WHY SHOULD WE GET TITLE INSURANCE?
70 Something Ways To Lose Your Property
Your Title Insurance Policy protects
you against such potential defects
as:
1. Forged deeds, mortgages, satisfactions
or releases.
2. Deed by person who is insane or
mentally incompetent.
3. Deed by minor (may be disavowed).
4. Deed from corporation, unauthorized
under corporate bylaws or given
under falsified corporate resolution.
5. Deed from partnership, unauthorized
under partnership agreement.
6. Deed from purported trustee,
unauthorized under trust.
7. Deed to or from a “corporation before incorporation,
or after loss of corporate charter.
8. Deed fro a legal nonentity
(styled, for example, as
a church, charity or club)
9. Deed by person in a
foreign country, vulnerable
to challenge as incompetent, unauthorized
or defective under foreign
laws.
10. Claims resulting
from use of “atlas” or fictitious namestyle
by a predecessor in title.
11. Deed challenged as being given
under fraud, undue influence or duress.
12. Deed following nonjudicial foreclosure,
where required procedure was not followed.
13. Deed affecting land in judicial
proceedings (bankruptcy, receivership, probate, conservatorship,
dissolution or
marriage), unauthorized
by the court.
14. Deed following judicial proceedings,
subject to appeal or further court order.
15. Deed following judicial proceedings,
where all necessary parties were not joined.
16. Lack of jurisdiction over persons
or property in judicial proceedings.
17. Deed signed by mistake (grantor
did not know what was signed).
18. Deed executed under falsified
power of attorney.
19. Deed executed under expired power
of attorney (death, disability or insanity of
principal).
20. Deed apparently valid, but actually
delivered after death of grantor or grantee,
or without
consent of
grantor.
21. Deed affecting property purported
to be separate of grantor, which is
in fact
community
or jointly
owned property.
22. Undisclosed divorce of one who
conveys as sole heir of a deceased
former spouse.
23. Deed affecting property of deceased
person, not joining all heirs.
24. Deed following administration
of estate of missing person,
who later
reappears.
25. Conveyance by heir or survivor
of a joint estate, who murdered
the decedent.
26. Conveyance and proceedings
affecting rights of service
member protected
by the Soldiers
and Sailors
Civil Relief
Act.
27. Conveyance void as in
violation of public policy
(payment of
gambling debt,
payment
for contract
to commit crime,
or conveyance made in restraint
of trade).
28. Deed to land including “wetlands” subject to public trust (vesting
title in government to protect public interest in navigation, commerce, fishing
and recreation).
29. Deed from government
entity, vulnerable
to challenge as
unauthorized or unlawful.
30. Ineffective release
of prior satisfied
mortgage due to bankruptcy
of creditor
prior to recording
of release
(avoiding
powers in
bankruptcy).
31. Ineffective release
of prior satisfied
mortgage due to
acquisition of note
by bona fide purchaser
(without notice
of satisfaction).
32. Ineffective
release of prior
mortgage
or lien, as
fraudulently
obtained by
predecessor in
title.
33. Disputed
release of
prior mortgage
or lien,
as given
under mistake
or misunderstanding.
34. Ineffective
subordination
agreement,
causing junior
interest
to be reinstated
to priority.
35. Deed
recorded,
but not
properly indexed so
as to be
locatable
in the
land records.
36. Undisclosed
but recorded
federal
or state
tax
lien.
37. Undisclosed
but
recorded judgment
or
spousal/child support
lien.
38.
Undisclosed
but
recorded
prior
mortgage.
39.
Undisclosed but
recorded notice
of pending
lawsuit affecting
land.
40.
Undisclosed but
recorded environmental
lien.
41.
Undisclosed but
recorded option
or right
of first
refusal to
purchase property.
42.
Undisclosed but
recorded covenants
or restrictions,
with (or
without) rights
of reverter.
43.
Undisclosed but
recorded easements
(for access,
utilities, drainage,
airspace, views)
benefiting neighboring
property.
44.
Undisclosed but
recorded boundary,
party wall
or setback
agreements.
45.
Errors in
tax records
(mailing tax
bill to
wrong party
resulting in
tax sale,
or crediting
payment to
wrong property).
46.
Erroneous
release
of tax
or assessment
liens, which
are later
reinstated to
the tax
rolls.
47.
Erroneous
reports
furnished
by
tax officials
(not binding
local government).
48.
Special
assessments
which
become
liens upon
recorded
notice
or commencement
of improvements
for
which
assessment
is
made.
49.
Adverse
claim
of
vendor’s lien.
50.
Adverse
claim
of
equitable
lien.
51.
Ambiguous
covenants
or
restrictions
in
ancient
documents.
52.
Misinterpretation
of
wills,
deeds
and
other
instruments.
53.
Discovery
of
will
of
supposed
intestate
individual,
after
probate.
54.
Discovery
of
later
will
after
probate
of
first
will.
55.
Erroneous
or
inadequate
legal
descriptions.
56.
Deed
to
land
without
a
right
of
access
to
a
public
street
or
road.
57.
Deed
to
land
with
legal
access
subject
to
undisclosed
but
recorded
conditions
or
restrictions.
58.
Right
of
access
wiped
out
by
foreclosure
on
neighboring
land.
59.
Patent
defects
in
recorded
instruments
(for
example,
failure
to
attach
notarial
acknowledgement
or
a
legal
description).
60.
Defective
acknowledgement
due
to
lack
of
authority
of
notary
(acknowledgement
taken
before
commission
or
after
expiration
of
commission).
61.
Forged
notarized
or
witness
acknowledgement.
62.
Deed
not
properly
recorded
(wrong
county,
missing
pages
or
other
contents,
or
without
required
payment).
63.
Deed
from
grantor
who
is
claimed
to
have
acquired
title
through
fraud
upon
creditors
of
a
prior
owner.
AND extended coverage may be requested
to protect against such additional defects
as:
64. Deed to a purchaser from one who
has previously sold or leased the same
land
to
a
third
party
under
an
unrecorded
contract,
where the third party
is in possession of the
premises.
65.
Claimed
prescription rights,
not of record
and not
disclosed
by survey.
66.
Physical
location
of
easement
(underground
pipe
or sewer
line)
which
does
not conform
with
easement
of
record.
67.
Deed
to
land
with
improvements
encroaching
upon land
of
another.
68.
Incorrect
survey,
(misstating
location,
dimensions,
area,
easements
or
improvements
upon
land).
69. “Mechanics’ Lien” claims (securing payment of contractors
and material suppliers for improvements) which may attaché without recorded
notice.
70.
Federal
estate
or
state
inheritance
tax
liens
(may
attach
without
recorded
notice).
71.
Preexisting
violation
of
zoning
ordinances.
72.
Preexisting
violation
of
subdivision
mapping
laws.
73.
Preexisting
violation
of
conditions,
covenants
and
restrictions
affecting
the
land.
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