Does anyone know the procedure for submitting property title insurance claims?
The state of Boston requires that sellers and purchasers pay for attorney review of real estate sales documents. On top of this consumers must also pay title companies and purchase title insurance. This drastically increases the cost to consumers and does little to protect consumer’s interests.
I paid an attorney $1,000.00 (one-thousand dollars) to review documents, including title documents. Additionally, I paid $1, 200.00 for title insurance.
I later learned that there were unpaid water charges due to the City of Boston that totaled nearly $600.00 and unpaid real-estate taxes totaling nearly $2,000.00.
I never received a copy of my title insurance policy and the attorney has failed to return multiple telephone calls.
Does anyone know how I can go about putting in a claim? Are there time frames for submitting claims? Who is liable, the attorney, the title company?
Boston, and the rest of Massachusetts is kind of a funny third world country with their rules, regulations, requirements and procedures (yeah I grew up there).
Anyway, where I'm from NOW, water and back taxes are not something that is cleared up by a title insurance policy. Until recently, if you purchased property in Columbus OH, and the prior owner had an outstanding water bill, you were on the hook until it was paid. You didn't have to pay it, they just wouldn't turn on your water. City council changed that rule a few years ago.
Payment of back taxes should have been outlined in your real estate purchase agreement. Since $2000 is about 15 minutes worth of real estate tax in Boston, I'm guessing you've had to pay up from the time the last tax payment was made by the prior owner. Any Realtor with dry ink on her license knows to put that in the contract; since I don't hear you complaining about a Realtor, I'm guessing there wasn't one.
So, unless the water & tax people but a lein on your property, there is no title issue. Don't like the water situation? gripe to your councilmen; unhappy with the tax deal? blame the person who wrote your purchase agreement. And enjoy the new house.
September 26th, 2007 at 2:56 am
I think you need to do some additional research on why you think that title insurance is so "worthless". I have a former client that went against my advice to have an updated survey done, and her title insurance so far, has paid out over $12K in legal expenses to get her title cleared.
You have two options:
1) GET IN YOUR CAR AND DRIVE to the attorney's office and say you are not leaving until you speak with them. Demand a copy of the title insurance policy, and then you call them and they will tell you what the procedure is.
2) Call your mortgage company. They will have a copy of the title policy, or they would not have funded the loan.
The attorney is NOT liable, that is what the title insurance is for. You have no idea of WHEN those liens were filed, they could have been filed the morning of closing or right after. An attorney DOES NOT guarantee title…they give A TITLE OPINION…that is why you take out the insurance.
A title search can be done as early as 90 DAYS prior to closing…that is alot of time for someone else to file a lien.
The claim is PAID by the title insurance company.
Don't make a bigger deal out of it than it is…your situation is not unique, it's not rare, and easily resolved.
There is no time frame to submit a claim, you have the title insurance for as long as you own the home.
References :
September 26th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Boston, and the rest of Massachusetts is kind of a funny third world country with their rules, regulations, requirements and procedures (yeah I grew up there).
Anyway, where I'm from NOW, water and back taxes are not something that is cleared up by a title insurance policy. Until recently, if you purchased property in Columbus OH, and the prior owner had an outstanding water bill, you were on the hook until it was paid. You didn't have to pay it, they just wouldn't turn on your water. City council changed that rule a few years ago.
Payment of back taxes should have been outlined in your real estate purchase agreement. Since $2000 is about 15 minutes worth of real estate tax in Boston, I'm guessing you've had to pay up from the time the last tax payment was made by the prior owner. Any Realtor with dry ink on her license knows to put that in the contract; since I don't hear you complaining about a Realtor, I'm guessing there wasn't one.
So, unless the water & tax people but a lein on your property, there is no title issue. Don't like the water situation? gripe to your councilmen; unhappy with the tax deal? blame the person who wrote your purchase agreement. And enjoy the new house.
References :
http://www.insuranceyak.com/