mitchjav
Recycles dryer sheets
If I'm buying a new construction home from a builder and not taking a mortgage, is there a reason to take out title insurance? What are the pros/cons to doing this?
Even if all historical and current data was available for me to search and find, I would not invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a piece of land with or without a home on it. You aren't paying for somebody to say everything is clear. You are paying for "insurance" that they did their job in searching past records and coverage for things that may be still an open issues and not been finalized or recorded yet . That is why it is called Title Insurance.
It may be overpriced but would you really not buy it?
If you have a mortgage you will have a lender's title policy but I assume you would pass on the owner's title policy, correct?
Most people don't look and their closing costs and these crooks get away with it.
Closing costs have to be provided to the buyer/seller prior to closing. All the costs involved are disclosed. They aren't crooks if you agree to it.
Here is some good information that lacks vitriol: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/owning-a-home/close/review-documents/
I can assure you that in 2011 we were given one week notice that they were ready to close escrow. We booked our airline tickets and headed to Florida 48 hours before the signing and wired the balance owed to the escrow agent. The first time I saw my closing cost summary sheet was on the day they were ready for us to sign the documents at their office in Boca Raton Florida. Since it was an all cash transaction, there were very few opportunities to pad fees for services never received or rendered but they did so anyways. The real estate agent representing the seller tried to hit us with a $400 fee even though we were never represented by any agent on the transaction. They promptly removed the fee. Just because the CFPB has a new three day rule, it doesn't prevent the company managing the transaction to pad the closing costs with fees for services never rendered or even necessary. As I stated previously, most people don't even read what they are signing so the crooks can get away with. As for title insurance, it is a scam and the days are numbered for those few title insurance companies in this country.
And again, if those buying/selling choose to NOT READ THE TERMS OF THE DEAL then there is no "crook".
I believe title insurance is a scam with today's technology. Many other people have the same opinion. It's grossly overpriced given how easy it is to perform the records search.
https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/1113/148.html?sh=62aa860f5266
All those fools that refinance their homes keep paying for title insurance over and over again.
All those fools that refinance their homes keep paying for title insurance over and over again.
I think you misunderstand that title insurance is term insurance. Also, you seem to misunderstand that it is "insurance" meaning it responds to claims of defects to title, even if unknown. You could be sued as a result of such claims.
It is not accurate to say that you are paying for the "same insurance" over and over again. Unless you look at auto insurance the same way, since it is also term insurance.
And of course the owner's policy is not needed to be purchased on a refinance.
I do wish it were cheaper. But I am not going to self-insure for what could be a catastrophic loss. And of course lenders will require what they require.
If you bought your home 29 years ago and never re-financed the title insurance is still in force. It is not term insurance where the policy is in force while you make payments. Lenders do require a new policy on refinance which is a total scam. The payout for title insurance claims is 3-4% which again confirms it is a scam. The state of Iowa did something about this scam by taking over title insurance issuance with a $110 flat fee for properties up to $500K. Per this article, Iowa has the lowest title insurance cost in the nation and also the most effective.
https://archive.curbed.com/2018/2/26/17017142/title-insurance-scam-government-takeover