If you are purchasing real property, you want to be sure that you are getting good title. Two options are available for purchaser’s:
- lawyer’s title opinion or certification of title; or
- a title insurance policy.
Where the purchaser options for title insurance, the policy will protect your ownership interest from losses incurred as a result of unknown title defects or other covered matters that exist at the time of your purchase, but are unknown to you at that time.
How Does Title Insurance Work?
- You pay a ONE TIME premium to protect yourself against loss or damage suffered as a result of problems with TITLE to your property. However, a title insurer may exclude certain risks that it is not prepared to cover.
- Title insurance policies can be issued in favour of both the purchaser(s) of real property and lenders of money secured by real property – most lenders require that title insurance be taken out as a condition to advancing funds.
What Does Title Insurance Cover?
Once purchased – the policy will list risks or losses that will be covered, and risks or losses that will not be covered.
On-title matters:
-
- Conflicting ownership interests in the property
Any charge, lien, or encumbrance on or other defect in the title; - Unmarketability of title;
Lack of a right of access to and from the property;
- Conflicting ownership interests in the property
Off-title matters:
- Work orders;
- Zoning issues;
- Defects that would have been revealed by an up-to-date survey;
- Realty tax arrears
Excluded matters:
- Problems that the purchaser agreed to accept;
- Certain government rights in land;
- Certain expropriations;
- Environmental and conservation authority issues;
- Native land claims;