Looking to see if someone can assist with an issue on a property I purchased in 2020.

I bought a Heavy reno 1 family 25X100 property in NJ . Late February early March was when I closed. This was the second property we had closed on in the same period with the same attorney . This property was getting a lot of action I ran the numbers it would be a good flip so I offered below asking, cash, no contingencies, close in 10 days. It came down to three people I was told I could win this if I used the then owners tittle company so I said sure. Tittle was ran etc. My attorney at no point in time mentioned any tittle issues didn't mention any red flags said everything was ok so we closed. The world closed down I got covid some other family members as well so time passed by and I didn't get back to it until September- October (taxes were paid, lawn mowed etc.) We secured financing for the reno , in the refinancing portion of this when tittle was re-ran the lenders tittle company said they do no feel comfortable moving forward until these issues were taken care of. My attorney reached out to the tittle company that had insured it and he was told they would re-insure it no problem. I didn't feel comfortable doing all this work just to have a potential buyer's tittle company tell me this or force a potential buyer to use this company I don't know and obviously is not good. My attorney told me to file a tittle claim and he said it would take months , I tried to place it limitedly off market at a discount and cut my losses but no bites. A close friend with colleagues at a tittle company looked a the tittle search and said the following.

(my)llc =my company

PREVIOUS LLC = the company that owned before me

THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc.= The name of the fund that transacted with the previous owner and seem to have some sort of personal relation to each other.

NAME = the owner of PREVIOUS LLC

"Upon review, I agree with most of the issues raised by the other underwriters.

The Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure and the Power of Attorney appear to have been made contemporaneously with the mortgage, and would affect the borrower’s right of redemption, and is often held to be unenforceable.

The Power of Attorney does not appear to have been used by the mortgagee to convey the property. The POA looks like it was only used to sign the Seller's Residency Certification, the Affidavit of Consideration, and the Estoppel Certificate. However, The DIL was executed by NAME as Member of PREVIOUS LLC.

There is also a break in the chain of title. The PREVIOUS LLC took title via the DIL. However, THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. conveyed title to (MY) LLC. Further information would be needed as to how these entities are connected.

We would also require a deed (or multiple deeds) out of PREVIOUS LLC and The
THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. to (MY)LLC. The deed from PREVIOUS LLC could not use the POA to execute it. A copy of the original mortgage from PREVIOUS LLC to the THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. should also be obtained for review to confirm that there are no further issues.

Would an attorney be able to clear these up???

The seller would need to go back through the Title Company that insure the property so this can be fixed. Seller can go to an attorney for help to make the process move along. "

I reached out to my attorney and was told ;

"I would be happy to assist you in resolving this if your new title company has a new plan of action to resolve title. However, further involvement on my part is beyond the scope of my original representation and we will need a new retainer agreement for this work and a deposit on said retainer. As a courtesy to you, I have already expended significant time assisting you in attempting to resolve this issue so it is only fair that I am paid for work moving forward. I will require a $1,500 retainer and bill @ $250.00/hr plus any costs against this retainer. Any unused retainer will be returned to you."

Because he dropped the ball and didn't warn me in the beginning I wanted to use another attorney but was advice that most attorneys would rather not represent me because they where not part of the original transaction and, the attorney I used is well respected in the area. The city inspectors have also began to call me and are pressuring me about why the house is still sitting vacant even though it has been like this way before me.

What I am looking for is assistance in creating an action plan or being pointed in the right direction to resolve this issue so that I can clear tittle and either sell it or finish the project . Who is at fault here for me not being warned about tittle ( Attorney, tittle, me)? Has anyone ever done a tittle claim? How long does it take ? Do I have a good chance of wining the claim?

If you have been in a similar situation or you're an attorney or work in tittle please do no hesitate to reach out I appreciate any help!

@Ivan Correa - sorry to hear about your situation. Are you able to rent / Airbnb it furnished / staged while you file the claim? Or do a lease to own type plan? (Remember to disclose fully).

Will the title company pay your legal fees as part of your claim? If so, I would hire the respected attorney. I’m under the assumption that if you buy a property with title insurance and when you go to sell it, you don’t have marketable title, then you can sue title company 1, which should have alerted you of these issues and/or resolved them before allowing the deal to go through.

