Customarily the Seller will provide the Buyer of their home, title insurance.

When purchasing a home in Florida, customarily the Seller will provide the Buyer of their home an owner’s title insurance policy. These policies will provide coverage and protection against situations that might arise including:

· Claims by others who may have a hidden interest in the property.
· Documents that were missed, unsigned, not recorded or prepared wrong.
· Fraud
· Unmarketable title preventing the home from selling in the future.
· Liens

I say customarily because it is not a law that the Seller provide the coverage. Buyers making offers on bank owned property are often finding the bank unwilling or unable to pay for an owner’s title insurance policy. As a matter of fact the FAR9 purchase contract offers 3 choices.

1. Seller selects title and pays for title policy
2. Buyer selects title agent and pays for title policy
3. Buyer selects title agent and Seller pays for title policy

Regardless of who pays, the Buyer will want the peace of mind an owner’s title policy will bring. Making sure this is negotiated in your contract is important and is another reason why you should consider using our services when buying or selling a home in Florida.

Related blog posts about buying a home

QUIT Claim deed not QUICK Claim

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Randy Hillman wrote a very interesting piece for the Osceola Board of Realtors monthly magazine explaining quit claim deeds. Here are a few excerpts from his article.

• Quit claim deeds are the worse way to receive a transfer of property
• A seller who executes a quit claim deed is not representing that he owns the property, he is only representing that if he owns it, he is transferring it to the buyer.

Transferring property is not something that most people can do for themselves. Florida statutes are very specific about requirements for a deed to be valid. You should ask an attorney to assist you or make sure that you are working with a title company and have title insurance, which offers protection when property is transferred.

Related Florida real estate views:

Buying a home subject to financing

Should you buy a home in "as is" condition?

What are the repair obligations to the home seller when using the FAR contract?

- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255