Your
Heights Home
Welcome once again to a monthly
column on topics relevant to home ownership in our neighborhood. It is hoped
that this column will generate topics from you; specific to home ownership and
home investing. My name is Holly Durfee and I will attempt to answer your
inquiries in a question and answer format.
Dear Holly: We are new residents of the Heights and have a question
about our recent closing. We paid for something called ‘title insurance’.
When I asked our closing agent why the title insurance the
seller bought wasn’t enough, they said our lender
required an additional policy to protect them. Should we have had to pay for this,
what good is it? Tom & Joan A.
Welcome to the neighborhood Tom
& Joan A. Thanks for diving in and reading our newspaper. Title Insurance,
much like other insurances, is something you hope you will never use. There are
two versions of this product. The first is called an ‘owner’s
policy’. It is the only type that is purchased when no lender is involved
and is most commonly paid for by the seller
in Palm Beach County. It insures and protects the new owner
only; it states that the title to a home is free and clear of any liens, easements
or claims. The title company pledges to defend you against all challengers and
compensate those whose claims are legitimate but not in excess of the value of
the policy. If for any reason a challenge to your ownership occurred and the
challenger prevailed, you might be out of a house but insured for the full purchase
price.
The second
product, called a ‘lender’s policy’, is a requirement of your
lender. The amount of coverage is equal to the value of the loan that they have
given you, which is often less than the amount you paid for the house. When
title companies have written the ‘owner’s policy’ they will often
offer the ‘lender’s policy’ at a reduced rate. So the amount
you paid should have been much less than the amount the seller paid. The two different policies have similar exceptions, situations for which they will
not pay. Lenders often require additional endorsements be added to their policy
so they usually end up with a little better protection at your expense. So, if
you use a lender, you really don’t have the option of skipping the
lender’s policy. You are required to buy a policy which protects them
from a possible claim against your title. In all cases: you must have an
owner’s policy, as a previous transfer of your property may not have been
handled properly and you cannot take the risk of losing the roof over your
head. Sellers & Refinancers: if your policy is less than 3 years old,
virtually any title company will give you what is called a
“re-issue” discount if you can present a copy of your existing
policy. This can be a substantial amount, $300+ or -. You do not necessarily
need to use the same company that
was used when you purchased your home but you do need to present a copy of your
policy. Most of you have stored the
policy with your closing documents but it is not ‘history’, it is
active policy providing coverage on your home. For help with title issues, try
South Florida Title Insurers in Abacoa @ Greenway: 804-7677 or First American
Title on Indiantown Road:
512-5669
Dear Holly: Has the Heights been affected by the
sub-prime disaster? Jack C.
Dear Jack C.: Yes, we have many
loans in our neighborhood that are continuing to adjust and/or are in
foreclosure. I am going to have to rely on a web site I googled for our zip
code. I counted 30 houses in our neighborhood. I’m going to guess that
there are probably another 25 that are falling behind on their payments. Approximately 2 per street. Although appraisers recognize
these properties as distress sales, eventually these transactions will affect
our average sale price. There is
little we can do to insulate ourselves from the problem accept to continue to
display our community pride. I was very happy to see our holiday spirit this
year, the decorations were the best in years. We will have another opportunity
in February when the Town of Jupiter
sponsors an affordable housing fair in our neighborhood. It is scheduled for 2/24/07; keep your eyes
open for details in the Post and in this column in February. As the town did in
previous charter neighborhoods, they will tour the open houses in a trolley and
will have refreshments and activities in the park. It’s a great time to
showcase your home or look for a new one.
Represented Sellers: Speak to your Realtor so that you will be included
in the open houses toured that day. By Owners: anyone can participate, clear
your calendar for that day.
Market Update: 6 houses closed this month! There are now some really outstanding
values in here. We need to be
ambassadors for our neighborhood, if only for our own future self interest. Even if you don’t have a
house for sale, you have a vested interest in your neighbor selling his
property. Keep the neighborhood hot!
Holly M. Durfee is a real estate Broker Associate at RE/MAX Jupiter-Tequesta. She is the Treasurer for the Jupiter-Tequesta-Hobe
Sound Association of Realtors and has earned her CRS
(Council of Residential Specialists) and GRI
(Graduate Realtor Institute) designations. She has been a resident of The
Heights of Jupiter since 2001. You can contact her at: hollymdurfee@aol.com