I have a friend who got a sheriffs sale property with unmarketable title and while he works out the problems, he is renting it for a good cash flow.

Originally posted by @Natalie Schanne :

@Ivan Correa - sorry to hear about your situation. Are you able to rent / Airbnb it furnished / staged while you file the claim? Or do a lease to own type plan? (Remember to disclose fully).

Will the title company pay your legal fees as part of your claim? If so, I would hire the respected attorney. I’m under the assumption that if you buy a property with title insurance and when you go to sell it, you don’t have marketable title, then you can sue title company 1, which should have alerted you of these issues and/or resolved them before allowing the deal to go through.

I have a friend who got a sheriffs sale property with unmarketable title and while he works out the problems, he is renting it for a good cash flow.

you need to by pass the attorney and make a title claim to the title insurer..  its unfortunate in these states that you blindly trust attorneys without reading your title commitment yourself..  but if there were no exceptions then that's what title insurance is for..  File the claim is what you should do forget the attorney. 

Originally posted by @Natalie Schanne :

@Ivan Correa - sorry to hear about your situation. Are you able to rent / Airbnb it furnished / staged while you file the claim? Or do a lease to own type plan? (Remember to disclose fully).

Will the title company pay your legal fees as part of your claim? If so, I would hire the respected attorney. I’m under the assumption that if you buy a property with title insurance and when you go to sell it, you don’t have marketable title, then you can sue title company 1, which should have alerted you of these issues and/or resolved them before allowing the deal to go through.

I have a friend who got a sheriffs sale property with unmarketable title and while he works out the problems, he is renting it for a good cash flow.

Natalie yes that's what title insurance is for to insure your title for things they missed.. and YES they pay all the attorneys fees.  The only time you would hirer your own attorney is if the title company refuses to defend your title and you think they are wrong. 

I just had a landlocked one go almost 3 years  neighbor fighting us state of Oregon fighting us.. and the attorney worked it out but it took a Looong time.. and the legal bill had I had to do this I am sure would have exceeded 50k..   But really title claims are fairly rare. having done well over 3K transactions as a lender / buyer over the years and its probably higher than that never kept count.  We have made I think less than 5 title claims..  2 I know were for access title company missed that we were landlocked..  both times they worked it out.  I had one in INdy last year were the house had a red tag to be demo'd and the title company missed it..  They paid us off  .  

I think one issue is these things that do get missed are going to be more prevalent for the buyer who simply takes the attorneys word for it and does not review the title commitment themselves or have a good realtor review it for them. Out in the West here we don't use attorneys per se we use escrow officers and title officers and we are provided the title commitment usually within 3 to 5 days of opening escrow we read it and we also have to initial that we read it as part of the settlement procedure/ closing procedure.. So when I am doing my east coast stuff I sometimes shock them when I tell them I need to see the written title commitment before I am going to close or fund.. 

Every investor or buyer should do this.. Investors just so they get familiar with what these title commitments are what to look for etc. 

there could be exceptions in their that the attorney thinks is fine but you say hey wait a minute I am not closing with that exception.

Also keep in mind certain parts of the country have far more of this buggered up title issues than others.. especially in areas were wholesalers and suspect sellers are trying to jam things through. 

So unless those title defects were listed as an exception on the title policy when the OP bought the property and paid for title insurance they are going to be covered you simply make a claim.. And remember its not the attorney insuring these its the big insurance company that they are an agent for.. this gets shoved up the flag pole to their underwriter and someone at Fidelity or First American or Ticor or one of the big insurers will deal with it..  

This is the back end of real estate that if you become proficient at you can learn how to work these deals and make some whopper deals for yourself and or keep yourself out of trouble.

Originally posted by @Ivan Correa :

Looking to see if someone can assist with an issue on a property I purchased in 2020.

