In regard to new homes in The Villages purchased from the developer, I'm not sure the word scam applies, but some one is making a lot of easy money from an essentially captive audience. All the homes on my street were once part of the same parcel and this parcel was purchased by the developer whom I'm sure ascertained he had clear title to the property before developing it. So do each of the 60 homes in my courtyard villa neighborhood need a separate thousand dollar title insurance policy? And since the developer surveyed the lots before building the homes do we each have to pay for an additional survey?
Just asking?
In addition most of us purchased these homes via The Villages realtor, mortgaged with The Villages mortgage company, and settled via The Villages title company. Lots of bucks to be made.

Required "title insurance"
 

Some confusion here. these are 2 different insurances. Lenders have always required mortgage insurance. Title non insurance, as I call it, is separate.

Wish I would have thunk it up first.

I find almost no one thinks through the cost of insurance and simply buys no matter what they might get for it. On the 1 hand we have to have medical insurance on the chance you might suddenly be faced with astronomical charges. At the other extreme there is appliance insurance. Can no one imagine that these companies have it figured out how much to charge for a policy and how much they will pay out. How do you think they make money? They charge you more upfront than they have needed to pay out. We have been trying for weeks to get a clothes dryer fixed through insurance purchased by the former homeowner ( I have never bought insurance on any gadget). Sears will only use rebuilt parts. They don't necessarily work either. A week between each ordered rebuilt part has us at 3 weeks in the laundromat now.
Title Insurance: A title search which we are charged separately for makes some sense. So called title insurance no person can ever collect on.

I have an active California law license and have handled numerous cases where a title insurance policy was the only thing that stood between the homeowner and bankruptcy; for an example of one of my cases where title insurance was crucial to my clients (Mrs. & Mrs. Hays) search Google for "Hays vs. Vanek".

If your neighbor claims your house violates the setback law and is 4 inches too close to his or her house, you will need your title insurance company to step in and defend you - and to pay legal bills that could run a hundred thousand dollars or more, not to mention paying the cost of tearing off the roof and the wall of your house to move your wall further in, and to compensate you for your home's lost value, if you lose; remember that the time allowed by law for you to sue the developer over this will likely have expired.

If a utility decides it wants to run an enormous cable under your home, you will need your title insurance company to defend your claim to your property and compensate you for the value of your home if you lose. If Sumter County, Lake County, or Marion County claims it has the right to widen the street behind, next to, or in front of your house and take most of your yard in the process, you will need your title insurance company to defend you and compensate you for your home's lost value if you lose.

'Not to mention that if you decide to refinance your existing mortgage, or take out a new mortgage, or get a reverse mortage, you will be out of luck without title insurance - no lender will touch your home loan application. And when you try to resell your house, intelligent buyers will want a steep discount since a title insurance policy guarantees that you have good title to the home you are selling, and they will have trouble getting a title insurance policy on a house that doesn't currently have one. Most title insurance companies will only issue policies at the time you buy the property - you will find it difficult to impossible to get one later.

Personally, I would never, ever go without title insurance, and I'd advise clients to avoid buying a house where the owner was so reckless or so poorly advised that they went without their own title insurance policy. It's a one-time purchase that could end up keeping you out of poverty some day. - Suuzen Ty Anderson

Frankjr
 

Not required. Bought three homes in TV and have declined in all three.
The developer did all the homework or would have not bought the property.

The lender requires title insurance and you have to get owners in order to get lenders which is why lender's is so cheap.

I agree, maybe somewhere else but in the villages as posted above the developer did their homework!

title insurance
 

In answer to your thought that lenders or mortgage insurance cost $25.00 is that it only costs $25.00 when an Owners Policy is purchased.

Yes. It is a simultaneous issue policy.

Uhh....I think you might be the confused one on this. A "Lender's Policy" when discussing Title Ins. is not at all the same as "Private Mortgage Ins." or PMI. The former insures the Lendor's interests in the event there is a challenge to the property TITLE; the latter insures the Lendor's interests from Mortgagee's default when less than 20% downpayment is made on the property.

And, for the record, Su2009 has supplied the most accurate and on point argument for always taking out Title Ins., regardless of who one is purchasing from.

Coming from the UK I used a lawyer when I closed in 1993/4. My son had bought from a developer in Houston and susequently ran in to boundary problems. The lawyer provided Title insurance, and did not charge anything else for services.
I would not expect to pay for title insurance again when I eventually sell the property.

I have never heard of an attorney who has signifigant experience in real estate law recommend that a buyer forgo Title Insurance. Sevral have posted or been quoted on this thread and their comments strongly support purchase.