That's interesting! In the papers we needed to sign and return to the bank, page 2 of the GFE (Good Faith Estimate) has the following:

4. Title services and lenders title insurance: $599.75
5. Owner's title insurance: $1,397

Either way the bottom line is probably the same, but I wonder why the owners portion on mine was much higher while on yours it's much lower? Perhaps it just the mysterious magic of mortgage documentation and proceedural processing where Philly Lawyers are needed to make any sense out of it all! :22yikes:

Attorneys
 

My first question: Post #8 (Caroline) got a Contractors Sworn Statements to Owner and Final release of Liens -- Is this for new homes only?

I'm from NY. Seems like the legal aspect of buying/selling homes in Florida is alot easier there. (It boggles my mind people do this by mail!!) On buying a pre-owned, either by VLS or MLS, all cash or mortgaged, where do you start to look for a lawyer in Florida to help you with all of this? My experience with real estate attorneys was something to be desired and I swore I would never put myself through that again.... of course, I never heard of The Villages back then.

This statement I received was for a NEW home being bought fom the villages. If I were buying a resale home, my thought process on the need for title insurance would be totaly different. When buying from a private party you really have no idea of what work was done or the name of contractors used in performing such work. Also the risk increases that the title can be tainted in some way (even in a short period of time since it was originally bought) when you are not buying it from the developer...although this risk is still very very low, it does exist. I imagine in a resale contract you could add words (unless something like this is already included in a standard FLorida residential resale contract) to the effect that no known contractor liens exist on the property identified in this contract.

My original point on the need for title insurance is:
--- If you are buying directly from the developer, and paying cash where you donot have a bank requiring you to pay $1,000-1500 for lender title insurance....the chance of something going wrong is extremely remote. If however by not buying title insurance you will not be able to sleep at night..go for it.
--- Compare this senario to buying from the Developer and financing a loan where you are already required to buy Lenders title insurance, your additional cost for buyers title insurance would be minimal. (Again be careful for this would only cover you for the Mortgage loan amount NOT the entire house)
--- The other senario is buying a resale home whether you are financing it or not, how comfortable are you knowing the title chain...this is where you are most likely to buy title insurance.

We settled by mail and it was the easiest closing process we ever went through...much easier than selling the house up north. The key thing is that you must meet The VIllages timetable (ie deposits, any financial committments, and closing dates) laid out in the contract you signed and that was made clear to you.... otherwise you can run into a hassle. I mean simply chaning your closing dates one or 2 days either way from what is stipulated in the contract will most likely cost you additional money and some hassle.

Remember this is a business proposition.....The developer is not your friend, BUT also know they donot want to make enemies. The contract is the contract!

Re: Contractors' Statements - That'll only apply to new builds, the concern being that you'd want to ensure there are no liens on the property from anyone involved in the construction process that might not be filed with the county yet. A title search will cover the potential for finding any liens on an existing house/property.

Re: Finding a real estate attorney - We used McLin Burnsed (the office in LSL) to handle our recent closing (at the suggestion of the sellers). It was a FSBO deal - no realtors involved. The firm had us (as buyers) and sellers fill out forms that addressed pertinent info necessary in order to draw up a sales agreement/contract. They also handled all the other aspects of the closing - - - except for arranging things like a home inspection, termite inspection, and the like. Those kinds of things are at the discretion of the parties involved in the sales contract - I guess some people might not want to have them done but I wouldn't know why! :) Anyways, those were a couple of things we wanted to have as buyers so I arranged for them and paid the companies for their services directly. But know that in this type of an arrangement, the law firm is not representing either party. They're simply agents for preparing the documents and ensuring a complete process. They're not going to offer advice or consultation to either party. Also, as a caveat: Make sure you thoroughly read all documents to ensure that they've got all of your information properly noted throughout. Trust me on that one! :) The whole process worked out just fine for us in the end - it accomplished what we all wanted.

Hope that helps!

Bill

It is a small world. I've seen some of your other posts. Congratulation on the buttonwood house. I'm not sure if you are still up here in the frigid tundra. Do you ever go to Alberto's?

Sometimes. But for pizza we actually go down to Twins in N. Prov. We're still here in Norton until 2012 sometime. But we'll be visiting the TV home often.

I am risk averse and, for me, paying for Title Insurance is a no-brainer. At this point in my life, it's worth the peace of mind.