How big of a wad of cash can you flush down the toilet? Is $10,000 too much? I mean you might have friends coming over, what if only a few thousand dollars clogged the system? Are hundred dollar bills septic safe? Those are the questions you have to ask if you own real estate without an owner’s title insurance policy.
Title claims happen in the best of families, and in the worst.
Even with a title search, there can still be questions of property ownership due to clerical errors, unrecorded deeds and documents, and a whole range of other circumstances. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to defend their ownership rights against such claims. Even if the claims have no validity whatsoever, it is still your responsibility to stand up in court and say, “No, that’s mine!” Otherwise you could automatically lose your home.
If you don’t have title insurance, then you have to pay the legal fees to defend your ownership rights. The real tragedy is that you could foot the bill in court—the lawyers, the filing fees, and other legal costs—and you could still lose. That means your money is gone AND your house is gone. You could be left without a pot…to throw your money away in.
Here’s an idea: don’t risk your money or your house—get an owner’s title insurance policy.
An owner’s title insurance policy not only pays the court costs, the policy also provides the legal defense. Yep, they bring the lawyer. How much does title insurance cost? A lot less than a plumber. For a low, one-time premium, you can purchase a lifetime of title insurance that covers your financial obligation toward the property. Furthermore, if you do get sued for title to your house, and if your case does not prevail in court, then you get the amount of the policy.
Even with title insurance, you could still lose your case, but you don’t lose everything. Without title insurance, you might as well chuck wads of cash down the toilet and find out how much you can afford to flush.
