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Test Your Knowledge

Posted: 1/7/2012

You pay for owner’s title insurance at closing and it protects you for as long as you have an interest in the property.

(NAPSI)—If you have purchased a home, chances are you have heard about title insurance. Take this quiz to see how much you know—or think you know!

True or False? Look below for answers.

1. I don’t need title insurance for myself because if there were a title problem, they would have found it in the title search.

2. I bought lender’s title insurance. That should protect me.

3. I’ve never heard of anyone collecting a claim, so I don’t need owner’s title insurance.

4. In my state, it’s the law that you must have lender’s title insurance.

5. Owner’s title insurance is expensive.

Answers:

1. False. Many things can cloud a title, including failure to pay child support, alimony, taxes, parking tickets and even the subcontractors for a home improvement.

2. False. Only owner’s title insurance protects your interests in the property. If there is a problem with the title, only owner’s title insurance will pay your legal fees to resolve it.

3. False. The title industry paid $1 billion in claims in 2010 and corrects problems in a third of all transactions.

4. False. While most lenders require that you purchase lender’s title insurance to protect their investment, there is no requirement by the state to do so.

5. False. You pay for owner’s title insurance once at closing and it protects you for as long as you have an interest in the property. By contrast, you pay homeowner’s insurance annually.

For more information, go to www.homeclosing101.org. You can also visit www.alta.org for more details.