Title Services

What is Title Insurance and Do You Need it?

The Property Title is a legal document guaranteeing ownership of a piece of property.

Title Insurance protects the lender or buyer against loss arising from a dispute over ownership of a piece of property. As with a car, the property may have changed ownership many times before reaching the current buyer, and errors and discrepancies can happen along the way. Title insurance is the lender's way of insuring their interest in the property against the consequences of a pre-existing lien or encumbrance on a property that might be discovered after the change of ownership.




*Available in Northen Virginia and Washington, DC.

You are free to use the settlement service provider of your choice, including providers not listed here.

The cost for title insurance is paid once, at the closing of the loan and may be the responsibility of the buyer, the seller, or both, depending on what is traditional in your locality.

Information about title insurance should be listed in the contract and can include a clause identifying how to handle potential problems that arise during the title search.

Title Insurance Coverage

Depending on the title company, consumers can choose among a variety of options, but the top three choices are Owners, Lender's and Extended Coverage.

Basic Owner's Title Policy Coverage:

1.   Clear title to the property
2.   Incorrect signatures on documents
3.   Forgery, fraud
4.   Defective recordation
5.   Restrictive covenants
6.   Encumbrances or judgments

Basic Lender's Title Policy Coverage:

1.   Mechanic's liens and unrecorded liens
2.    Unrecorded easements and access rights
3.    Defects and other unrecorded documents

Extended Owner's Coverage

1.   Building permit violations from previous owners
2.   Subdivision maps
3.   Covenant violations from previous owners
4.   Living trusts
5.   Structure damage from mineral extractions
6.   Variety of encroachments and forgeries after title insurance is issued

Know your rights when shopping for mortgage and settlement services, including title insurance - Provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Urban Development

For Frequently Asked Questions regarding your protections under the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act

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