association rules. You are now faced with the expensive prospect … (0 comments)
title insurance: Standard v. Enhanced Title Insurance: Real Estate Taxes
- 11/29/11 05:57 AM
In my view, the most underrated insuring provision of the Enhanced Owner’s Title Insurance Policy relates to real estate tax assessments occurring after the transfer of ownership. The Enhanced policy we offer through our underwriter First American states (as a covered risk): "A taxing authority assesses supplemental real estate taxes not previously assessed against the Land for any period before the Policy Date because of construction or a change of ownership or use that occurred before the Policy Date." While the Standard (Limited) Owner’s Title Insurance Policy insures against a real property tax lien and/or assessment imposed by the taxing authority prior … (0 comments)
title insurance: Standard v. Enhanced Title Insurance: Land Survey Matters
- 11/29/11 05:56 AM
As a homebuyer in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, you have a choice between two types of owner’s title insurance coverage — Standard (Limited) Coverage or Enhanced Coverage. When deciding on which coverage, you may consider the possibility of being forced to remove a structure because it extends onto adjoining land or easement.The Standard owner’s title insurance policy contains 4 basic insuring provisions including (1) title being vested other than as stated, (2) any defect in or lien or encumbrance on the title, (3) unmarketability of the title, (4) lack of a right of access to and from the … (0 comments)
title insurance: Reissue Rates... Explained
- 06/17/11 04:56 AM
In the world of real estate closings and title insurance lurks an oft misunderstood concept we call the “Reissue Rate.” Simply put, a reissue rate is a homebuyer discount on the cost of an owner's title insurance policy. To obtain a reissue rate discount, the transaction must satisfy certain conditions from the title insurance underwriter. The following sets forth the requirements along with the most common questions we encounter from homebuyers. (Our title insurance underwriter is First American Title Insurance Company, so for this discussion we will focus on their reissue rate discount guidelines. The reissue rate guidelines of other national … (0 comments)
title insurance: Study: D.C. Metro homebuyers save big by shopping for title services
- 02/17/11 06:12 AM
Washington, D.C. (17 February 2011) – SHOPPING FOR TITLE SERVICES in the District of Columbia could save homebuyers up to $1,180, according to a recent study, while shopping in Maryland or Virginia could mean a savings of over $900. "This serves as a reminder to homebuyers and their agents the importance of shopping for a title company," said Todd Ewing, president of Federal Title & Escrow Company. The study, commissioned by Federal Title and conducted by Veris Consulting from February 1 through February 11 of this year, compared title charges among Washington Metro Area-based title companies, revealing stark differences in charges … (2 comments)
title insurance: Federal Title's closing costs below national average
- 08/19/10 04:48 AM
A recent survey from Bankrate.com showed homebuyers in Maryland and the District of Columbia pay closings costs that are below the national average. That was good news on its own. When I began digging through the details of the survey, I discovered this chart that breaks down closing costs for each state and separates origination fees from title & closing fees. That's when I learned (or confirmed, rather) homebuyers who select Federal Title for their closings pay well below average across the board. For starters, closing costs across the nation averaged $3,741, according to Bankrate.com. The research was based on a … (0 comments)
title insurance: Maryland, D.C. closing costs below national average
- 08/19/10 04:45 AM
Average closing costs in Maryland and the District of Columbia are less than the national average, according to the results of an annual survey by Bankrate.com. Closing costs averaged $3,741 nationally, according to the survey, which was based on a loan amount of $200,000 and included loan origination and title fees. Here's a breakdown of states in the Washington Metro Area, where Federal Title primarily works: Maryland - $3,402 - No. 38 District of Columbia - $3,685 - No. 22 Virginia - $3,883 - No. 19 … (0 comments)
title insurance: Why Not Demand More From Title Companies?
- 06/05/09 05:51 AM
On average, title charges (i.e., closing fee, title search, title insurance, binder fees, etc.) comprise 70% of the total variable closing costs*. Since title charges do vary significantly from title company-to-title company in DC, MD, VA, and FL, it is very important for a home buyer to comparison shop.Ever wonder why most title companies force you to make contact with them in order to get a quote for title charges? Seriously, with today's technology, why won't your title company allow you to anonymously get a customized quote for their services so you can do some comparison shopping? Why do you have … (0 comments)
title insurance: Transparent Title Companies - Where are they?
- 01/30/09 04:54 AM
WHAT IF YOUR PREFERRED TITLE COMPANY: Delivered an instant, online, guaranteed closing cost quote to you and your clients - specific to the transaction; Was independent and gave back part of its revenue to your home buyer; instead of giving money back to your broker through an Affiliated Business Arrangment; Allowed you to submit the transaction order entirely online. Very few title companies offer a Web 2.0 experience when it comes to delivering service. In fact, most still cling to fax machines and land lines; taking orders over the phone; quoting fees/costs over the phone. Further, many title companies have no … (0 comments)
Your home is more than just a property. Your home is a shelter for your family. It is a nest egg for your future and the place where you’ll make countless memories.
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