The World Can Be a Complicated Place

More Than 50 Ways Owner’s Title Insurance Protects Your Homeownership Rights

Like homeowner’s or flood insurance, title insurance protects the home you love. However, unlike casualty insurance that covers events that may happen in the future, title insurance protects your homeownership rights from events that happened in the past. Hidden “title defects” could cause you to lose ownership of your home or impair your right to sell it. A 50-year-old forgery, a stolen identity, an error by a clerk in the county recorder’s office, a tax payment applied to the wrong account – these are examples of defects* a title search may not uncover. Owner’s Title Insurance will protect you by covering losses and defending your property rights in court.

While your mortgage lender requires you to purchase Lender’s Title Insurance to protect its investment in your mortgage, your interests as the owner are not protected by that policy.

Check out our list of potential title defects that Owner’s Title Insurance issued by North American Title will cover – for as long as you or your heirs own your home. Ask us about an Owner’s Title Insurance Policy today.

Forged original deeds, mortgages, satisfactions or releases
Deed by minor that may be disclaimed
Deed by person who is insane or mentally incompetent
Deed forged by family member without the knowledge of owner
Deed signed by mistake, where the grantor did not know what they signed

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Deed executed under falsified or expired power of attorney, covering disability or insanity of principal
Deed said to be given under fraud, undue influence or duress
Deed is valid though provided without consent of co-owner
Deed purportedly valid, but actually delivered after the death of grantor/grantee or without consent of grantor
Deed from corporation or partnership that is unauthorized under corporate bylaws or partnership agreement or given under a false corporate resolution
Deed from a purported corporation that has lost its corporate charter
Deed from trustee that is not authorized under trust agreement
Deed from a church, charity or club that is a legal nonentity
Deed from a government entity that may be challenged as unauthorized or unlawful
Deed by a person in a foreign country, where the person can be challenged according to that country’s laws as incompetent, unauthorized or lacking required authority
Claims regarding a person in the chain of title that used an alias or fictitious name
Deed following non-judicial foreclosure, where required procedure was not followed
Deed affecting land in judicial proceedings (bankruptcy, receivership, probate, conservatorship, dissolution of marriage) that are unauthorized by court
Deed affecting property purported to be separate property of grantor that is in fact community or jointly owned property
Undisclosed divorce of someone who transfers title as the sole heir of a deceased former spouse
Deed issued after judicial proceedings that are subject to appeal, further court order or where all necessary parties were not joined
Deed affecting property of deceased person, not joining all heirs
Deed following administration of estate of missing person who later reappears
Discovery of later will after probate of first will or discovery of unknown will after probate
Misinterpretation of will, deed or other instruments
Transfer of property by an heir or survivor of a joint estate who murdered the decedent
Transfer of property that is void because it is in violation of public policy, for example, as payment of gambling debt or for contract to commit crime
Errors in tax record, including mailing tax bill to wrong party resulting in tax sale or crediting payment to wrong property
Erroneous release of tax or assessment liens that are later reinstated to the tax rolls
Deed recorded but not properly indexed so it can be located in the land records
A prior satisfied mortgage that is released without notice of satisfaction due to a bona fide purchase of the note
A prior satisfied mortgage is improperly released due to bankruptcy of creditor prior to the recording of the release or because it was obtained fraudulently by someone earlier in the chain of title
Items that are recorded but undisclosed, including federal or state tax lien; spousal/child support lien; an environmental lien; a prior mortgage; a notice of pending lawsuit affecting the land; an option or right of first refusal to purchase property; covenants or restrictions; or easements for access, utilities, drainage, airspace or views that benefit neighboring land
Undisclosed but recorded boundary, party wall or setback agreements
Special assessments that become liens upon passage of a law or ordinance, but before recorded notice or commencement of improvements of which assessment is made
Adverse claim of vendor’s lien or equitable lien
Erroneous or inadequate legal descriptions
Deed to land without a right of access to a public street or road
Deed to land with legal access subject to undisclosed but recorded conditions or restrictions
Defects in recorded instruments such as failure to attach notarial acknowledgment or a legal description
Defective notary acknowledgment due to expiration of commission
Forged notarization or witness acknowledgment
Deed not properly recorded, for example, recorded with incorrect county, missing pages or other contents, or lacking required payment
Deed to a purchaser from one who has previously sold or leased the same land to a third party under an unrecorded contract, where the third party is in possession of the premises

IN SOME STATES, extended coverage or an endorsement may be requested to protect against additional defects such as:

A right or title established by a long unchallenged tenure that is not in the public record and not disclosed by survey
Physical location of easement (underground pipe or sewer line) that does not conform with easement in the public record
Deed to land with improvements encroaching upon land of another
Incorrect survey that misstates location, dimensions, area easements or improvements upon land
Mechanics’ lien claims (securing payment of contractors and material suppliers for improvements) that may attach to the property without recorded notice
Federal estate or state inheritance tax liens that may attach without recorded notice
Preexisting violation of subdivision mapping laws or zoning ordinances
Preexisting violation of conditions, covenants and restrictions affecting the land

Contact a North American Title agent today to protect your homeownership rights.

*The examples are given for purposes of illustration only. Actual scenarios may vary significantly, depending upon the particular facts relating to any specific property.

The World Can Be a Complicated Place

Home Buyer & Seller