 | 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
2007-02-01 16:23:00
Paying in cash and title insurance
Do I have to buy title insurance if I pay cash for my new home?
If you’ve been smart enough, or in some cases, lucky enough, to be in a position to pay cash for your new home, for goodness sake, be smart enough to have the title researched by a professional before you actually “take title” to that home. It makes no difference whether you pay cash at closing, or take out a new loan, or get the money from your first cousin to make the purchase, you won’t live long enough to outlive the problems you can encounter in buying a home with hidden defects in the title. In the case of taking out a new loan, of course, the lender will not at any time, let you have the money without requiring that you purchase a title insurance policy so that the lender is protected from unknown defects in that title. If the lender will not lend without a title policy, why would you buy without a title policy? In any “cash at closing” transaction, no matter where the money comes from, you can make that purchase without anyone forcing you to buy the title insurance policy. That’s your right, but if something goes wrong, it’ll seem like “you’re left”. And you could spend tens of thousands of your dollars in the attempt to correct the defects that could arise. The defects that are possible would boggle your mind, and if you don’t believe me, just go online and do some research on title problems that folks have come up with. The ones who come out whole are the ones who have purchased a title insurance policy at closing. The ones who sometimes “lose it all” are the ones who think “well, I don’t think there will be any problems on this deal…everything looks ok to me”…and then proceed to suffer the “if only I had” blues. As I said at the outset, if you’re as smart as you generally need to be to accumulate enough cash to do the “all cash at closing purchase”, then be smart enough not to leave out the “small change” item, risking the “lose it all” possibility in the process. “If only I would have” is not a good way to begin the new year…it’s also a really bad way to end the year too. One of the most important things you can do is make sure that the biggest investment you or most folks w
ill make in their lifetimes is titled to you with the knowledge that you have clear title, with no clouds, encumbrances, liens, or other defects that will turn your dream into a bad, bad nightmare. You don’t want that! More Next Month…
