You're finally in the home stretch. You've signed a purchase agreement and it's time to close on your new home. The closing (also called the settlement) usually takes place at a closing attorney's office. Your real estate professional will help coordinate a convenient date for you.

Understanding Title Insurance

A title is the document that verifies your legal right to your new home. To make sure there are no past errors or legal entanglements that might affect your ownership rights, all properties are subjected to a title search before closing.  The title documents are filed with local governments and recorded for various purchases and loans made in the local community.

There are two kinds of Title Insurance: a lender's title policy and an owner's title policy. 

• To protect their interest in your property, mortgage lenders require buyers to purchase a lender's title policy.  Such a policy, however, does not protect your interest, as a homeowner.

• To protect your interest, you need an owner's title policy.  This policy pays for all court costs and related fees associated with any claim that might come up.  Also, if a claim is found to be valid, your actual loss - up to the face amount of the policy - is covered.  This is a one-time purchase of title insurance when you buy your home.  

The Semonin Title Difference with HomeServices Title Inc.

Semonin, REALTORS® offers another step in our full service brokerage "one-stop shopping" with title insurance from HomeServices Title. Title insurance affords our customers a convenient source for protecting their investment. With the HomeServices Title Inc. owner's policy, you have complete protection at a very competitive rate.  Plus, you get other forms of coverage that other title companies may not offer:  

• Gap coverage - The "gap" in gap coverage is the space of time between your closing date and the date your documents are actually recorded. Until this official recording occurs, the validity of the buyer's title is still uncertain, which could leave you open to claims, fraud and potential loss. Many title insurance policies stop short of the mark, ending their coverage at closing. But a HomeServices Title policy covers you through to recording.

• Mechanic's lien coverage - A mechanic's lien is a financial hold on a property because of a debt to a trades person, usually for goods or services rendered in home construction or remodeling. If, for example, it turned up after closing that plumbers were still owed money for new bathroom fixtures that were installed, they could try to collect from you, the new owner. A HomeServices Title owner's policy would cover such an obligation. A policy from another title company might not - a fact that often comes as quite a shock to new homeowners.

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