In reality, the Government will own your house---then someone else will live in your home if you don't pay your taxes. You really are only "leasing" your home from the Government.

But leasing your home from the Government can prove to be more profitable and a better arrangement than leasing from a landlord who leases the house from the Government.

Sorry, a bit off the subject. Dr. You have no choice in the matter of title insurance when you have a mortgage on the property. The lending institution will require it. Regardless, Title insurance isn't a scam---it's insurance---and to many not a bad idea and to others an unnecessary expense. To each his own. Good luck with your new "lease"!

Depends on the type of conveyence that they made to you. It may state that they are conveying only the title that they received when they acquired the property. Quite commom. Therefore many people feel compelled to do a title search amd additionally buy insurance.

Wishing , hoping, and believing are not cponcepts in Real Estate Law.

I think that you might have missed the point on two types of title insurance. One that covers the lender is mandatory. In my case, the fee is $25.00. The second type covers the homeowner. In my case it's $1005.

Technically, by law, the lender does not own the home. They have lent you the money to buy it and the buyer legally owns the home. The lender has the right to try to take possession of the property if the buyer defaults on the mortgage. But, they do not own the property. Foreclosure is a long legal process. You basically put up the home that you own as collateral.

How is it that so many of you missed the point about there being two types of title insurance? One that covers the lender and one that covers the owner. The one that covers the lender is mandatory and much less expensive than the one that covers the owner.

It's a scam on new homes, there's no past title on a vacant lot.
Existing homes seem to need it

I think you will find that the bank policy is $25 extra. If you don't get title insurance, the bank policy will be $1,005.

call any title insurance company in any county and ask for a quote for title insurance. ask them to explain to you about the simultaneous issue mortgagee policy. also ask them to explain how liens against an owner can attach to the property. call any real estate agent in the state of florida and ask them about the standard contract to sell real estate in florida. all contracts have a standard clause that states the seller provides a title insurance policy unless the contract states otherwise. i guess what confuses me is someone is willing to pay $200,000 for a home but not $1000 to guarantee good title. if you want to know what attaches to vacant land, go to the courthouse and ask if you can look at an abstract of title which shows all the documents prior to the land being developed. it is not a villages or mclin scam.

This is where I believe it gets complicated. The developer bought a large tract of land and then divided into a large number of lots. If there was a problem with the title of the large tract of land then presumably every lot has a problem. At that point, there is presumably a large legal problem because potentially thousands of lot would be involved. Presumably there would be a large class action law suite. I did not buy title insurance on my new house because I don't believe there is much chance of that happening. On a resale, there could be a number of issues with the title that someone missed (liens, problems with a will, divorce issues, etc.) and therefore title insurance makes more sense. Essentially, I am betting that the developer's purchase of the large tract of land that contains my new home was done cleanly because there was so much at stake. Perhaps I am naive - time will tell.

100 per cent incorrect statement . Read the quote from atty in post 39.

Is it public knowledge what percentage of your title premium goes toward paying claims? It appears kickbacks are the biggest title company expense. Politicians will not touch an industry that greatly benefits lawyers.

I refinanced my mortgage in January and Quicken Loan did purchase title insurance and I had to pay for it They said it is necessary when selling or refinancing.

What's confusing me is why the buyer should have to insure himself against bad title. If something goes wrong with the title down the road, shouldn't that be the responsibility of the seller?

If I buy a car from a dealer and find that there's something wrong with the title, would the dealer not have to give me another car?

If I put an air conditioning system in my house and the compressor blows after a week, is it not the responsibility of the seller or installer to replace it?

It maybe the law and it may be standard practice, but it is a scam. It should be up to the owner of anything to insure that what they are selling is what they say it is.

It could be the sellers' responsibility down the road..........but where is that seller when you need him/her. Out of state?? Out of country?? Heaven?? Since you are now working with a "dealer" like a car......it just becomes more difficult.

When you are REQUIRED to purchase title insurance, it is only because you are mortgaging the property. You are protecting the lender, which is only fair. If you own free and clear, you are NOT required to buy the title insurance. It would be a risky move to refuse it, but if you can withstand the loss of your money and home, it's your call as the buyer.

Why would the seller pay for the Title Insurance??? That should be a choice of the buyer if they want protection. I never heard of a seller paying.