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You've decided to purchase a home and hope to take possession
as soon as possible. The terms have been agreed upon and
all the financial arrangements have been made. But there's
one important detail remaining. Before the transaction can
close, a title search must be made.
The most accurate description of title is a bundle of rights
in real property. A title search is the process of determining
from the public record just what these rights are and who
owns them.
A title search is a means of determining that the person
who is selling the property really has the right to sell
it, and that the buyer is getting all the rights to the
property (title) that he or she is paying for.
The title company can undertake the search process. The
search is performed; in most real estate transactions today
a title insurance policy is purchased to assure the buyer
that he or she has purchased a valid title.
In those transactions where title insurance is involved,
the title company must determine insurability of the title
as part of the search process. This leads to the issuance
of a title policy, which insures the existence or non-existence
of rights to the property.
The title insurance company will, at its own expense, defend
the title and will pay losses within the coverage of the
policy if they occur.
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