title insurance?

[darg49]

What is the name of your state? Texas. I am selling a house, owner financing it for 15 years. Is title insurance necessary? I inherited the house from the original owners who had the house built in 1983. It is on about .20 of an acre. Already had estate problems after inheriting it and had to pay off the other estate. Since I am owner financing it, won't any title issues be mostly my problem or at least equally a concern to me since I am owner financing the property? Is not title insurance mostly a cash cow for title companies that they like to sell simply for extra money in their pockets? Just researching and getting clarification before everything is signed and I go to the title company. I tried to go to a real estate lawyer I had talked to about 6 years ago, but he either retired or moved to a different location. I thought it might be easier to just have him take care of the closing rather than the title company. Thank you and the more you can share with me about all of this the better! I appreciate it.

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state? Texas. I am selling a house, owner financing it for 15 years. Is title insurance necessary? I inherited the house from the original owners who had the house built in 1983. It is on about .20 of an acre. Already had estate problems after inheriting it and had to pay off the other estate. Since I am owner financing it, won't any title issues be mostly my problem or at least equally a concern to me since I am owner financing the property? Is not title insurance mostly a cash cow for title companies that they like to sell simply for extra money in their pockets? Just researching and getting clarification before everything is signed and I go to the title company. I tried to go to a real estate lawyer I had talked to about 6 years ago, but he either retired or moved to a different location. I thought it might be easier to just have him take care of the closing rather than the title company. Thank you and the more you can share with me about all of this the better! I appreciate it.

Title insurance is important for the buyer. It protects the buyer against any claims. Hopefully the buyer is smart and gets title insurance so that they can be protected against any claims on the property they are purchasing from you.

 

[zddoodah]

Is title insurance necessary?

"Necessary"? If you're asking if a law requires it, the answer is no. It's entirely up to the buyer to decide if he/she/it/they want it.

I inherited the house from the original owners

"Original owners" meaning...the people who built or contracted for the building of the house?

Already had estate problems after inheriting it and had to pay off the other estate.

Not sure if this is important, but it's completely unclear what this means. "Other estate"?

Since I am owner financing it, won't any title issues be mostly my problem or at least equally a concern to me since I am owner financing the property?

The fact that you, as the seller, are going to "finance" it (which I assume means the buyer will be making payments to you over time) has no relevance to title issues or the advisability of title insurance.

Is not title insurance mostly a cash cow for title companies that they like to sell simply for extra money in their pockets?

If you want to take a cynical point of view, this is true of all insurance. If you don't ever need it, it can seem like a waste of money. However, if you need it, you're awfully glad you have it.

Just researching and getting clarification before everything is signed and I go to the title company.

Why would you, as the seller, do this?

I tried to go to a real estate lawyer I had talked to about 6 years ago, but he either retired or moved to a different location.

You can always find another attorney, and your post suggests that it would be an awfully good idea to do so.

 

[adjusterjack]

I am selling a house, owner financing it for 15 years.

Why on earth would you do that? If your buyer can't get a loan from a bank or a mortgage company, there's a reason.

 

[FlyingRon]

I wouldn't even take a gift of property from my sainted aunt without owner's title insurance. The title search you do when you are buying a property is meaningless without a warranty to back it up.