The Benefits of a Title Insurance Policy

Just when you think you don't need a title insurance policy is about the time you find out that you do.

I got my start in real estate by searching public records at the county courthouse in Boulder, Colorado. Metes and bounds descriptions were the worst because I'd often find myself going back to the U.S. Patent to track ownership transfers. The grantor and grantee books were extremely heavy, and it could take days to complete a title search.

Because I knew so much about title searching, when I bought a home in an established neighborhood of Minneapolis, I thought I could skip on the title policy. My reasoning was the homes had turned over so many times since the 1800s, and each was a lot and block legal description, what could possibly go wrong? Plenty. Turned out the boundary lines of each lot had shifted about two feet over the years -- which was revealed by a title company surveyor -- so many garages were encroaching on adjacent lots . . . read more about title insurance policies.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• Profile of First American Title
  
• Profile of Stewart Title
  
• Profile of Chicago Title

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