 | Jeff Otto is Branch Manager of Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation which is a member of LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc., a premier national provider of title insurance and settlement services. Lawyers Title has been in the local marketplace since 1955. Jeff has been with Lawyers Title for 34 years, the last 24 right here in Wichita. You may contact Jeff at (316) 682-9600 x 201 or by e-mail at jotto@landam.com |
Real Estate
2006-05-01 16:01:00
Title insurance protects against loss
: I sold a property in Colorado and I paid for property insurance in the closing statement. I was recently contacted by the title company and was told not all property tax was collected at closing, and I am going to be taken to court and have legal and lawyer fees to pay as well as the property tax. I was under the understanding that is what title insurance is for and that is why I paid it just in case mistakes like this happened. If you have any insight into this I would appreciate it.
ANSWER: Title insurance insures the purchaser(s) against loss due to defects in the seller(s) title that is being conveyed to the purchaser(s). Taxes no matter how unpalatable to all of us, are not defects in the title. I'm sure that the purchase contract you signed called for you to pay the real estate taxes for the time period you owned the property. If an error in the calculations occurred or if additional taxes were discovered later, that does not relieve the seller(s) from their contractual obligations to pay those taxes. Also, in most closings the seller(s) and purchaser(s) sign a document wherein they agree to work with the title company, the lender(if any)and each other to correct any clerical errors that might arise. Quite often, if the error was due to a miscalculation on the part of the title company closer, the company will offer to pay any late payment penalty or interest.
