Did you purchase Title Insurance with your Westin resale?

Do I need this for the Westin St. John? If so, what does it cost? Thanks.

Carolyn

Carolyn said:

Do I need this for the Westin St. John? If so, what does it cost? Thanks.

Carolyn

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No, you can do your own search for Kierland resales.

Can you also do this for St. John? Thanks.

Carolyn

Carolyn said:

Can you also do this for St. John? Thanks.

Carolyn

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It depends on the situation - in our case we did - but it was somewhat 'shady' and not even sure if it would have done any good.
Ask John F.

another good STJ link:
http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/

A title insurance policy consists of two things:

1) A title abstract showing the chain of title, any liens, or any defects.

2) Any insurance policy that protects from liability to anything NOT discovered during the preparation of #1 (above).

I am of the belief that a title insurance policy is almost always a waste of money as very few mistakes ever occur during the title search. It's worthwhile if purchasing a Ritz-Carleton perhaps. Obviously a big ticket item like a home or condo should ALWAYS be protected by title insurance. It's a function of the cost vs. amount at risk.

But for a Westin (Starwood) purchase, especially in the USVI, a title abstract is a good investment, cost is about $200 in the USVI and less in many other locales. Your closing company will be able to obtain it for you. Most have, or will initiate, a relationship with a local title abstract firm, in this case, St. Thomas Title and Abstract is the biggest and does the legwork for most of the major title insurers.

John Faeth

johnmfaeth said:

I am of the belief that a title insurance policy is almost always a waste of money as very few mistakes ever occur during the title search.

But for a Westin (Starwood) purchase, especially in the USVI, a title abstract is a good investment,

John Faeth

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John - is this because Starwood timeshares are expensive or is there another reason you recommend title Ins. for Starwood TS's?

Hey Denise,

I never recommend title insurance for something below $20K.

I do recommend getting a "title abstract" report for something over about 8-10K. This is the report that the insurance company insures as accurate but charge many hundreds of dollars to do so.

For myself, I will do the searching using the online USVI databases to which I subscribe. For others, hiring the company that does the local searches for the title insurers is a worthwhile $150-200 in some cases.

But if buying a resale directly from the original owner, I am less likely to recommend even that.

Keep in mind that back RE taxes are not an issue in the USVI as part of the recording process entails obtaining a Tax Clearance Certificate for the USVI Dept. of Finance PRIOR to recording. That Certificate states that taxes are paid to date and is a binding legal doc of the government. If they make an error, you still don't owe anything. Don't know any US county that has such a process.

johnmfaeth said:

Keep in mind that back RE taxes are not an issue in the USVI as part of the recording process entails obtaining a Tax Clearance Certificate for the USVI Dept. of Finance PRIOR to recording. That Certificate states that taxes are paid to date and is a binding legal doc of the government. If they make an error, you still don't owe anything. Don't know any US county that has such a process.

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Hi John -

I am confused about the taxes - when we bought (2006 usage) in Feb'06 - the 2005 taxes weren't paid (or even billed yet by the USVI). Tax bills for 2005 just came out earlier this year (2007) - and the previous owner paid them (the received the tax bill for my week, but not their week - they sold one of their 2 weeks).

I did get Title insurance because this purchase was thru Donate/GoVacations/eBay/Resort Closings (infamous Tarpey Brothers in Bozeman MO) - no where in my docs did it say taxes had't been paid. I requested a particular Title Co. and ended up with another one.

Luckily for me I am contact with the previous owner - and being good people - they paid the 2005 taxes. Does this mean they if they hadn't paid the taxes - we would not be responsible?

ps - someday I will get Robin's name on Title.

The USVI considers the 2005 tax year as the current one as they were only due 6/30/07.

They are permanently 2.5 years behind on their tax billings and due dates.

I see it as politically impossible for them to ever catch up. It is more likely that they will fall further behind.

So I consider any taxes billed in the future the responsibility of the new owner.

I published a position paper on this topic earlier this year on the Wyndham Bluebeard's Beach Club owners-only yahoo group and reposted it here too. I will find it and repost it tomorrow. Just got back to PA tonight from my latest trip there.

Thanks!

John