Saving on Title Insurance

[Roy Gardiner]

I'm a newbie that's going to try a spec build. I'm buying some infill lots from a county government. I saw the resolution where the county government passed the referendum to put the property up for sale. There is also a county site where you can review title ownership (presumably  this is where title company researchers go). Question is, can I save some money (1-2K) buy not buying title insurance for the purchase from the county government? Shouldn't  a county government sale be as certain as one can be? I mean wouldn't I have much recourse in the case of an issue with ownership? Also a title company will probably put me through the ringer (suing the government) before paying me, right? I may be too frugal here, but any advise is welcomed.

[Wayne Brooks]

You'll want title insurance.....title insurance isn't just for the things you can find now, but for things that pop up later.  Also, reading the title ownership on the county doesn't help if you don't know how to interpret some past events.  ie. did the county acquire by some non payment of back taxes, have redemption periods expire, was the notification process done properly, etc.  And of course if you are getting any construction loans on the property, the title insurance will be required any way.