[ohiogolf]

We bought in Hadley in February. I called my lawyer in Ohio who is also licensed to practice in Florida and who is a personal estate lawyer and asked him if the title insurance was a wise buy. he told me to absolutely buy it. that was all I needed to hear.

Thanks for the help, I have decided, (with your help) to go ahead with the title insurance for the peace of mind. Nice to hear there is another Ohio golfer in Hadley. My handle explains my ability on the links, but I love the game. Thanks again all, see you in june.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by duffer4384

I hope I can get some advice on here about title insurance. In Ohio, it is not common for a property owner to need title insurance, so very few people get it. I just recieved closing information from the Villages closing dept. for our new home in The Villages. This information recomends that we obtain title insurance (not cheap) I kind of figured that The Villages did research when they bought the land and that it should be pretty safe to assume that no one else is going to lay claim to it, not even the native Americans. Does anyone have an opinion one way or another about title insurance that might help me here?
:dontknow:

Hello Fellow Buckeye,

I, too, remember the days when many of us here in Ohio did not buy title insurance. In fact, they always used to say, "If it's a clean, don't worry about title insurance. If it's a dirty, buy it." -meaning if you were buying from someone who was in a nasty divorce or family feud or whatever, you needed to get it. That sure could have turned out to be bad advice in a lot of cases. But it was common practice in some areas.

But those days are gone forever. -- even here in the part of Ohio where buyers still sometimes let sellers stay in the home 30 days after closing.

These days, I would not ever consider buying a house without title insurance - not here - not there - not anywhere. Our policy for our house we downsized to a little while back, here in Ohio, lives quietly in our safe deposit box.

The cost is minimal compared to what could happen without it.

It's the cost of sleep.

I am glad you found your answer. And enjoy your new life in TV. I think there must be Buckeyes all over that place.

Boomer

[jjdees]

I'm surprised about the comments about the lack of need for title insurance in Ohio. We owned 4 different houses in the Cleveland suburbs going back to 1964 and had title insurance on all of them. Initially it was strongly pushed by our Realtors and later when we were older and wiser, no one had to reccomend it, it was an automatic part of our closing process. Since then, in multiple states, we always bought title insurance. Wouldn't be without it.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by jjdees

I'm surprised about the comments about the lack of need for title insurance in Ohio. We owned 4 different houses in the Cleveland suburbs going back to 1964 and had title insurance on all of them. Initially it was strongly pushed by our Realtors and later when we were older and wiser, no one had to reccomend it, it was an automatic part of our closing process. Since then, in multiple states, we always bought title insurance. Wouldn't be without it.

Hi jjdees,

I think it was something that happened mostly in farming communities and in small towns where people had known each other for generations. Sometimes business in such places was done with just a handshake.

Things were just done differently in some places throughout the state, especially lots of years ago. But certainly no more.

You know what. Now that I think about it. In the small town where I grew up, there were a few houses that had been moved. Really. I saw a couple of them going down the street when I was really, really young. Maybe this explains why.

Boomer

[jjdees]

Boomer, That makes sense. You wouldn't have the subdividing of properties and numerous changes in ownership that you'd have in the cities. I hadn't thought about that.

Hello folks, I would like to expand a little bit on the need for title insurance in Ohio. We recently sold our home here in Ohio in order to buy in TV. The couple that purchased our home paid cash and were represented by a realtor. We sold the house ouselves (no Realtor) and were represented by our lawyer. The closing took place in the offices of a local title company. At closing the title agent stated for all to hear that he was obligated to offer title insurance, but since there was no mortgage , it wouldn't be required. Apparently if there was a mortgage, banks require title insurance to protect their interest. He also stated that even though he is obligated to offer title insurance, that no one takes it if they don't have to. This couple didn't take it. Therein lies the cause of our delima. If we were mortgaging our new home, we wouldn't have had an option, but since we were able to make a cash deal, this decision fell upon us to make. I called The Villages closing department for clarification on this and was told that about 80% of the buyers in The Villages get the title insurance. My delema was why didn't the other 20% take it? I have been reading this forum for awhile and felt it would be a good source for an unbiased opinion, so I broached the subject here and got some very good replies that helped me and maybe that will help someone else deal with this. Thanks to all :bigthumbsup:

[bestmickey]

Curious....how much does title insurance cost?

[Sidney Lanier]

Originally Posted by Boomer BeBack

It's the cost of sleep.

I couldn't think of a better way to put it; after all, that's what insurance is supposed to be about. As another poster in the thread mentioned, with a resale situation it's a no-brainer as the seller pays the entire cost of title search/title insurance (another advantage to resales versus new construction), but with new construction, for peace of mind it's the way to go. IMHO....

[hdken]

Originally Posted by duffer4384

My delema was why didn't the other 20% take it?

My guess is that the 20% who don't obtain title insurance are the same 20% who think that attorneys are a waste of money.

To each his own, but as a practicing attorney, not in the real estate field, I wouldn't think of purchasing real estate without title insurance and competent counsel.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by duffer4384

...At closing the title agent stated for all to hear that he was obligated to offer title insurance, but since there was no mortgage , it wouldn't be required. Apparently if there was a mortgage, banks require title insurance to protect their interest. He also stated that even though he is obligated to offer title insurance, that no one takes it if they don't have to...

Hi duffer4384,

Here I am, back in this thread again. I am the Buckeye from the south side of the state. And I know all about Lawyers and FSBO's and Cash. -- Oh My!

Please look up there at the quote where it says that banks require title insurance to protect their interest.

While it can be quite a wonderful thing to be a cash buyer, never, never forget that when you are one, YOU ARE THE BANK. (Oh, and this all caps doesn't mean I'm yelling or anything. I just wanted to say it in big letters.)

Boomer

[interested]

In our state, title insurance is required. Apparently in Florida it is not. Did you get it - if so why or why not?

[katezbox]

yes - i thought it unnecessary, but we got is so my husband would have peace of mind.

[SteveFromNY]

I also got it. Although I have a mortgage and I think the bank required it.
It would be well worth searching on this topic as there were a couple of threads with some really interesting stuff, including an entry about someone who lost their house and got nothing for it as a result of not having the insurance.
The odds are slim that anything will happen, but for the amount it costs it seemed silly not to get it.

[suebanj]

I worked for a title company here and I would definitely suggest it if you are buying a re-sale...I've seen numerous problems especially if there was a death of one of the owners and also if an extension was built on a home and it is over the property line or in an easement....We bought a new home here and still got the title insurance...I guess it's what you feel comfortable with.