What is title insurance?

Title Insurance is a one time policy that protects the new buyer and the lender against any claims against the title. A search of the public records is conducted to see what is recorded against the title. Some of the things that are looked for are deeds, debts, easements, assessments and also the new buyer and seller’s names are run to look for any civil or probate judgments that may be filed against them. People with common names sometimes have to provide additional information to prove if a judgment pertains to them or not; this is typically called an ID affidavit.

Title insurance is important because the land has had many owners over the years and claims against these past owners may arise. There are items such as fraud, missing heirs and old liens. Title Insurance will protect your ownership of the property against loss; this protection gives you piece of mind as long as you or your heirs own the land.

Title Insurance is a small one time premium paid at the time of closing or when a loan is taken out on the property. An owner’s policy insures the new buyer a clean title and is usually paid for by the seller. A lenders policy is usually paid for by the buyer or borrower and is required by the lender to protect their loan investment on the property from any claims of interest.

The thorough examination of a title is done to eliminate the risks but still old unrecorded claims of interest may arise and the title company is there to defend you. Pacific Northwest Title has maintained a strong market share in Snohomish County for many years and is committed to giving the customer fast quality service.