I bought a Heavy reno 1 family 25X100 property in NJ . Late February early March was when I closed. This was the second property we had closed on in the same period with the same attorney . This property was getting a lot of action I ran the numbers it would be a good flip so I offered below asking, cash, no contingencies, close in 10 days. It came down to three people I was told I could win this if I used the then owners tittle company so I said sure. Tittle was ran etc. My attorney at no point in time mentioned any tittle issues didn't mention any red flags said everything was ok so we closed. The world closed down I got covid some other family members as well so time passed by and I didn't get back to it until September- October (taxes were paid, lawn mowed etc.) We secured financing for the reno , in the refinancing portion of this when tittle was re-ran the lenders tittle company said they do no feel comfortable moving forward until these issues were taken care of. My attorney reached out to the tittle company that had insured it and he was told they would re-insure it no problem. I didn't feel comfortable doing all this work just to have a potential buyer's tittle company tell me this or force a potential buyer to use this company I don't know and obviously is not good. My attorney told me to file a tittle claim and he said it would take months , I tried to place it limitedly off market at a discount and cut my losses but no bites. A close friend with colleagues at a tittle company looked a the tittle search and said the following.

(my)llc =my company

PREVIOUS LLC = the company that owned before me

THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc.= The name of the fund that transacted with the previous owner and seem to have some sort of personal relation to each other.

NAME = the owner of PREVIOUS LLC

"Upon review, I agree with most of the issues raised by the other underwriters.

The Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure and the Power of Attorney appear to have been made contemporaneously with the mortgage, and would affect the borrower’s right of redemption, and is often held to be unenforceable.

The Power of Attorney does not appear to have been used by the mortgagee to convey the property. The POA looks like it was only used to sign the Seller's Residency Certification, the Affidavit of Consideration, and the Estoppel Certificate. However, The DIL was executed by NAME as Member of PREVIOUS LLC.

There is also a break in the chain of title. The PREVIOUS LLC took title via the DIL. However, THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. conveyed title to (MY) LLC. Further information would be needed as to how these entities are connected.

We would also require a deed (or multiple deeds) out of PREVIOUS LLC and The
THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. to (MY)LLC. The deed from PREVIOUS LLC could not use the POA to execute it. A copy of the original mortgage from PREVIOUS LLC to the THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. should also be obtained for review to confirm that there are no further issues.

Would an attorney be able to clear these up???

The seller would need to go back through the Title Company that insure the property so this can be fixed. Seller can go to an attorney for help to make the process move along. "

I reached out to my attorney and was told ;

"I would be happy to assist you in resolving this if your new title company has a new plan of action to resolve title. However, further involvement on my part is beyond the scope of my original representation and we will need a new retainer agreement for this work and a deposit on said retainer. As a courtesy to you, I have already expended significant time assisting you in attempting to resolve this issue so it is only fair that I am paid for work moving forward. I will require a $1,500 retainer and bill @ $250.00/hr plus any costs against this retainer. Any unused retainer will be returned to you."

Because he dropped the ball and didn't warn me in the beginning I wanted to use another attorney but was advice that most attorneys would rather not represent me because they where not part of the original transaction and, the attorney I used is well respected in the area. The city inspectors have also began to call me and are pressuring me about why the house is still sitting vacant even though it has been like this way before me.

What I am looking for is assistance in creating an action plan or being pointed in the right direction to resolve this issue so that I can clear tittle and either sell it or finish the project . Who is at fault here for me not being warned about tittle ( Attorney, tittle, me)? Has anyone ever done a tittle claim? How long does it take ? Do I have a good chance of wining the claim?

If you have been in a similar situation or you're an attorney or work in tittle please do no hesitate to reach out I appreciate any help!

I handled title insurance claims for various underwriters for a number of years and this opinion is based on that experience.

From what you wrote, it sounds like you do have some significant title issues with this property.  I would suggest you immediately file a claim with your title insurer.  I would make it clear that I am not willing to agree to have the property reinsured because as you already realize if your future buyer or lender refuse to accept a policy with the current underwriter you're stuck with having the problem resolved then.  Based on what I read it appears the cure will be to obtain a deed from the borrower in the prior transaction.  Since the DIL was signed at the same time as the mtg an underwriter will not rely on it to effectively pass title to the lender on default which of course didn't happen until some time in the future.  Many lenders, especially private lenders, require a DIL as part of the closing of the loan thinking it will avoid the need for a foreclosure.  Unfortunately as you found out, that's generally not true.

Once your claim is filed the underwriter will assign a claims administrator to investigate the situation and first determine if it appears there is liability.  If there is, then they will work on curing the defect.  The difficulty in locating the people needed to sign the deeds and their willingness to cooperate will determine the time it will take to resolve the issue.  I've cured some in a matter of days, others have taken years if the parties won't or can't sign and litigation is necessary, but the process won't start until you file a claim.

