Why Do I Need to Buy a Florida Title Insurance Policy?
When you buy a home in Florida for the first time, you usually buy a Florida title insurance policy for the first time as well. In fact, for most people, that is also the first time they hear the term “title insurance.” If this is your case, then this article is for you. If you are looking to buy the home of your dreams but do not know what title insurance is, how it works, or why it is so vital to buy a title insurance policy, read on to learn what you need to know.
What is Title Insurance?
You will find an answer to this question in most of our articles. We deliberately include this question in several different articles because we want to make sure our readers know exactly what title insurance is, as it is our core business. So, before we get into the reasons why you should definitely buy a Florida title insurance policy for your new home, let us first make sure you understand what title insurance is and, most importantly, what it is not.
As you know, an insurance policy is something you purchase to protect important things. You may insure your house or car against damages, for example, or you may buy an insurance policy for a prized possession. There are many types of insurance available; however, the concept is always the same: you buy insurance to protect something – an asset, or even yourself – and this protection usually comes in the form of a promise that if anything should happen to the insured asset, you will receive compensation for your loss. Title insurance, however, is slightly different from most types of insurance.
There are two main differences between title insurance and other types of insurance. The first one is that most types of insurance protect against future issues while title insurance protects against past issues. The second difference is that, unlike most types of insurance, you only have to pay for title insurance once, and it will protect you for as long as you own your home. This makes title insurance one of the most affordable types of insurance regardless of how much your policy costs. In addition, Florida regulates the price of title insurance, so you will never have to pay an unreasonable amount of money for a title insurance policy.
Issues from the Past – The Main Reason Why You Need to Buy a Florida Title Insurance Policy
Let us say you found a home and fell in love with it. After that, you negotiated with the seller, reached an agreement, paid for the home, got the keys, and moved in with your family. The home is officially yours now, right? Well, not exactly. Yes, the home legally belongs to you now; however, that does not mean you get to keep it. Why? Because the title to your new home may be clouded, meaning it is full of unresolved issues.
Issues from the past – issues you had nothing to do with – can arise after you buy a home and cause a lot of trouble. Unresolved title issues do not cease to exist once a new owner buys a property – they carry on. Sometimes, when you buy a home, it does not mean you legally own it. If, for example, an heir of a previous owner claims your house is legally theirs, you could end up losing your home. The only entity that can prevent this from happening – or at the very least compensate you if there is no way to avoid it – is title insurance.
How Title Insurance Can Help You
The way it works is quite straightforward. Once you find a home you like, you give Marina Title a call, and we get to work. Before you buy the house, we will carry out a thorough investigation to find all hidden title issues. Then, we will take steps to resolve every single issue we find. After that, we will issue a title insurance policy, which is essentially a promise that 1) we uncovered and resolved all title issues, 2) the property is now safe to buy, and 3) if there are any issues we missed during our investigation, you will not have to pay for our mistake. If an issue arises after closing, we will represent you and fight to protect your ownership rights. In cases where keeping the home is simply impossible – such as when an unknown heir of a previous owner appears with a valid ownership claim – we will compensate you for your loss.
Are you looking to buy a home in Florida? Work with Marina Title! Call us at (305) 901-5628 or email us at [email protected] to schedule an initial consultation and learn more about our company and our services.