Cost to Transfer Title

[Dennis]

Yes, a Title Insurance policy does cover unrecorded items. Items that would be covered would be i.e. "Hand Shake" agreement, missing heirs, forgeries etc. An example of an unrecorded claim could be: Say a grandson went to visit his/her grandma at a nursing home and had her sign s deed over to them for their property and this deed was never recorded. Several years later this deed comes out and someone makes a claim against you. Title Insurance would protect the new owner from this claim. A Title Guarantee differs from Title Insurance because it JUST covers recorded items. An Attornies Opinion or Abstract of Title offers no coverage and in my opinion worthless. Since you could purchase a piece of land without a Title Insurance policy, think you are O.K. then build your home and out of nowhere someone comes forward and makes a claim. Without Title Insurance to defend your ownership you could lose big time.

Here is an actual example that I was involved with in Ohio. A customer purchased a home, purchased Title Insurance and wanted to build a garage. When they surveyed, they found that 7 feet of his home was built on township property. (The surveyor made a mistake and did not catch this when the property transferred) Had he had an attorney's opinion or a title guarantee, he would have been in big trouble. Since he had Title Insurance, the insuring company acquired the land from the township and made everything right at no expense.

Is it rare that this type of thing happens? Yes it is. But if it happens to you, why would someone want to take a chance on one of the most expensive assets that they will ever have?

[John S. Rabi]

In addition, you should make sure the property is transferred to you by a Warranty Deed. (Forget the Limited Warranty Deed and the Quit Claim Deed.)

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,ARB,BFT,CM,CBR,FHS,PB,RB
808.989.1314
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"

[desoleta]

Mahalo to all for great advice. I contacted Old Republic Title in Hilo and Michele no longer works there. I did speak to Marcy and she also gave me a "thumbs up" for the Kona quote. Marcy used to work for Title Guaranty Escrow Services in Hilo and knows Marlene Elisaga in the Kona office with whom I am dealing with. I will be getting a Title Insurance Policy, too, as John Rabi and lquade suggested. Dennis, thanx for your input! Peter Kubota was his name and Al Kinishi was also mentioned along with Ray Hasegawa as reputable real estate layers. John Rabi, thanx for giving me the confidence to go with the Kona deal. 30% off fees was hard to pass, but Title Guaranty had already got the ball rolling and they seem like a great value for my money.