Your title policy probably provides that the underwriter will be responsible for all attorney's fees approved by the company in writing before they occur.  Therefore if you retain counsel to work on the problem or even file the claim with the underwriter you probably won't be reimbursed.

I hope this helps. 

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs :

Originally posted by @Natalie Schanne:

@Ivan Correa - sorry to hear about your situation. Are you able to rent / Airbnb it furnished / staged while you file the claim? Or do a lease to own type plan? (Remember to disclose fully).

Will the title company pay your legal fees as part of your claim? If so, I would hire the respected attorney. I’m under the assumption that if you buy a property with title insurance and when you go to sell it, you don’t have marketable title, then you can sue title company 1, which should have alerted you of these issues and/or resolved them before allowing the deal to go through.

I have a friend who got a sheriffs sale property with unmarketable title and while he works out the problems, he is renting it for a good cash flow.

Natalie yes that's what title insurance is for to insure your title for things they missed.. and YES they pay all the attorneys fees.  The only time you would hirer your own attorney is if the title company refuses to defend your title and you think they are wrong. 

I just had a landlocked one go almost 3 years  neighbor fighting us state of Oregon fighting us.. and the attorney worked it out but it took a Looong time.. and the legal bill had I had to do this I am sure would have exceeded 50k..   But really title claims are fairly rare. having done well over 3K transactions as a lender / buyer over the years and its probably higher than that never kept count.  We have made I think less than 5 title claims..  2 I know were for access title company missed that we were landlocked..  both times they worked it out.  I had one in INdy last year were the house had a red tag to be demo'd and the title company missed it..  They paid us off  .  

I think one issue is these things that do get missed are going to be more prevalent for the buyer who simply takes the attorneys word for it and does not review the title commitment themselves or have a good realtor review it for them. Out in the West here we don't use attorneys per se we use escrow officers and title officers and we are provided the title commitment usually within 3 to 5 days of opening escrow we read it and we also have to initial that we read it as part of the settlement procedure/ closing procedure.. So when I am doing my east coast stuff I sometimes shock them when I tell them I need to see the written title commitment before I am going to close or fund.. 

Every investor or buyer should do this.. Investors just so they get familiar with what these title commitments are what to look for etc. 

there could be exceptions in their that the attorney thinks is fine but you say hey wait a minute I am not closing with that exception.

Also keep in mind certain parts of the country have far more of this buggered up title issues than others.. especially in areas were wholesalers and suspect sellers are trying to jam things through. 

So unless those title defects were listed as an exception on the title policy when the OP bought the property and paid for title insurance they are going to be covered you simply make a claim.. And remember its not the attorney insuring these its the big insurance company that they are an agent for.. this gets shoved up the flag pole to their underwriter and someone at Fidelity or First American or Ticor or one of the big insurers will deal with it..  

This is the back end of real estate that if you become proficient at you can learn how to work these deals and make some whopper deals for yourself and or keep yourself out of trouble.

 

Yeah my assumption was that paying my attorney he had my best interest covered but he didnt .How long does a tittle claim process last ? So I can just do this directly with the tittle company that insured it ? 

Originally posted by @Natalie Schanne :

@Ivan Correa - sorry to hear about your situation. Are you able to rent / Airbnb it furnished / staged while you file the claim? Or do a lease to own type plan? (Remember to disclose fully).

Will the title company pay your legal fees as part of your claim? If so, I would hire the respected attorney. I’m under the assumption that if you buy a property with title insurance and when you go to sell it, you don’t have marketable title, then you can sue title company 1, which should have alerted you of these issues and/or resolved them before allowing the deal to go through.

I have a friend who got a sheriffs sale property with unmarketable title and while he works out the problems, he is renting it for a good cash flow.

 That would work but it hasn't been rehabbed and its inhabitable in its current condition. 

Originally posted by @Peter Walther :

Originally posted by @Ivan Correa:

Looking to see if someone can assist with an issue on a property I purchased in 2020.

