Lyons & Lyons Title Company, LLC

FAQs


	Why Do I Need Title Insurance? Real Estate has such a great value that many laws have been enacted to protect the owner of the property and the heirs of the owner. Also, many others may have rights in the property such as Mortgage and Lien Holders, Municipalities for Tax Liens, the United States for Federal Tax Liens and others for Minerals, Oil, or Air Rights. Because of these rights and the bundle of laws protecting the owners, and others that have an interest in the property, the purchase of real property must be done carefully and only after extensive investigation of the title. Even after an extensive investigation, the only protection against such things as: errors on the record, missing heirs, mental incompetence of the seller, marital status, etc, is by the purchase of a Title Insurance Policy.
	What is Title Insurance? There are two basic types of title insurance policies: Owner’s Policies and Lender’s Policies. An Owner’s Policy insures the purchaser or owner against a loss that may arise by reason of a defect in their title or ownership of real property. A Lender’s Policy insures the lender that it has a priority lien on the property. In addition, the title insurance company agrees to defend the owner or lender (as the case may be) in court if there is an attack on the title. It will cover attorney and court expenses or pay a loss caused by the defect in title up to the face amount of the policy subject to the terms listed in the policy.
	What are the risks that Title Insurance protects against? There are numerous defects or problems that can arise to cause an attack or loss of the title to real property. Some of these include problems not disclosed by the most careful search of the public records (the title search). Hidden risks can cause a total loss of investment or heavy legal expenses in the defense of an attack on the title. Some title problems may show up months or years after the original purchase of the property. The following are examples of matters that can cause loss of title or an expensive lawsuit: Intervening liens or encumbrances which arise between the date of execution and delivery of the deed or mortgage but prior to the recordation of such instrument(s) Forged deeds, mortgages, satisfactions or releases of mortgages and other instruments Failure of spouses to join in conveyances Undisclosed or missing heirs Deeds from minors, aliens or persons of unsound mind Errors in indexing of public records Liens for unpaid taxes including estate, inheritance, income or gift taxes Erroneous reports furnished by tax officials Mistakes in recording legal documents Deeds from defunct corporations Unprobated wills
	If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us at 239-444-5900.