Don't Forget the Title Insurance and Survey

Purchasing a Home is a BIG Investment for you, me and anyone else.  Whether it is your first home at $100,000 or your third at $550,000, you think it is a ton of money.

With the purchase, numerous cost are incurred to secure a loan and to close the transaction at an attorney, in escrow or at title company dependent on what part of the country you live in.  Thus, a buyer will seek to minimize the costs where ever possible.

Not a bad idea, unless you eliminate a closing cost that brings real value!!!

Title Insurance and Surveys are perfect examples of items buyers consider eliminating but at their own risk.

Title Insurance and Surveys work together to protect a buyer from numerous risks of owning real estate.

Surveys ensure:  Property Lines are properly denoted
                         Note utility and other easements that are present
                         Note buildings, fences, docks ect crossing property lines, not part of the property surveyed
                              in question as to who owns what even sometimes

Normally, challenges noted on a survey can and are resolved prior to a buyer closing on the home. 

Yet at time, surveys, attorneys, buyers note or accept variances that shouldn't be accepted at earlier points in time on adjacent properties or even the subject property that can cause the new owner issues during possession of the property or at the time this new owner wants to sell at a future time.

Title Insurance is an insurance policy to warrant all the work on the title search and related title work has been done properly.  The bank requires the buyer to purchase Title Insurance to protect the bank.  The Buyer has the option to purchase Title Insurance.

Title Insurance provides the bank and Buyer(if purchased) protection from various title errors or mistakes that happen time to time as well as fraud, undeclared owners(i.e. not recorded at court house) ect.

Title Insurance, since 1998, also protects a Buyer that had a Survey done during the purchase process on most survey related issues.  Without doubt, like all Title issues, it is a complex topic that takes extended explanation as to when survey issues are completely covered and when deductibles or modified coverage is applicable.   Talk to an Title expert (like Debbie Ferguson with Advance Title(Hampton Roads)) for
the nuances of this coverage.

I assure you that the one time cost at settlement for a Survey and Title Insurance will be worth its weight in Gold should a title or survey discrepancy arise during owning a home or selling a home.