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What does title insurance protect you from? A lot.

 

There are few things in life more important than protecting your home. The following matters are examples of why you need title insurance. Remember that the best title examination or search cannot protect your equity and home from matters not appearing in the public records. However, title insurance* can protect you from:

 

Call us for more information.

 

·         Documents executed under false, revoked or expired powers of attorney

·         False impersonation of the true land owner

·         Undisclosed heirs

·         Improperly recorded legal documents

·         Prescriptive rights in another not appearing of record and not disclosed by survey

·         Failure to include necessary parties to certain judicial proceedings

·         Defective acknowledgements due to improper

·         or expired notarization

·         Corporate franchise taxes as liens on corporate real estate assets

·         Gaps in the chain of title

·         Mistakes and omissions resulting in

·         improper abstracting

·         Improper modification of documents

·         Rights of divorced parties

·         Conveyances in violation of public policy

·         Misinterpretation of wills and ancillary instruments

·         Deeds by persons falsely representing their

·         marital status

·         Claims by creditors of decedent against property improperly conveyed by heirs and devisees

·         Issues concerning unlawful takings by

·         eminent domain or condemnation

·         Special tax assessments

·         Real estate homestead exceptions

·         Forfeitures of real property due to criminal acts

·         Forged deeds, mortgages, wills, releases of mortgages and other instruments

·         Deeds by minors

·         Deeds which appear absolute, but which are

·         held to be equitable mortgages

·         Conveyances by an heir, devisee or survivor of

·         a joint estate who attempts to attain title by

·         ill-gotten means Inadequate legal descriptions

·         Conveyances by undisclosed divorced spouses

·         Duress in execution of wills, deeds and instruments conveying or establishing title

·         Issues involving delivery of

·         conveyancing instruments

·         Deeds and wills by persons lacking legal capacity

·         State inheritance and gift tax liens

·         Errors in tax records

·         Demolition and substandard building liens

·         Administration of estates and probate of wills of missing persons who are presumed deceased

·         Issues of rightful possession of the land

·         Issues concerning the rightful conveyances by corporate entities

·         Deeds and mortgages by foreigners who may

·         lack legal capacity to hold title

·         Legal capacity of foreign personal representatives and trustees

·         Issues involving improper marital status

·         Issues concerning adoption of children

·         Conveyances and proceedings affecting rights of military personnel protected by the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act

·         Issues concerning interests noted in financial statements filed under Uniform Commercial Code

·         Interests arising by deeds of fictitious parties

·         Adverse possession

·         Lack of jurisdiction or competency of persons in judicial proceedings

·         Community property issues

·         Utility easements

·         False affidavits of death or heirship

·         Intestate estates

·         Probate matters

·         Federal estate and gift tax liens

STA Title Home Buyers Settlement Guide

CFPB Seeks Input on Possible Fixes to Controversial TRID

The Washington Post | May 10, 2016
A recent effort by the federal government to make the home closing process smoother and more transparent for buyers has instead turned into a quagmire of inconsistency and confusion, according to title companies and real estate agents. ALTA is committed to working with the CFPB to correct the inaccurate calculation of title insurance premiums on the mortgage disclosures when policies are issued simultaneously. Under the current rule, the calculation is inconsistent with the Bureau's mission to inform consumers about the true costs of their real estate transaction. During ALTA's Lobby Day on May 18, the title industry will encourage members of Congress to tell the CFPB to provide consumers with accurate information about title insurance costs. Help ALTA in this effort to correct the inaccurate disclosure of title fees under TRID. Become a member of the Title Action Network. It’s free and easy to join.

 

WHAT EVERY REALTOR® SHOULD KNOW ABOUT OWNER’S TITLE INSURANCE

MAKE SURE ALL OF YOUR CLIENTS ARE PROTECTED

You’re a Realtor®, so you know that buying a home can be overwhelming for your clients. Homebuyers can feel confused and frustrated by the mounds of paperwork they have to sign. Plus, the fees associated with closing can sometimes be overwhelming even to an experienced buyer. Owner’s title insurance is one of those items often misunderstood by homebuyers at closing, yet its value is tremendous. As an important advisor to your clients, you are in a position to help homebuyers understand the benefit of owner’s title insurance and the dangers that can be incurred without it.

