Title Insurance

Carolinas Legal Group, LLP is proud to be partnered with 

Chicago Title Insurance Company, the nation's largest title insurance group, to offer our clients both a Homeowner's Policy and a Lender's Policy. 

 There are two title insurance policies that come up during your home loan closing: the lender’s policy, which is required, and an optional homeowner’s title policy (also called the "Homeowner's Policy"). We sell both lender title insurance and homeowner title insurance. Both are a one-time, upfront cost (not a recurring monthly premium that will be added to your mortgage payment). 

The lender's insurance policy only protects the lender. You can purchase a separate homeowner's title policy to protect yourself and your new investment. 

A homeowner's title policy should not be confused with homeowner's insurance.  Homeowner's insurance is a type of property insurance that covers damage to a home and its contents. A homeowner's title policy is a policy that covers third-party claims against the property that do not show up in the initial title search and may come up after closing.

What is a third-party? How does this third-party affect my ownership rights? 

A third-party is someone other than the property’s owner, like a construction company that didn’t get paid by a previous owner for the work they did on the home you are buying.

Or it could be an overlooked heir, who doesn’t even know that they have claim to the property, until after your closing. (An heir is a person who inherits the property.) In these two scenarios, the third-party finds out years after your closing that they have an interest in your property. 

During the escrow period, your team (attorneys, realtor, and lender) are working very hard to get you to close on time. For instance, your mortgage lender or attorney will order a title search. The title researcher (abstractor) uses public records to find any defects ("clouds") on title that could affect the lender's or buyer's property rights. These include liens, easements and encumbrances. If the lender's title search reveals any clouds on title, we will try to resolve them.

 If the abstractor doesn't find any outstanding claims or title defects, 

why should I buy a Homeowner's Policy?  

A homeowner's title insurance policy covers underlying issues with the property’s title that may have been overlooked and/or come up after closing. Some of these issues include:

• improperly recorded documents 
• liens from contractors, taxing entities, or previous lenders 
• encroachments 
• conflicting wills 
• forged documents 
• building code violations 
• property deed errors 
• boundary disputes 
• property survey errors
• false impersonation of the true owner of the property 
• forged deeds, releases or wills 
• undisclosed or missing heirs 
• instruments executed under an invalid or expired power of attorney 
• mistakes in recording legal documents 
• misinterpretation of wills  
• deeds by minors 
• deeds by persons supposedly single, but in fact married  
• liens for unpaid estate, inheritance, income or gift taxes 
• fraud 

Maybe there's a pending lawsuit or legal judgment that didn't come up 

during the initial title search and it shows up years after you purchase your home. 

A title defect that arises after a loan closing could, at the very least, mean that you would have to pay significant legal fees and costs to defend your title— and, in a worst-case scenario, the loss of your beautiful home and the money you’ve invested in it.

You wouldn’t think twice about purchasing health insurance, car insurance, or home insurance. Purchasing a home is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make in your lifetime. 

Purchasing homeowner's title insurance to protect your home is a one-time fee that covers you as long as you own your home, whereas car insurance, health insurance, 

and home insurance are recurring fees. 

Lenders require the lender's policy to protect their loan. It only makes sense to purchase homeowner's title insurance to protect your investment.