Title Insurance

Purchasing a home is one of life's largest single investments. Real property ownership has been described as a bundle of legal rights. These rights include: disposition, possession, control, enjoyment, and exclusion. A purchaser of real estate is in fact buying these rights, not just the land and improvements thereon.

Monster Real Estate.Com is affiliated with Nationwide Search and Settlement, a full service title company serving Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Since its incorporation, Nationwide has been offering discounted title insurance to homeowners, saving customers hundreds of dollars when they purchase or refinance.

Like homeowners hazard insurance, TITLE INSURANCE protects this investment and the rights of ownership. Title Insurance is a one-time cost associated with buying or refinancing a home and will protect you for as long as you own the property. This protection continues to your heirs who would inherit the property. Title Insurance protects against defects arising from:

  • Undisclosed heirs
  • Mistakes in recording legal documents
  • Creditor claims
  • Incorrect representation of marital status
  • Errors in tax records
  • Deeds from minors or non-existent entities
  • Easements by prescription not discovered by a survey
  • Deeds executed under false or expired powers of attorney
  • And others

The representative from your selected title company can provide complete terms of coverage.

As part of a purchase or refinance, the title company or attorney will prepare and review a search of the title of the property. The public records will be researched for outstanding liens, judgments, and pending litigation. Items that present a possible cloud on the title are cleared before settlement can occur. This search is the basis for the insurance policy you will receive.

In most purchase situations, an Owner's Policy and a Lender's Policy are purchased, protecting both the owner and the lender. For refinance transactions, a lender's policy is usually all that is needed since your original Owner's Policy remains in full force.

Title insurance rates are filed with the state. They are calculated on either the purchase price of the property or the loan amount depending on the type of transaction. For most residential first mortgages, title insurance is a requirement of the lender. In Pennsylvania, the two categories of premium rates are:

Basic rate

The rate used for purchase transactions and refinance transactions in which no policy has been written on the property for the last ten years.

Re-issue rate

This is a discounted rate compared to the Basic Rate. Properties that have had a Policy written on them within the past ten years may be eligible for Re-Issue Rate.