I bought a Heavy reno 1 family 25X100 property in NJ . Late February early March was when I closed. This was the second property we had closed on in the same period with the same attorney . This property was getting a lot of action I ran the numbers it would be a good flip so I offered below asking, cash, no contingencies, close in 10 days. It came down to three people I was told I could win this if I used the then owners tittle company so I said sure. Tittle was ran etc. My attorney at no point in time mentioned any tittle issues didn't mention any red flags said everything was ok so we closed. The world closed down I got covid some other family members as well so time passed by and I didn't get back to it until September- October (taxes were paid, lawn mowed etc.) We secured financing for the reno , in the refinancing portion of this when tittle was re-ran the lenders tittle company said they do no feel comfortable moving forward until these issues were taken care of. My attorney reached out to the tittle company that had insured it and he was told they would re-insure it no problem. I didn't feel comfortable doing all this work just to have a potential buyer's tittle company tell me this or force a potential buyer to use this company I don't know and obviously is not good. My attorney told me to file a tittle claim and he said it would take months , I tried to place it limitedly off market at a discount and cut my losses but no bites. A close friend with colleagues at a tittle company looked a the tittle search and said the following.

(my)llc =my company

PREVIOUS LLC = the company that owned before me

THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc.= The name of the fund that transacted with the previous owner and seem to have some sort of personal relation to each other.

NAME = the owner of PREVIOUS LLC

"Upon review, I agree with most of the issues raised by the other underwriters.

The Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure and the Power of Attorney appear to have been made contemporaneously with the mortgage, and would affect the borrower’s right of redemption, and is often held to be unenforceable.

The Power of Attorney does not appear to have been used by the mortgagee to convey the property. The POA looks like it was only used to sign the Seller's Residency Certification, the Affidavit of Consideration, and the Estoppel Certificate. However, The DIL was executed by NAME as Member of PREVIOUS LLC.

There is also a break in the chain of title. The PREVIOUS LLC took title via the DIL. However, THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. conveyed title to (MY) LLC. Further information would be needed as to how these entities are connected.

We would also require a deed (or multiple deeds) out of PREVIOUS LLC and The
THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. to (MY)LLC. The deed from PREVIOUS LLC could not use the POA to execute it. A copy of the original mortgage from PREVIOUS LLC to the THE LENDER TO PREVIOUS LLC Inc. should also be obtained for review to confirm that there are no further issues.

Would an attorney be able to clear these up???

The seller would need to go back through the Title Company that insure the property so this can be fixed. Seller can go to an attorney for help to make the process move along. "

I reached out to my attorney and was told ;

"I would be happy to assist you in resolving this if your new title company has a new plan of action to resolve title. However, further involvement on my part is beyond the scope of my original representation and we will need a new retainer agreement for this work and a deposit on said retainer. As a courtesy to you, I have already expended significant time assisting you in attempting to resolve this issue so it is only fair that I am paid for work moving forward. I will require a $1,500 retainer and bill @ $250.00/hr plus any costs against this retainer. Any unused retainer will be returned to you."

Because he dropped the ball and didn't warn me in the beginning I wanted to use another attorney but was advice that most attorneys would rather not represent me because they where not part of the original transaction and, the attorney I used is well respected in the area. The city inspectors have also began to call me and are pressuring me about why the house is still sitting vacant even though it has been like this way before me.

What I am looking for is assistance in creating an action plan or being pointed in the right direction to resolve this issue so that I can clear tittle and either sell it or finish the project . Who is at fault here for me not being warned about tittle ( Attorney, tittle, me)? Has anyone ever done a tittle claim? How long does it take ? Do I have a good chance of wining the claim?

If you have been in a similar situation or you're an attorney or work in tittle please do no hesitate to reach out I appreciate any help!

I handled title insurance claims for various underwriters for a number of years and this opinion is based on that experience.

From what you wrote, it sounds like you do have some significant title issues with this property.  I would suggest you immediately file a claim with your title insurer.  I would make it clear that I am not willing to agree to have the property reinsured because as you already realize if your future buyer or lender refuse to accept a policy with the current underwriter you're stuck with having the problem resolved then.  Based on what I read it appears the cure will be to obtain a deed from the borrower in the prior transaction.  Since the DIL was signed at the same time as the mtg an underwriter will not rely on it to effectively pass title to the lender on default which of course didn't happen until some time in the future.  Many lenders, especially private lenders, require a DIL as part of the closing of the loan thinking it will avoid the need for a foreclosure.  Unfortunately as you found out, that's generally not true.

