Stix ‘n Brix

Some of the most frequently-asked questions I get from home buyers and sellers concern title insurance. What is it? Do I really need it? Who pays for it? How much does it cost?

The answer to the last question is easy. Currently in Central Florida the cost of an owner’s title insurance policy is approximately $575 on the first $100,000 of the contract sale price, plus 0.5% of the amount over $100,000. So, for instance, teh owner’s title policy on a $250,000 home would be $575 plus $750 ($150,000 time .005), or $1,325. These are approximations, but good enough to use for ball-park estimates.

Most other questions about title insurance have already been answered in a very well-written article by Jack M. Guttentag, Professor of Finance Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and founder of a mortgage technology company. Click here to read Professor Guttentag’s beautifully clear explanation of what title insurance does, who needs it, and why.

Between a rock and a hard place. That’s where just about everyone is when it comes to property insurance. Insurers, drained by huge claims from the storms of the past two years and faced with skyrocketing reinsurance costs, are either pulling out of the state or raising premiums to stratospheric levels. Politicians are faced with the problem of how to keep the state’s insurer of last resort alive without decimating the budget. Property owners are faced with the certainty of huge rate increases. (more…)