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Updated almost 4 years ago on . Most recent reply

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Reece Teramoto
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Massachusetts
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Cloudy title, but title company still willing to insure...

Reece Teramoto
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Massachusetts
Posted

I have a property under contract. We just found out that the title isn't clear, there are other individuals that have vested interests that total a 44% ownership. These individuals were gifted their interests around 4 decades ago, so it's likely they're no longer around, perhaps they've left it to their kids/grandkids. 

Regardless of this, the title company is still willing to provide me with owner's title insurance that should cover the appraised value of the property. The title company is willing to do this because there's a very negligible chance that anyone with vested interest wins a claim to the property. 

So my question is this: the title of this property is definitely a bit sketchy, and I feel like it would normally be hard to obtain title insurance. If the title company is willing to provide insurance while knowing there are still vested interests in the property that total 44%, can I still rest easy with this deal knowing that the insurance policy will cover me in the case of a (very unlikely) future claim? 

I've searched through the forums and it seems like most others that are dealing with a cloudy title are mainly concerned with not being able to obtain title insurance because of it. But if I'm able to obtain title insurance, can I rest easy? Will this make resale in the future more difficult, or is it ok since I know that this title company will be able to insure in the future, too? 

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Tom Gimer
  • DMV
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Tom Gimer
  • DMV
Replied

@Reece Teramoto A title insurer cannot issue an LOI to itself so you need to clarify the title company vs. title insurer issue. Are there multiple insurers involved?

You're not going to get clear title here.

Obtaining a policy with an exception for the issue but an ALTA 34 would prevent a marketability claim, but give the insured coverage against loss caused by a challenge to title based on it.

  • Tom Gimer
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Eastern Title & Settlement
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