 WHAT IS TITLE INSURANCE? Owner’s title insurance is a policy that protects homebuyers’ property rights. For the same reasons the bank requires a lender’s insurance policy, the homebuyer obtains owner’s title insurance to protect against possible claims against the title. For more information about title insurance, or to find an ALTA member that can issue an owner’s policy, please direct your clients to homeclosing101.org.

 HOW IT PROTECTS Say, for example, your client recently purchased a new home from a builder, but the builder failed to pay the roofer. Wanting to be paid, the roofer filed a lien against the property. Without owner’s title insurance, your client could be responsible for paying this existing debt. This is just one example of how owner’s title insurance protects homebuyers from various financial risks.

ENDURING VALUE The good news is that owner’s title insurance protects homebuyers financially, as long as they own their home. For a low, one-time fee, homebuyers can rest assured, knowing they are protected against possible debts or claims to their property.

 For more information about owners title Insurance, please call STA Title & Escrow (540) 368-5501

 

Fun Filled Days

What Is Mortgage Insurance?

How Errors in Public Records Can Affect Your Home's Title

Although the property you just purchased is new to you, it has a history, and sometimes, these histories can include unwanted baggage. During a real estate transaction's closing process, a title search on the property is completed to determine whether there are title defects that can have an effect on the purchase.

One common title issue buyers face when completing a title search is an error in public records. Humans aren't error-free, and a clerical or filing error regarding your property can have an effect on the deed and result in costs you may not have expected.

A title search is performed in order to determine if your home's title is clear, as well as to find any mistakes that could have been made in public records.

 An example of an error that could be fi led in public records is a description of the property that may appear to be accurate but isn't, like the square footage of the home. Since banks and lenders will only offer about 80-to-90 percent of a home's appraised value, if the home's actual square footage is different than what is listed on the documents, buyers may run into an issue with receiving the needed loan amount. As a result, buyers may be unable to obtain the loan and therefore unable to purchase the property.

Improperly filed legal documents, pending legal action or unreleased mortgages mishandled by public records can result in additional headaches for the buyers unless these issues are resolved. 

CFPB corrects error in TRID rule
Falls victim to the dreaded 'typographical' error

February 9, 2016

Ben Lane

It’s been four months since the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule in October shook up the housing industry, and many in the industry are still getting used to the new normal.

But, starting Wednesday, there’s a small portion of the TRID rule that will be changing, thanks to a “typographical error” in the supplementary information provided by the CFPB.

The change was spotted via TheHill.com, which listed several changes to the Federal Register that will be published on Wednesday.

One of those changes is to the CFPB’s TRID rule.

According to the CFPB’s addendum, the supplementary information to the TILA-RESPA Final Rule, which was released in 2013, contained a typographical error.

The addendum to the Federal Register and the TRID supplementary information corrects the error, which deals with the application of tolerances to property insurance premiums, property taxes, homeowner’s association dues, condominium fees, and cooperative fees.

According to the CFPB’s addendum, which can be read here, on page 79829 of Volume 78 of the Federal Register, the supplementary information states that “property insurance premiums, property taxes, homeowner’s association dues, condominium fees, and cooperative fees” are “subject to tolerances,” when it should read that those fees are “not subject to tolerances.”

The CFPB’s addendum states that the error, listing the fees as “subject to tolerances,” is inconsistent with the sentence that precedes it, which reads: “Property insurance premiums are included in the category of settlement charges not subject to a tolerance, whether or not the insurance provider is a lender affiliate”

Additionally, the CFPB addendum states that on page 79829 of the Federal Register, several lines will be revised from “are subject to tolerances whether or not they are placed into an escrow, impound, reserve, or similar account” to read “are not subject to tolerances whether or not they are placed into an escrow, impound, reserve, or similar account”.
Click here to read the CFPB addendum in full.

The changes go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

CFPB nearly doubled enforcement actions in 2015

CFPB nearly doubled enforcement actions in 2015: If you thought Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made more headlines in 2015 than ever before, you were right. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the CFPB brought nearly twice as many enforcement actions during 2015 than it did in 2014.