Title Insurance - What is it?

Title insurance is a unique form of insurance. It protects your ownership or title against losses incurred as a result of undetected or unknown title defects, for as long as you own your home. Even if you are the rightful owner of a home, there are instances such as real estate fraud, when your title can come into question. Title insurance continues to protect your ownership from the day of closing to the day you sell your home. Coverage is also extended to heirs who receive your home in the event of your death.

For a one-time fee, some of the covered title risks for residential properties include:

• someone else owns an interest in your title
• existing liens against the title
• violations of municipal zoning by-laws
• encroachments onto an adjoining property (other than fences and boundary walls)
• setback violations
• realty tax arrears
• outstanding municipal utility charges, provided such charges form a lien on title
• existing work orders
• lack of legal access to the property
• unmarketability of the land due to adverse matters that would have been revealed by an up-to-date survey / RPR/ Building Location Certificate
• fraud, forgery and false impersonation to the extent they affect the validity of title

Title insurance premiums
Title insurance is available for a low premium that is paid only once at the time of closing, and coverage is valid for the entire time you own your home. Your lawyer/ notary and his or her staff would be pleased to go over the premiums with you.
The cost of the premium is often offset by the savings from the reduction in the number of searches your lawyer/ notary might have to complete. Additionally, a title insurance policy can be obtained to satisfy lender survey / RPR/ Building Location Certificate requirements, thereby saving you the cost of up-to-date property survey / RPR/ Building Location Certificate. Average survey / RPR/ Building Location Certificate costs can be upwards to $1,200.

You can get more information on title insurance from either of these providers:
Stewart Title Guaranty Company
First Canadian Title

Title Insurance: Fraud can turn dream home purchases into disaster

Whether purchasing your first home or refinancing your existing home you should always, always have Title Insurance. Title insurance offers peace of mind and protects your investment. Although it is not required, most lawyers, real estate and mortgage professionals will highly recomend purchasing it. The decision on whether or not you should purchase title insurance should be discussed with your lawyer.

For detailed information on the benefits of Title Insurance, you can download FSCO Title Insurance Brochure here.

Here is a recent article on Title Insurance from The Canadian Press
[By Eric Shackleton, THE CANADIAN PRESS - 2008-10-16]

Fraud can turn dream home purchases into disaster

TORONTO - The purchase of a dream home is probably the greatest investment in many people's lives, but beware - even with such a major purchase, fraud could be lurking just around the corner, say experts in the real estate industry.

This joy killer comes in many forms - lawyer negligence, title defects, title liens such as unpaid utility bills, property encroachments, title fraud such as forged documents and land survey errors.

"Nobody is protected from fraud," says Ray Leclair, vice-president of TitlePLUS, a division of LawPRO, the liability insurer for lawyers.

"Unfortunately, fraud is on the increase," not just in urban areas but even in small communities, he said in a recent interview.

"It's like a lottery. There's very little chance of it happening to you. But if it does happen, it has a huge impact."

To help protect themselves, prospective homeowners should make sure they have title insurance and also get their own credit report.

People can gain a lot of "peace of mind" for as little as a premium of $200 for title insurance, said Leclair.

Read entire article here

Title Insurance Companies:
First Canadian Title
TitlePlus
Stewart Title Guaranty Company