Once your claim is filed the underwriter will assign a claims administrator to investigate the situation and first determine if it appears there is liability.  If there is, then they will work on curing the defect.  The difficulty in locating the people needed to sign the deeds and their willingness to cooperate will determine the time it will take to resolve the issue.  I've cured some in a matter of days, others have taken years if the parties won't or can't sign and litigation is necessary, but the process won't start until you file a claim.

Your title policy probably provides that the underwriter will be responsible for all attorney's fees approved by the company in writing before they occur.  Therefore if you retain counsel to work on the problem or even file the claim with the underwriter you probably won't be reimbursed.

I hope this helps. 

exactly pre signed dil while feels good to private lender is a mistake 

Originally posted by @Ivan Correa :

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

Originally posted by @Natalie Schanne:

@Ivan Correa - sorry to hear about your situation. Are you able to rent / Airbnb it furnished / staged while you file the claim? Or do a lease to own type plan? (Remember to disclose fully).

Will the title company pay your legal fees as part of your claim? If so, I would hire the respected attorney. I’m under the assumption that if you buy a property with title insurance and when you go to sell it, you don’t have marketable title, then you can sue title company 1, which should have alerted you of these issues and/or resolved them before allowing the deal to go through.

I have a friend who got a sheriffs sale property with unmarketable title and while he works out the problems, he is renting it for a good cash flow.

Natalie yes that's what title insurance is for to insure your title for things they missed.. and YES they pay all the attorneys fees.  The only time you would hirer your own attorney is if the title company refuses to defend your title and you think they are wrong. 

I just had a landlocked one go almost 3 years  neighbor fighting us state of Oregon fighting us.. and the attorney worked it out but it took a Looong time.. and the legal bill had I had to do this I am sure would have exceeded 50k..   But really title claims are fairly rare. having done well over 3K transactions as a lender / buyer over the years and its probably higher than that never kept count.  We have made I think less than 5 title claims..  2 I know were for access title company missed that we were landlocked..  both times they worked it out.  I had one in INdy last year were the house had a red tag to be demo'd and the title company missed it..  They paid us off  .  

I think one issue is these things that do get missed are going to be more prevalent for the buyer who simply takes the attorneys word for it and does not review the title commitment themselves or have a good realtor review it for them. Out in the West here we don't use attorneys per se we use escrow officers and title officers and we are provided the title commitment usually within 3 to 5 days of opening escrow we read it and we also have to initial that we read it as part of the settlement procedure/ closing procedure.. So when I am doing my east coast stuff I sometimes shock them when I tell them I need to see the written title commitment before I am going to close or fund.. 

Every investor or buyer should do this.. Investors just so they get familiar with what these title commitments are what to look for etc. 

there could be exceptions in their that the attorney thinks is fine but you say hey wait a minute I am not closing with that exception.

Also keep in mind certain parts of the country have far more of this buggered up title issues than others.. especially in areas were wholesalers and suspect sellers are trying to jam things through. 

So unless those title defects were listed as an exception on the title policy when the OP bought the property and paid for title insurance they are going to be covered you simply make a claim.. And remember its not the attorney insuring these its the big insurance company that they are an agent for.. this gets shoved up the flag pole to their underwriter and someone at Fidelity or First American or Ticor or one of the big insurers will deal with it..  

This is the back end of real estate that if you become proficient at you can learn how to work these deals and make some whopper deals for yourself and or keep yourself out of trouble.

 

Yeah my assumption was that paying my attorney he had my best interest covered but he didnt .How long does a tittle claim process last ? So I can just do this directly with the tittle company that insured it ? 

 

U simply need to get your title insurance policy hard copy should have been mailed to you a few weeks post closing.. open it up and read it.. there will be clear instructions on who and how to file a claim.. Also with the few times I have filed title claims the Closing company regardless of attorney or title and escrow will at that point tell you to make a claim if in deed the company that you closed with and issued the policy missed something that is clouding your title..  Its also important to read your policy and make sure this botched DIL was not an exception to your title insurance if it was an exception then its not covered.. And I have no personal experience at this.. But if you simply relied on the closing attorney to tell you yes everything is fine without reading your title commitment yoruself.. Then you could have a claim against them but their underwriter I dont think will defend.. Again not positive on this.. But read your policy cost nothing to file a claim