All Forum Posts by: Richard S. Shehan

Wife pulled what I paid when I sold my house in Denver and sheepishly admit it was about the same for a house valued at 300k less. However I still don't understand why in CO it's assumed to be the sellers responsibility, I have the house I'm moving to under contract and I plan to reach out to the seller and say I don't require them to buy title insurance if the take the amount off the contract price, it comes down to what I see value in, it's a 3 yr old house and a title search should show any liens or issues, as an FYI I never purchased life insurance as I saw little value there, insurance a necessity for some things but try to limit the cost of it, on home insurance I assume some risk by carrying minimum, in co all those Marshall fire victims were complaining about rebuild shortfalls but every home insurance agent I've dealt with tries to sell you full recovery policy and it's expensive.

Thanks for the response - I have bought and sold homes 7 times and this is the 1st time I decided to delve into the subject of title insurance. In researching the subject matter the word "rare" was used to describe the issues with titles and furthermore most of the issues are ones of improper recording , not sure what entity is responsible for recording but seems counter intuitive that the consumer has to buy insurance to protect themselves from someone's else's incompetency, if it is local government that are responsible people involved in the real estate transaction should be allowed to review the accuracy of the recording process - is that too much to ask for ?

I am getting the feeling that most folks simply accept this insurance as a mandatory part of the process when in fact it is not. I did reach out to several realtors and they did verify that problems they have encountered are indeed rare, one said in 15 yrs she'd seen 2 minor recording problems. Also the prospective buyer for my property requested a land survey - because the county did a totally inaccurate job of the property image which gave the impression part of my home is built on a public road, it isn't and I told the buyer if you want a survey - you pay for it.

buy anyways thanks for your reply.

I am selling a house to a buyer who will pay in cash,  the buyer's agent is using Colorado Title and Closing to manage the documents and they sent me a document showing the title insurance company they have "selected" for me and the total cost for the title insurance is ~$1,900 and it includes things like owners extended coverage ($50) mechanics lien ($50) and copying fee ($50) . The sale price is $998,900.  This home was purchased by me only 2 yrs back and a title search was conducted, my property taxes are current and there are no liens.  I found the amount of the insurance to be excessive and question the need for the insurance at all but the buyer wants it I also find it ironic the in Colorado it ie accepted that the seller pays for this insurance, I understand it can be negotiated. Also in check DORA who regulates insurance agencies they indicate the real agent involved is responsible for recommending 3 title insurance companies - this was never done.  I told the title insurance company to justify their cost and I will be shopping for a lower price.

I do not know who are the participants of this forum but my perspective of title insurance - esp involving cash transactions is prohibitively costly and just drives up the transaction cost. Furthermore in researching the subject and talking to several realtors I found problems in residential transaction involving titles are extremely rare and that a number of states have capped the amount that can be charged to protect consumers.

So should I be upset about the cost of this insurance which I personally see little value in,  thanks for any comments.