Expert: Dick Dennis - 11/28/2006

Question
Assume the seller did a title search when she bought it.
Wouldn't any problem likely to cloud my title have also thrown a monkey
wrench into her new home purchase? Are there any questions I should ask the
seller that could help me decide what to do? And is $750 an average cost for
a title search. I'm tired of paying the equivalent of a week or more of take
home pay for some "professional" service that takes somebody an hour or
two. Don't be diplomatic in your answer. Tell me what you think!

Answer
When most people buy a house, Dave, they do get title insurance. At least the seller provides it. When the buyer gets a loan, the lender requires it from the buyer's funds. Therefore, I suggest, if you haven't closed escrow yet, make your purchase subject to seller providing satisfactory title insurance coverage. That means if there is a undisclosed lien or encumbrance of any kind, the seller has to take care of it or there is no purchase.

When title companies provide coverage, what they usually do is to go back to the previous coverage, which is why I suggested you do the same if you were going to do it by yourself. If you were to ask title companies that question, they deny it. They all say they go all the way back to the beginning of history. Yeah, sure.

Your Realtor should have made the offer to purchase with that title insurance condition I suggested above.

Dick Dennis, a California broker