Need A Good Way Of Checking For Clear Title?
I am looking for alternatives to paying a title company $1,500 for insurance and closing. All I want to know is does it have a clear title. Title companies here want $600+ for insurance and another $700 in fees.
I have only done 1 deal on a foreclosure and bought title insurance to Cover my butt because I didn't know a better way.
Any ideas from the educated?
Thanks.
I for one believe title insurance is a good thing if you're going to be putting the property in your own name. I believe they check title RIGHT before closing to make sure nothing slips in before closing like a lein or whatever.
Since you ask for a cheap alternative I'll throw this out there. I'm not recommending doing ONLY this, but you can have the title company run a O & E report. It shouldn't cost you a whole lot and it will give you info about the title.
Ryan J. Schnabel
I learned how to run title searches myself in the county records office.
try this company www.lotbook.com
Shop around and try to negotiate premiums with the title companies. Title insurance (like most other types of insurance) is one of those "necessary evils." If you don't have title insured, take title, and then some alleged defect in title rears its ugly head, it could cost you a lot more than $1,500.
You can get a preliminary title report for $150 or so (less if you have a good relationship with the title company), you can get a subscription to the recorder's information and check it yourself. As others have said, I'd get title insurance if you are going to be on title. It is a different story if you are assigning the contract...