All checks that would normally be made payable to the County Clerk, should now be made payable to SMPR Title … Continue reading
All checks that would normally be made payable to the County Clerk, should now be made payable to SMPR Title … Continue reading
Who Needs It: Everyone.
What Is It: Title insurance protects you in the event that your ownership of and rights to a property are challenged. This happens for a number of reasons, almost all of them having to do with a previous owner. Before you buy any property, you want to make sure it has a clean title.
Usually, your attorney or your bank’s attorney will order a title search and title insurance. A title search is a detailed examination of historical public records, including deeds, mortgages, court record, property and name indices, and other public documents. It reports the current owner’s name and encumbrances on the property, such as unpaid taxes or liens, outstanding mortgages, judgments, utility or other easements, and any other restrictions limiting the owner’s use or enjoyment of the land. SMPR prepares a title report from the information provided by the title search and a title insurance policy is issued after the closing of title and after all matters affecting title have been properly disposed of by the experienced professionals at SMPR.
Why It Matters: If a claim is made against your rights to a property, you could end up with staggering legal fees, paying someone else’s back taxes or debts, and possibly be barred from living in or using the property you purchased. Title insurance provides the mechanism by which monetary compensation to the insured can be made in the event of a claim against title, therefore protecting you and your investment from potentially devastating circumstances.
The SMPR Difference: When it comes to title insurance, SMPR works for you to ensure your largest investment is protected. Through the experience of closing thousands of transactions per year, our employees are highly trained to do a thorough search of records in over fourteen county clerks’ offices, dozens of municipalities, state archives, and our own archives. From there, our title professionals carefully read title documents and review the title commitment before producing the title reports and policies.
We continuously work with buyers’ and sellers’ attorneys to not only ensure each party clearly understands the title issues, but to find solutions to any title matters that are raised.