First Land Deal - Title Insurance question

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First Land Deal - Title Insurance question

Austin Hall
Athens, GA · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 0 votes

Hey folks,

I love being able to look through these forums, they have been a big help!

I am about to start a contract on my first deal. The seller lives in Florida and she inherited several properties in Georgia from her ex-husband. I negotiated a very reasonable price and offered to pay for the closing costs and back taxes. I am using a real estate attorney who I know personally and I trust. I am also planning on obtaining title insurance on both properties. I have four questions:

1. The current owner does not have title insurance on either property. Do you think this will be an issue at all considering that I do plan on getting title insurance?

2. I want to be able to sell these lots to someone who plans to build on them so I went to view these properties myself. One of them has quite a slope but it looks possible to build on it in my (unprofessional) opinion. There were some trees but no huge trees that would hard to remove. Adjacent to the lot I plan to buy there was a neighbor who built a house and the slope on their land is similar. I checked the zoning so I know you are allowed to build on it. Do you think I should get a professional opinion from a builder before closing the deal?

3. How long of an "inspection period" is reasonable. If I plan to close in three weeks can I make the inspection period three weeks long up until the day of closing?

4. Is there anything else I need to do myself? Land survey, ect?

Thanks,
Austin

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Marelyn Valdes
Investor · Ocala, FL · Member since 2016 · 299 posts · 110 votes
9y

The deed is recorded with the clerk of court and should be available online or if the clerk charges, should be able to send you a copy for $1 or $2 per page.  As for title insurance, the title search is one amount and the policy is another and they do a new title search every time it's issued, so it shouldn't make any difference in the cost.  I make my purchase agreement contingent on getting a title policy issued.  You should also be able to check the property appraiser's site to see which builder pulled the permit to build next door to your sloping lot.  I would just call the builder and ask if there was any additional permitting or expense because of the slope.

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  • Austin Hall
    OP
    Athens, GA · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 0 votes
    9y

    Also, one other question... Do you know how to get deed information if I don't have a real estate license? I know how to drive to the clerk of courts office and look up a deed myself but for the sake of time I don't really want to do that. Is there a way to look up this info online or hire someone to do this for me?

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  • Marelyn Valdes
    Investor · Ocala, FL · Member since 2016 · 299 posts · 110 votes
    9y

    The deed is recorded with the clerk of court and should be available online or if the clerk charges, should be able to send you a copy for $1 or $2 per page.  As for title insurance, the title search is one amount and the policy is another and they do a new title search every time it's issued, so it shouldn't make any difference in the cost.  I make my purchase agreement contingent on getting a title policy issued.  You should also be able to check the property appraiser's site to see which builder pulled the permit to build next door to your sloping lot.  I would just call the builder and ask if there was any additional permitting or expense because of the slope.

    1Reply
  • Jaclyn McClellan
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 176 posts · 73 votes
    9y

    How are you financing the deal?

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  • Austin Hall
    OP
    Athens, GA · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 0 votes
    9y

    Marelyn, thanks for the information.

    Jaclyn, I am financing this myself.

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  • David Miller
    Attorney · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 224 posts · 126 votes
    9y
    1. The current owner does not have title insurance on either property. Do you think this will be an issue at all considering that I do plan on getting title insurance? You do not need a prior title policy to get a new title policy but it does mean you will need to do a longer search (typically at 30 years back) because you cannot "tack" onto the prior policy (which allows a search forward from the date of the prior policy.) 

2. I want to be able to sell these lots to someone who plans to build on them so I went to view these properties myself. One of them has quite a slope but it looks possible to build on it in my (unprofessional) opinion. There were some trees but no huge trees that would hard to remove. Adjacent to the lot I plan to buy there was a neighbor who built a house and the slope on their land is similar. I checked the zoning so I know you are allowed to build on it. Do you think I should get a professional opinion from a builder before closing the deal? Yes - if you intend to build make sure that is a viable option before you close.

3. How long of an "inspection period" is reasonable. If I plan to close in three weeks can I make the inspection period three weeks long up until the day of closing? It is negotiable. The longer the better for you as buyer. 

4. Is there anything else I need to do myself? Land survey, ect? As a general rule, I would recommended a survey.
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  • Bijal Patel
    Investor · 30518 · Member since 2014 · 48 posts · 31 votes
    9y
    Following
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  • Austin Hall
    OP
    Athens, GA · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 0 votes
    9y

    One more question.

    I offered to pay for the taxes. However, I don't want to pay for the taxes before the closing because what if something goes wrong? How should I handle this in the contract? Just state: "Purchaser agrees to pay taxes after the closing date?"

    She is behind on paying the taxes but I know that neither of them are going on tax sale soon so I think I am safe with doing this.

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