If you’re looking to purchase a home, it’s strongly recommended that you purchase title insurance. Title insurance helps to protect you in case any issues are found with the title. This can include clerical errors, incorrect information, missing heir information, false ownership claims, undisclosed liens, or outstanding bills or taxes. In addition to taking out a title insurance policy, there are many benefits to obtaining legal help with title insurance. Here are a few of the key ways you can benefit from obtaining legal help with title insurance.
Advising You On What to Do If Title Issues Are Found
There are a number of issues that can pop up with a title. When an issue is found, you may be unsure of what steps you should take. The steps that are taken will vary, based on whether you have closed on the property or not. Regardless of what stage you are in, a lawyer can help you determine what steps need to be taken or let you know what legal options are available to you if title issues are found.
Filing the Paperwork to Resolve Title Issues
If title issues are found after you have closed on the home or property, it will be up to you to make changes to the title to ensure that title accurately reflects the information it needs to. Unfortunately, making changes to a title isn’t a fast or easy process. A legal professional can do the work for you, obtaining the necessary documents and filing the correct paperwork to help show why the changes need to be made to the title.
Providing You With Legal Options For Canceling a Contract
If information about the title is found prior to your closing on the home, you may be unsure of what steps you can take. If the seller is able to fix the problem in a timely manner, you may simply decide to move forward with the purchase. But, if the title issues are complex, or you don’t want to wait for them to get resolved, a legal professional can explain to you all of the options that may be available to you, including canceling the contract. If you cancel a contract for title issues, a lawyer will work to ensure you get all of your deposit or earnest money back, as will the title insurance company.
Helping With Bad Faith Insurance Claims
Title insurance companies are not perfect, and in some cases, they may make mistakes. If they did not complete the title search on your new property, or made other inexcusable mistakes, you may be able to file a bad faith claim against the insurance company to recover money for time, legal fees, and expenses you spent trying to fix the title. This type of claim can only be completed if the title company should have knowingly found the issues that later were discovered. An attorney can help you determine if you have a bad faith claim and how to proceed with the claim.
Title insurance can help to financially protect you in case there are issues found with the deed or title of the home, both prior to closing the sale or after the sale has been completed. But, what title insurance doesn’t provide is answers to many of the questions that arise, such as what should you do if issues are found or what steps should you take to resolve the issues. That’s where legal help with title insurance comes into play. Real estate lawyers who offer help with title insurance can help you decide what actions you need to take to move forward after issues have been found with the title.