Title Insurance Information

Below is an excerpt from an unbiased article in The Abstract Page of the Ontario Bar Association, Real Property Section by Bruce McKenna, supporting the use of Title Insurance in real estate.

The title insurers expanded their coverages in areas where they felt that they could take reasonable risks - even insuring over events which could not be investigated - which would not occur until after the transaction closes and the policy is issued. The additional coverages in the Canadian residential owner's policies start with an increase of policy limits to 200% of the purchase price (an inflation ‘hedge') and the addition of the following coverages:

restrictive covenants limiting use or affecting use, marketability or forced removal;
taxes, special assessments, utilities and condominium arrears;
matters which would be revealed by an up-to-date survey affecting use, marketability or forced removal;
zoning affecting use, marketability or forced removal;
being located on conservation authority lands affecting use, marketability or forced removal;
encroachment of your building onto adjoining property affecting use or forced removal;
defects which would be discovered by a local authorities search;
improvements built without a building permit;
future forgery claiming an interest in the property, and
future construction of an encroachment onto the Lands

As you can see, this additional coverage in the residential owner's policies is quite extensive - even getting into future events in the last two coverages, something the insurer cannot protect against.

Those coverages dealing with both marketability and governmental or court orders cover virtually all of the things which a lawyer would standardly do on a residential transaction. Accordingly, residential title insurance coverage is equal to and in some respects greater than things that a lawyer would standardly do and it does so in a cost effective way.

The savings in the cost of the survey work and searches and enquiries alone make it a financially sensible proposition. Further, the ability to get that coverage very quickly, not waiting for and reviewing municipal responses, will facilitate closing.

Security - Title Insured

The most important part of our job is to make sure that you have a good title to the home you are buying. There are different approaches we can take to ensure this happens.

We can provide a letter of opinion which states that you have a good and marketable title to your property.
We can obtain a title insurance policy to protect your investment in your property.

We recommend the second approach for following reasons:

The cost of the title insurance will be offset by a savings in disbursements
Title insurance will cover risks that are not normally addressed by a lawyers opinion.
Our disbursements can be fixed to ensure lower costs

Contact our office for more information, or learn more about Paquette Travers & Deutschmann full Real Estate Services.