Posted by Anne_ND on January 09, 2003 at 18:39:03:
Hi Kristine,
Wild deeds in North Dakota… I’m sure they happen, but nobody’s inviting me to those parties any more!
All of my wild deeds happen out of state (Atlanta, maybe?).
Thanks for the enlightening info!
Anne
TITLE INSURANCE - Posted by SCOTT
Posted by SCOTT on January 07, 2003 at 13:36:45:
Is title insurance a must or can i let the first few houses i purchase go without?
buying three houses from the same guy that has owned them for 20 years.
buying one other house from another party.
do i really need the insurance, it seems a little expensive.
thanks,
scott
That’s why it’s called Insurance! - Posted by Carmen_FL
Posted by Carmen_FL on January 07, 2003 at 22:20:58:
You never know, even in the simplest of deals.
I just succesffuly had a title insurance company pay off past-due taxes which cropped up 2 YEARS after the original tax was due and more than 1 year after my buyers bought the house. Turns out the previous seller never paid the taxes, but an escrow company paid them by mistake … then demanded their money back once they realized their mistake (after the house had been sold to my buyers). When I called the tax authorities, asking how come they gave us a clear tax bill at the time of closing, they said “it was a mistake … it happens all the time with these escrow companies, but we’re not responsible!”
It took the title insurance company less than 2 weeks to pay off the taxes once we filed a claim by fax. The tax authority was threatening to sell a tax lien certificate on their house within 30 days if they didn’t get paid!
My buyers were really happy that they had title insurance, and even happier that they had an agent who knew what to do and gave a hoot about them after the sale.
You need it. - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on January 07, 2003 at 19:59:41:
While knowing that the owner owned for 20 years is somewhat re-assuring, re-assurance is not what you need. There could be wild deeds, easements, etc., that you don’t find in your own research. I work in an area where I have seen so much title trouble, I wouldn’t even consider going without it. That being said, other investors in my area do buy without it or buy with title flaws. If the property is priced low enough and it is a buy and hold anyway, then I can understand it. If you go to get a loan against the property at a later date, that is not the time you want to find out about problems,etc.
Buy it. Get the title company to give you a discount since you are doing lots of business with them, but buy it.
Just my experience. Sincerely, Kristine
Re: TITLE INSURANCE - Posted by michaela-ATL
Posted by michaela-ATL on January 07, 2003 at 16:57:41:
scott,
and should you now think, ‘ok, i’ll just get a title search, so that they can find the liens, but won’t get title insuranc’ - nope, don’t even think that way.
i just bought and sold a lot. between us doing the title search and my purchase closing one of the owners sold his share to someone else. well, that person came after me, after i had sold the lot. it turned into a mess, but was cleared up by the title insureance company, who paid the other owner off and put a warrant out on the seller.
michaela
GET IT! - Posted by TC
Posted by TC on January 07, 2003 at 15:03:42:
Lou gave you some good advice, you should follow it. There could be a lien attached to the property that even the seller isn’t aware of or isn’t telling you about. You don’t want anything to cloud the title when you go to sell.
Re: TITLE INSURANCE - Posted by lou(TN)
Posted by lou(TN) on January 07, 2003 at 14:35:31:
Scott,
I recently got a property under contract for 6k and was going to flip it for 7k. I made the seller responsible for title insurance. I’m glad I did because the title search found an old lien on the property for $7400. Now he has to clear it up before we do the deal. The Title insurance just covers your tail and is roughly in expensivie if you look at what i saves you if things were to go wrong.
Again just make the seller responsible for title insurance.
LOU
gotta ask - Posted by Anne_ND
Posted by Anne_ND on January 08, 2003 at 18:42:25:
Hi Kristine,
I’ve never heard of a ‘wild deed’ in reference to real estate. Only in the context of ‘hey, let’s do some wild deeds tonight!’
Fill me in, I’m curious.
Anne
Re: gotta ask - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on January 08, 2003 at 20:59:08:
Wild deeds are, at least as referenced by some title officers I’ve spoken with, those that are recorded out of chain of title but could be valid. For example, a quit claim deed where the grantor doesn’t appear in the chain. But you can’t ignore it entirely because of inheritances or possible claims against the property, etc. There is one area I work where there are quit claims all over the place on some properties, most of which make no sense. But that’s the title company’s job to figure out which ones to pay attention to and what info they use to write a policy. I’m pretty much done with that kind of title research–unless it helps me find a missing owner.
Wild deeds, as far as know, can be filed Monday-Friday, from 8 am until 4 pm only–at least in my county. So what kind of wild deeds happen in the evening out where you are?
Sincerely, Kristine
Re: gotta ask - Posted by Heather -Tx
Posted by Heather -Tx on January 08, 2003 at 20:04:56:
I’d have to agree, I’ve heard it in your terms Ann, and real estate was nowhere on my mind when I did! LOL
Heather-Tx