by Title Insurance is a life preserver for any new home or property owner. Oasis’s Title Insurance protects you throughout the entire time you own your home. If the worst happens, Oasis Title will be there to guide you safely back to shore.
What is title insurance?
Title insurance is provided by the title company and can protect everyone involved in the real estate transaction, including the seller, the buyer, and the lender (if there is one). Title insurance ensures that the property that has been purchased is legally owned. Title insurance provides protection against:
- Forgeries in past deeds, or other public ownership records of the property.
- Mistakes in property records.
- Unknown heirs of the property.
- Unknown claims or liens on the property not found in the title search.
There are two types of policies that most title companies provide. The first is a lender’s policy, where the mortgage lender is protected from all of the above. That way, if the home wasn’t legally allowed to be sold, the title company will pay the value of the home owned to the mortgage lender. This policy is in effect until the mortgage lender has been completely repaid for the home.
The second (and best) policy is owner’s title insurance. This title insurance is in effect the entire time the buyer owns the home and protects them from the above problems. If the validity of ownership of the property is called into question, title insurance protects everyone involved and, if the property has been found to not legally be owned by the “owner,” the title insurance will pay the owner the value of the home. This, of course, is the worst-case scenario!
Title insurance is a bit different than other insurance you might have. Home insurance, car insurance, or medical insurance usually won’t cover for pre-existing conditions. They only protect against things that happen in the future. Title insurance on the other hand, protects against things that may have already happened, but could result in the property ownership being called into question. Title Insurance also isn’t a monthly payment like most other insurance policies. Instead, it is a one-time payment, paid with closing costs.
What does Oasis Title offer for title insurance?
After the title search is completed by one of our Licensed Title Examiners, Oasis Title offers buyers title insurance. (If a buyer is getting a mortgage to purchase the property, most mortgage lenders will require at least lender’s title insurance.) Oasis’s insurance is underwritten by a team of lawyers. If something happens, and the validity of the title is called into question, this title insurance policy protects the buyers and pays them and the mortgage lender the value of the home. The title insurance policy will go into effect during closing and will be paid for by closing costs. Who pays for the title insurance is usually determined by the property’s contract of sale.