Title FAQs
What is Title Insurance and Why is it Important that You Have Title Insurance?
Title insurance ensures that you actually have complete ownership of a property after you purchase it. Transferring title to property is relatively easy in most states, including Florida. If you want to give your property to someone, all you have to do is draft a legal deed and sign it. While every state and local government has provisions that allow you to record such deeds, in most cases recording a deed is NOT absolutely necessary to make the transfer of property both legal and valid. Therefore, there’s a possibility that months or years after you purchase a property, one or more long lost family members will come out of the woodwork claiming that your purchase was invalid because the former owner transferred the property to them first. Title insurance protects your significant investment in a property you purchased by protecting against losses or damages that may result because of liens, encumbrances or defects in the legal title of your property. In addition to protection from financial loss, title insurance covers for the cost of defending against any covered claim.
What Does Apollo Title Company Do?
We perform an extensive search of the public records to determine whether there are any adverse claims to the subject real estate. If any such adverse claims exist, those claims are either eliminated prior to the issuance of a title insurance policy or their existence is excepted from coverage.
We act as a liaison between the lender, the real estate agent and the buyers and sellers in collecting necessary documentation, ensuring adherence to the lender’s title instructions, making arrangements for proper payment and distribution of funds, closing the transaction, and issuing a title insurance policy.
If a lender is involved in the real estate transaction and the lender requires title insurance, does the buyer still need Title insurance?
Yes. A lender’s policy is one type of title insurance, but it only insures that the lender has a valid and enforceable lien against the property. Generally, the borrower will pay for the lender’s policy. The type of title insurance, however, that a buyer will want to obtain to protect his or her interest in title to the property is an owners’ policy. An owners’ policy is designed to protect the buyer from title defects that existed prior to the issue date of the policy.
How Much Does Title Insurance Cost?
While the cost of title insurance varies based on the purchase price, the cost of title insurance on any given piece of real estate is small when compared to the benefit and security it provides. Title insurance, unlike most other types of insurance, is a one-time premium that is directly related to the value of your home. It is a one-time only expense, paid when you purchase your home, yet it continues to provide complete coverage for as long as you or your heirs retain an interest in the property.
How Can a Title Company Help a Real Estate Professional in His or Her Business?
Title companies vary in many ways. At Apollo Title Company we strive to exceed your expectations throughout the entire closing process. We strive to make sure your closing goes smoothly and that you leave the closing table with the impression that this was easy.
What Should I Bring to Closing?
- Two forms of identification. Acceptable forms of identification include:
- Driver’s license
- Social Security card
- Passport
- Birth certificate
- Military identification
- A cashier’s check for any required funds made out to Apollo Title Company, unless otherwise instructed. Alternatively, you may wire funds directly to our escrow account. Contact us for further details if you wish to utilize this method of payment.
- Any additional information or documentation that your lender, real estate agent or we have asked you to provide.
How Long will My Closing Take?
Although every transaction is different, in our experience the closing ceremony typically lasts around thirty minutes for a seller and around an hour for a buyer or an owner who is refinancing.
What Happens after Signing the Documents and Closing?
Upon the lender approving the signed documents, we will record the deed and any mortgages at the recorders’ office in the county where the property is located. We then pay all unpaid bills associated with the transaction. Funds are wired to pay off existing mortgages and the balance of the funds are sent to the Seller. The home is officially transferred/conveyed to the new owner. Utilities should be changed over and arrangements for moving made.