Cost Effective Title Insurance from Experienced Florida Title Attorney

Jurado & Farshchian’s expert Florida Title Attorneys specialize in one of the most critical expenses in any real estate transaction: title insurance. In the most basic terms, title insurance protects your right to own and occupy a property. Though not required by Florida law, virtually every lender will require a lender’s title insurance policy as a condition for loaning to the buyer. As we’ll soon explain, it is also in the buyer’s best interest to obtain an owner’s title insurance policy prior to closing.

Given the importance of title insurance, its costs don’t usually come cheap. The premium is based on the sales price of the property: if it is worth up to $100,000 then title insurance will costs the equivalent of $5.75 per thousand. If the price exceeds $100,000, title insurance is $5.00 per thousand. Thus, title insurance for a $100,000 home will cost $575 while a policy for a $200,000 home will run up to $1,075. Unlike other types of insurance, the premium for title insurance is purchased only once, typically at closing.

In the State of Florida, the party responsible for paying for title insurance varies by county, though it can be negotiated in the sales contract. Though most counties in the state have the seller choose the title / closing company and pay for title insurance, in South Florida (namely Miami-Dade, Broward, and Sarasota), it is the buyer that must fulfill this obligation.

Given all the other various fees and expenses associated with closing on a real estate transaction – in addition to the price of the property itself – you may wonder if an owner’s title insurance policy is worth the cost. It is worth going over what title is and why you should pay to insure it.

Title describes the collective legal rights that come with owning a property, such as the right to reside there and use it. Whenever you acquire a property, you are really acquiring the title to it. But just as the physical property can have issues and defects, so too can the title to said property. Unpaid taxes, judgments, liens, and unsatisfied mortgages are just some of the issues that can be your burden to bear if you take title without discovering and resolving them. That is why it is highly advisable to have a title company conduct a thorough examination of the property’s title to ensure it is clear of these and other issues.

But even if an examination turns up nothing, title insurance is still necessary to protect you from the many hidden hazards that even the most assiduous search won’t locate. These include the owner lying or being mistaken about their marital status (which leaves open a claim to ownership by the legal spouse), forged or defect documents, clerical recording errors, and much more.

With title insurance, you are protected against any loss resulting from a claim on your legal ownership of the property. You are guaranteed legal defense and all the related costs and fees. Should the claim prove valid, you will be reimbursed for your loss.