Client Fact Sheet for Title Insurance Fact:
More than 600 million dollars per year in claims are paid out by the title industry.
Fact: According to the American Land Title Association one in four real estate transactions uncover a title problem of some sort.
Title Issues: Forged documents, invalid deeds, incorrect property descriptions, recording errors, deed indexing errors, unpaid mechanics’ liens, judgment liens, income tax or property tax liens, undisclosed easements, claims of missing heirs, and claims by ex-spouses.
Fraud & Forgery (NAPS) – Those involved in real estate fraud and forgery can be clever and persistent, which can spell trouble for a home purchase.
In a western state, an innocent buyer purchased an attractive home site through a realty company, accepting a notarized deed from the seller. Then another couple, the trio owners of the property – who lived in another locale – suddenly appeared and initiated legal action to prove their interest in the real estate was valid. Under the owner’s title insurance policy of the innocent buyer, the title company provided a money settlement to protect against financial loss. As it turned out, the forger spent time in advance at the local court house, searching the public records to locate property with out of town owners who had been in possession for an extended period of time. The individual involved then forged and recorded a deed to a fictitious person and assumed the identity of that person before listing the property for sale to an innocent purchaser, handling moot contracts through an answering service.