Has anybody needed title Ins?

Did you have title insurance when you bought a timeshare and need it? What did they do for you? What was the situation and how did they resolve it? Could you have resolved it without the title company?

Andy.

Self-Insured All The Way.

Our (used) timeshares were so cheap that we had no trouble accepting the risk of buying them without title insurance.

We did use the services of professional timeshare closing & escrow agencies. For 1 of the purchases, that worked out to $300 in professional closing & escrow services, plus $75 in resort transfer fees, on a $500 alternate-year timeshare week. So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

I got title ins. for a $10K TS

don't know if it was b/c of title ins., or just a good atty doing closing, but they notified me that owner had banked a certain year which I was supposed to have usage of.
For cheaper weeks, I don't bother.

I have never made a claim against a Title Insurance Policy

Have you read the thread "What a Quagmire" in this section

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40937

Things can go wrong with any property transfer and they may be a human error or other.

There are several lines of diligence:

• are you double checking all the paperwork?
• is the closing/escrow company checking the paperwork?
• did you go through a reputable broker who should be checking the paperwork?
• even if you purchased title insurance you have a responsibility to review the title the policy or have your legal representative review?

Title insurance usually only covers you for the amount of the purchase and not for your aggravation.

On our first purchase I acquired title insurance because it was our first purchase and would be our home resort and ( because I am a cautious person ).

But after gaining more experience it does seem like a lot of money relative to the purchase

To me the key thing is how much you would feel comfortable losing, which is very relative to where you are financially. A $5k purchase to some might be a major investment and to others a rounding error.

However, how would you like to get stuck with a unit you could'nt get rid of and having to pay maintenance on for many years.

Just be dilligent no matter what path you take.

Let Me Ask Question Another Way

I am curious whether anyone has ever had to make a claim with a Title Insurance Company. If so, for what and how was it resolved? If no claims, what is the value of Title Insurance other than peace of mind?

GEORGE

bogey21 said:

I am curious whether anyone has ever had to make a claim with a Title Insurance Company. If so, for what and how was it resolved? If no claims, what is the value of Title Insurance other than peace of mind?

GEORGE

Click to expand...

Couldnt you ask the exact same question about any type of insurance?

Claims ARE made on title policies, from time to time, in my experience, which is more in the general commerical real estate arena than in the time share arena, but the issues are the same. For example, there may be a cloud on title because the wrong names were on the deed, or there is a lien on the unit that Marriott is not aware of, or the owner has died and perhaps not all of the correct parties (executors or estate beneficiaries or what have you, depending on how the esate is probated int he relevant state) have signed the appropriate transfer documents, or there is some title issue due to divorce and maybe the application of community property laws, by way of some random examples. Without title insurance you may be left having paid for the unit and wind up with nothing to show for it, other than a claim against the seller. With title insurance, you would be reimbursed your purchase price if it turned out that seller didnt have good title to transfer to you (relying on Marriott for evidence of good title is far from foolproof).

Bottom line, depends on how much you are willing to lose, and whether the cost of coverage is worth it. My own experience, on a 4k purchase I did without it, on a 30k purchase I went for it. I am pretty conservative by nature, and 300 to protect a 30k investment (a 1% premium) seemed reasonable. But its a personal decision, weighing risk against cost of coverage. Also, I wouldnt necessarily take the absence of anecdotal experience of title problems that Tuggers are willing to post about as any assurance that this sort of thing cant happen. IMHO

As far as I recall, there has been only one post on TUG from someone believing that there was value (other than peace of mind) to title insurance that was purchased. Even in that situation, the consensus was that a title search, not title insurance, which is significantly more expensive, was what was required.

Experience has shown that most purchasers here would not purchase title insurance for a timeshare purchase. Doing your due diligence ( www.tug2.net/advice/purchase_checklist.htm ) can usually resolve most uncertainties that might suggest purchasing title insurance. To the extent that you can't or don't want to do all of the due diligence necessary to identify possible issues, a title search might be warranted.

Is it likely that there are mortgage loans, liens or delinquent taxes? No. Most timeshare loans are consumer loans rather than mortgage loans tied to the timeshare. Liens of any kind are rare. Even more rarely are liens attached to a timeshare. Taxes attach to individual timeshare ownerships in only a few states, California being the most notable.

However, if you purchase the timeshare and later find out that there are attachments, you risk foreclosure and loss of your ownership rights, unless you pay off the amounts due. Paying $250-$500 for title insurance for most resale weeks probably doesn’t make much sense, since your economic loss, at worst, would be minor. Conversely, spending megabucks ($10,000? $15,000?) for a resale week that the seller purchased from someone other than the developer might suggest title insurance to a wary buyer.

Dave M said:

Even in that situation, the consensus was that a title search, not title insurance, which is significantly more expensive, was what was required.

Click to expand...

My own experience is that, where the purchase price of the unit is relatively low, the cost difference between the title search and the title insurance is pretty de minimis. As the purchase price (and hence the amount of coverage) goes up, the difference in price between a search and a policy gets larger.

If the county recorder has a website with their recorded documents available online. You can usually check the recorded deeds and follow the chain of ownership at least back to the developer. Many will also record liens and lien satisfactions and also any mortgages and satisfactions of mortgages. This can also replace the need for title insurance.

I recently closed on a unit in Steamboat Springs I got via a Sherriff's sale. I stopped at a Title Insurance Agency in town and the Manager said a Sheriff's deed was the best possible deed and he recommended no Titile Insurance.

Cheers