To protect possibly the most important investment you’ll ever make, the investment in your home or business.
A lender goes to great lengths to minimize the risk of lending you the money you need to buy real estate. First, your credit is checked as an indication of your ability to pay back your loan.
Then, your lender goes a step further. He or she makes sure that the quality of the title to the property you are about to buy and which you will pledge as security for the loan is satisfactory. The lender does this by obtaining a mortgagee’s title policy.
The loan 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 not be known at the time of the sale.
But this policy only protects the lender’s interest. It does not protect you. That’s why you need an owner’s policy, which can be issued at the same time as the loan policy.
An owner title policy protects you, the purchaser or owner, against a loss that may arise by reason of a defect in your ownership or an interest you have in the real property.