What First-Time Homebuyers Should Know About Title Insurance

What First-Time Homebuyers Should Know About Title Insurance

There are few events more momentous than buying your first home. That is why you should protect your cherished new investment with a comprehensive and effective Title Insurance policy prepared by Marina Title. We will walk you through why title insurance is so important and how we can help with this and other crucial title services.

What is Title Insurance?
While homeowner’s insurance covers the physical residence (and often its contents), title insurance is what protects your ownership of that property – the legal rights and interests to the property collectively known as title. These include your rights to possess, access, use, modify, and transfer your home, so lacking any one of them will prevent you from fully enjoying your new residence.

Threats to your title include missing or defective deeds (which may raise ownership issues), an erroneous legal description, and outstanding liens or judgments attached to the property from debtors of prior owners. Hidden hazards like unknown heirs (who may make a claim over your property even after you own it) can also arise after closing. Marina Title uses the latest and most proven resources at our disposal to conduct title examinations that will uncover such issues.

However, even the most effective and methodical title examination may not find everything. That is why a title insurance policy is so vital to covering all your bases and making sure you can enjoy your new home for as long as you own it. If someone comes along claiming to have an ownership or easement interest in your property, the terms of your title insurance policy will cover the costs of legal defense and, in the worst-case scenario, will reimburse you for the loss of the home based on the policy amount.

Moreover, most lenders require a lender’s title insurance policy, since it protects the superiority of the lender’s mortgage lien on the property.

How Much Will My Title Insurance Policy Cost?
In many Florida counties, it standard that the seller payi for the buyer’s title insurance policy, while in Broward and Miami Dade Counties, it is the buyer’s responsibility. Of course, this term is negotiable like so many other terms of the purchase contract. The cost of an owner’s title insurance policy is set by the State of Florida, and will vary based on the purchase price of the home being insured. The following is the current fee schedule that the State has set:

• Up to $100,000 = $5.75 per $1,000
• Over $100,000 to $1 million = $5.00 per $1,000
• Over $1 million to $5 million = $2.50 per $1,000
• Over $5 million to $10 million = $2.25 per $1,000
• Over $10 million = $2.00 per $1,000

So, if your home is worth $100,000 or less, the minimum cost of your title insurance policy will be $575. The more expensive the residence, the higher the cost of the title insurance premium. Fortunately, unlike other types of insurance, title insurance is paid for only once at closing. Moreover, there are several credits and deductions you may qualify for that will reduce the costs. Our team can help you learn more about these opportunities and how you can take advantage of them.

To get the most out of your new home with comprehensive title protection, contact Marina Title at (305) 901-5628 or email [email protected].