REAL ESTATE CLOSING RESOURCES

When the opportunity to close on your property finally comes around, make sure you are prepared for anything! Follow these tips to ensure a stress free closing process:

• Request a final walk through before closing.
• Make sure your property is vacated or in the proper conditions that were agreed on in your contract.
• Bring your ID, homeowners insurance and a copy of your purchasing contract. 
• Jot down any questions you may have and ask them BEFORE signing on the dotted line.

After this closing process is complete your closing agent (us) should record all of the conditions of your deed. Now, it’s time to celebrate – congrats on your new home!

The cost of a title insurance policy is not overwhelmingly high, but should be considered as a vital component of the money you need to have on hand once you are ready to begin the property buying process.

Title insurance policies cost between 0.5% to 1% of the purchase price. Typically, the higher the price of the property, the higher the price of the policy. In most states, the buyer holds the responsibility of paying for his or her title insurance expenses.

A title defect is any potential threat to an owners right to sell or claim a property. Title rights include right of possession, exclusion, control and disposition. When an owner wishes to sell their property or acquire a new one they must ensure that there are no title defects. 

Title defects are pesky, and often hard to identify without the help of a title agency (that’s us!). Title defects should be taken seriously as they are publicly recorded issues that could potentially give another party the right to claim your property. Common title defects include:

• Errors in public records which have impacts on the validity of your deed.
• Unknown liens, which occur when a previous owner misses payments and has created a debt associated with the property.
• Unknown heirs who have ownership/wills to the property

A great and secure way to avoid title defects is to keep track of the properties title status and any possible issues with the property via a title agency like Primera Title.

The difference between municipal lien searches and property title searches falls between which records are being considered.

Municipal lien searches protect home buyers from any possible unforeseen debt. They also study for any property issues that other title searches can’t identify such as: assessments, code violations or any unpaid utility balances. In comparison, property title searches only include public records for the county. These types of searches are vital to uncover any hidden fees that might affect the buyer in the long run.

The main difference between a lender and an owner’s title insurance policy is based on the protection of assets and claims against a title that could affect possible ownership. In latent terms, lenders title insurance protects the lender while owner’s title insurance protects the owner (if only it were that simple).

In most instances coverage for both policies can seem identical and commonly they will cover:

• Contractors improvement claims 
• Unknown heirs or owners
• Tax liens
• Debt claims on the property