Texas Foreclosures
Texas property owners can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in property tax annually by taking advantage of no-obligation title insurance. The insurance protects lenders against any claim made against the property because of an insured owner's lapse in payments of certain liens. If the property's title has been outstanding for ten years or more, the owner normally pays a non-refundable premium to obtain title insurance. However, many Texas homeowners fail to purchase title insurance because of lack of knowledge and experience regarding title insurance in Texas.
Best-florida-car-insurance.com should be aware that title insurance does not protect the buyer from the lender's failure to make timely payment. Title insurance only provides protection if the title search was executed by a licensed title insurance broker. A license is required because the broker must follow the guidelines and requirements set forth by the Texas Real Estate Commission. Brokers are not permitted to perform title searches themselves unless they receive a specific authorization from the buyer. For instance, a buyer seeking information on the sale of his property may wish to obtain title insurance from a broker, but without a license the broker could perform the search himself and thus provide inaccurate or out-of-date information. Title insurance rates vary from one company to another.
Title insurance is a legal requirement in all states. It is extremely important to understand that title insurance is separate and distinct from title insurance. Homeowners who purchase property without first obtaining title insurance face the risk of losing the property to foreclosure. The two policies are not the same. Homeowners need one type of insurance to protect them against the loss of property in Texas while they do not need the other type of insurance for a property purchased in other states. Many homeowners mistakenly believe that title insurance is required when purchasing real estate in their home state, when it is not.
Purchasing title insurance is important regardless of whether you are purchasing property in Texas or elsewhere. Foreclosing creditors can file lawsuits against borrowers who fail to pay off their debts after the property has been seized by the lender. If a borrower fails to disclose ownership of a property when seeking financing, the lender can obtain a title search that will reveal any liens on the property. If the lender discovers any property liens, they can seize the property and sell it to recover their debt.
Texas title insurance provides protection from this loss by paying off any outstanding debt against the property, including any judgments filed against the borrower. The title search will also reveal any previous owners of the property. This search can sometimes be useful to foreclosing creditors in resolving claims against a borrower.
When purchasing real estate in Texas, homeowners should make sure that the lender requires title insurance. Often, lenders will not offer borrowers competing offers unless the title search is completed. Lenders will also require title insurance to ensure that they do not become liable for mistakes or omissions in the preparation and closing of the purchase contract. Title insurance is particularly important in the property purchased under the mortgage. In order to protect their interest, lenders will insist that buyers purchase title insurance at the time of the transaction.
Once the title is secured, the owner should have the property appraised to determine the value of the property. If there are any outstanding liens, the appraisal will list these on the title insurance policy. If there are no liens, the property's value will be the one listed on the loan agreement. In the case of a first lien holder purchasing the property, the title insurance provider will assign the lien to the first lien holder on the title, and the second lien holder will attempt to obtain a claim for the balance of the balance on the first lien holder's title insurance policy.
Many buyers fail to obtain their needed title insurance coverage because they allow the seller to prepare and close the purchase without being certain that title insurance has been purchased. This is risky because if the property is bought and held on title and the seller then fails to make payment on the loan, the Texas courts have the authority to appoint an agent to settle the debt. The appointed agent can foreclose on the property, resell it, and possibly recover money from the original buyer. It is better to have the title insurance policy in place before the close of escrow, and to be certain that all of the required documentation regarding the property is in place and accounted for prior to placing the property on the open market.
