SCHUTT LAW FIRM, P.A.
Phone: 239.540.7007
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Title Insurance
05/09/2016

How to Make a Successful Bid on Your Dream Home

Finding your ideal home in Cape Coral can be a long and, often stressful, process. Saving for a deposit can take a number of years, after which comes the search for the best piece of real estate. You may have looked at dozens of properties and invested a lot of time and effort before settling on your favorite. Wouldn’t it be devastating to reach this point, only to lose your dream house to another bidder? Unfortunately, this happens all-too-often, and many buyers end up having to begin their search all over again. If you’ve managed to find your ideal property, only to realize that it’s another buyer’s dream home too, Schutt Law - Title Insurance Agency has put together this useful guide to help you beat the competition.

Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail

The Real Estate market is a cut-throat world. Time is money. Sellers don’t want to be waiting around for you to be sorting out your finances before the sale can go through. If another buyer comes along who is already in a position to make a serious offer, you could lose out on that special property you’ve been looking for just because of not getting organized. Before you even begin the process of viewing properties and identifying your ideal home, you should speak to your bank or mortgage lender to ensure that you’ve got solid confirmation of the amount and rates that they are willing to provide. Ask your mortgage provider to confirm their offer in writing, so that you have something concrete to show to the seller. They will have more confidence in your ability to meet the asking price if you have an official document to back you up.

Be Bid-Savvy

Before making an offer on any property, you should take a look at similar properties in the area and compare the asking prices. You should discuss bidding strategies with an expert, such as your Real Estate agent as putting in an offer too low could be insulting to the seller and discourage them from entering into further negotiations with you, while going in too high could lose you money. Property values can be estimated using an online calculator. Before settling on a price, don’t forget to research the title to the property and look at obtaining title insurance in Cape Coral. Call Schutt Law – Title Insurance Agency at 239 540 7007 today to find out more.

Make it Easy For Them

Real estate negotiations can move fast and if you’re unavailable or their agent can’t get hold of you, it can put sellers and their agents off. Make sure to provide various contact numbers – work, home, cell phone, etc., and make it clear to your agent that you are happy to be contacted at any hour of the day for anything related to your home-buying process. Respond as soon as possible to any email communications, and if you are sent documents to sign don’t wait a few days and then send them in the regular mail – signing within 24 hours and sending the documents back by courier will help speed-up the legal process and reduce the likelihood of complications.

Try a Personal Touch

When you meet the seller of the property that you want to purchase for the first time, it’s important to try and make a good impression and build a rapport with them. People can become very sentimentally attached to their homes, and if they feel that you are a good ‘fit’ for the place, it will make them less likely to entertain offers from other interested parties. Find out about the buyer’s story and explain yours to them – they more they know about you, the easier it will be for them to identify with you. For example, if you’re looking for a family home, show them some photos of your children. A retirement apartment for your parents? Tell them the romantic story of how they met 65 years ago.

Safeguard Future Ownership Rights with Title Insurance in Cape Coral

It is important to investigate the property’s title history and identify any errors, such as clerical errors, fraud or inheritance issues before entering into any contract. Speak to the experts at Schutt Law – Title Insurance Agency now at 239 540 7007 find out more about their low-rates for title insurance in Cape Coral. Don’t go through the whole long, stressful home-buying process and lose out on your dream home due to someone else’s error. Protect your investment today, with title insurance in Cape Coral.
WHY TITLE INSURANCE?
Owning real estate is one of the most precious values of freedom in this country. You want the assurance that the property you are buying will be yours. Other than your mortgage holder, no one else should have any claims or restrictions against your home.

Title insurance is issued after a careful examination of the public records. But even the most thorough search cannot absolutely assure that no title faults are present, despite the knowledge and experience of professional title examiners. In addition to matters shown by public records, other title problems may exist that cannot be disclosed in a search. Title insurance eliminates any risks and losses caused by faults in title from an event that occurred before you owned the property.

Title insurance is different from other types of insurance in that it protects you, the insured, from a loss that may occur from matters or faults from the past. Other types of insurance such as auto, life, or health cover you against losses that may occur in the future. Title insurance does not protect against any future faults, but does protect you from risks or undiscovered interests. Another difference is that you pay a one-time premium for a policy that remains effective until the property is sold to a new owner - even if that doesn't occur for decades.

What is a Lender's Policy?

A lender's policy, also known as a loan policy or a mortgage policy, protects the lender against loss due to unknown title defects. It also protects the lender's interest from certain matters which may exist, but may not be known at the time of the sale.

This policy only protects the lender's interest. It does not protect the purchaser. That is why a real estate purchaser needs an owner's policy.

What is an owner's policy?

An owner's policy protects you, the purchaser, against a loss that may occur from a fault in the ownership or interest you have in the property. You should protect the equity in your new home with a title policy.

What does an owner's policy provide?

- Protection from financial loss due to demands that may be charged against the title to your home, up to the cost of the title policy.
- Payment of legal costs if the title insurer has to defend your title against a covered claim.
- Payment of successful claims against the title to your home covered by the policy, up to the cost of the policy.

Why the seller needs to provide title insurance?

Any purchaser will need evidence that his investment in your property is free of title defects. The title insurance policy that you provide the purchaser is a guarantee that you are selling a clear title to your real estate, unencumbered by any legal attachments that might limit or jeopardize ownership. It will reassure your purchaser that he or she is protected from any risks or losses and could help you close your deal.

Why the buyer needs title insurance?

Without title insurance, you may not be fully protected against errors in public records, hidden defects not disclosed by the public records, or mistakes in examination of the title. As a result, you may be held fully accountable for any prior liens, judgments or claims brought against your new property. If this should occur, your title policy insures that you will be defended at no cost against all covered claims up to the amount of the policy.

How much does title insurance cost?

The insurance commission approves and controls the premiums for title insurance policies. The premiums are paid only once and the cost depends upon the purchase price of the property and the policy amount must be equal to the purchase price.

What does title insurance protect from?

  • Fraud
  • Adverse possession
  • Rights of divorced parties
  • Deeds by minors
  • Undisclosed Heirs
  • Errors in tax records
  • False affidavits of death or heirship
  • Probate matters
  • Deeds and wills by persons of unsound mind
  • Conveyances by undisclosed divorced spouses
  • Forfeitures of real property due to criminal acts
  • Deeds by persons falsely representing their marital status
  • Documents executed by a revoked or expired Power of Attorney
  • Defective acknowledgements due to improper or expired notarization
  • Mistakes and omissions resulting in improper abstracting
  • Forged deeds, mortgages, wills, releases and other documents
  • False impersonation of the true land owner