Purchase title insurance or no?

[ustasmom]

We are in ROFR of our first property and I just put in a full price offer on a second property. This is a different timeshare company and apparently title insurance is optional (about $75 more to add it.)

Is this something that we need or should have or is Disney just super on top of everything where problems don't arise?

 

[mickeyman]

We are in ROFR of our first property and I just put in a full price offer on a second property. This is a different timeshare company and apparently title insurance is optional (about $75 more to add it.)

Is this something that we need or should have or is Disney just super on top of everything where problems don't arise?

They told me it was very rare to have a problem with Disney but I figured in the grand scheme of things $75. Was worth the peace of mind!

 

[pangyal]

We are in ROFR of our first property and I just put in a full price offer on a second property. This is a different timeshare company and apparently title insurance is optional (about $75 more to add it.)

Is this something that we need or should have or is Disney just super on top of everything where problems don't arise?

I would never even consider purchasing without title insurance.

 

[pirate33]

Agree totally!

 

[Tunseeker1]

They told me it was very rare to have a problem with Disney but I figured in the grand scheme of things $75. Was worth the peace of mind!

Its not a sale with disney, its with a normal person.

 

[CarolMN]

It's not just asbout Disney. It's also about the previous owners. If there was an unidentified issue with the title as it passed from owner to owner, the insurance would protect you. For example, what if there was a divorce and one of the signatures was questioned? Not saying it is common for title problems to be missed, but it could happen - probably has. FWIW, compared to what you are spending for the buy, $75 would be well worth it to me.

Good luck!

 

[Dean]

We are in ROFR of our first property and I just put in a full price offer on a second property. This is a different timeshare company and apparently title insurance is optional (about $75 more to add it.)

Is this something that we need or should have or is Disney just super on top of everything where problems don't arise?

I would not normally unless it were a split family, bankruptcy or out of the country. While it's not a lot of cost, the chances of it paying off are dramatically slim. I know many do it for knee jerk and comfort but in the end it's like buying an extended warranty on a TV.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Just a few months ago I read my first instance of where the Title Insurance actually paid off. Rare, but DVC is not fool proof in that regard.

 

[CarolMN]

I would not normally unless it were a split family, bankruptcy or out of the country. While it's not a lot of cost, the chances of it paying off are dramatically slim. I know many do it for knee jerk and comfort but in the end it's like buying an extended warranty on a TV.

You're more of a gambler than I am - how would you know if there were "a split family, bankruptcy or out of the country?" You may know those things about the the people you are buying from, but many of the contracts for sale now have changed hands more than once or twice. We didn't buy title insurance when we purchased directly from Disney, but I would buy it for resale now unless I was OK with losing the contract (and the money I paid for it) if something came up that the title company/closing agent didn't know about at the time of purchase.

P.S. We never buy the extended warranties on appliances, TVs or autos,either, but those are smaller risks, IMO.

 

[Dean]

You're more of a gambler than I am - how would you know if there were "a split family, bankruptcy or out of the country?" You may know those things about the the people you are buying from, but many of the contracts for sale now have changed hands more than once or twice. We didn't buy title insurance when we purchased directly from Disney, but I would buy it for resale now unless I was OK with losing the contract (and the money I paid for it) if something came up that the title company/closing agent didn't know about at the time of purchase.

P.S. We never buy the extended warranties on appliances, TVs or autos,either, but those are smaller risks, IMO.

I don't see it as gambling at all, more just throwing away the money assuming the criteria are met. You look at the deeds, you ask a few questions and you investigate further while you're in the cancelation window. You could even include those restrictions in the contract if you wanted. It's really not difficult to do the due dilligence for DVC, at least for any where the deed's are online. You could also include a closeing timeframe that's restrictive such that those other situations are extremely unlikely to meet. Once it's closed and transferred, the chances of something happening are dramatically low. Like any insurace, it's priced to make a profit for the company and to pay a commission to the closing agent and possibly the broker in some cases as well. It's relatively cheap because of the dramatically low risk. BTW, no one should ever buy a timeshare if they can't simply throw away the money without a change in lifestyle not that they'd want to.

 

[Sanchez]

I don't see it as gambling at all, more just throwing away the money assuming the criteria are met. You look at the deeds, you ask a few questions and you investigate further while you're in the cancelation window. You could even include those restrictions in the contract if you wanted. It's really not difficult to do the due dilligence for DVC, at least for any where the deed's are online. You could also include a closeing timeframe that's restrictive such that those other situations are extremely unlikely to meet. Once it's closed and transferred, the chances of something happening are dramatically low. Like any insurace, it's priced to make a profit for the company and to pay a commission to the closing agent and possibly the broker in some cases as well. It's relatively cheap because of the dramatically low risk. BTW, no one should ever buy a timeshare if they can't simply throw away the money without a change in lifestyle not that they'd want to.

The problem I have with this analysis is that it assumes that you can detect problems by an on-line title review. The primary purpose of title insurance is to cover those things that you cannot detect through a proper title search. Your method assumes that all possibilities can be resolved by looking on-line and asking the right questions. What you don't account for:

That all documents related to title are posted on-line. That the RMC will not lose the deed or fail to properly record the deed. That the deed is properly witnessed and executed when recorded. That the seller has not committed fraud (i.e. sold a property that is not theirs to sell.) The the seller does not have any judgments or liens at the time of sale that might interfere with marketable title. That the title company/attorney handling the transaction doesn't make a mistake.

There are dozens of others that I have seen or heard about in my many years as a real estate attorney. It really sounds as if you hold a grudge against insurance companies.

The bottom line is that it is a cost-benefit analysis. Title claims are exceedingly rare. However, the proposed premium is only $75. I understand the mindset that if purchasing from Disney they are more likely to cooperate in resolving problems than a private seller who may have no motivation to do so.

Ask yourself this: In the unlikely circumstance that a minor title problem arises would you rather just submit the matter to the title company and have an assigned and paid for lawyer work out the problem? Or, would you rather pick up the phone and call me, have a nice discussion and then send me the $2,500 (in a minor matter) I will need to begin pursuit of your case?

 

[Dean]

The problem I have with this analysis is that it assumes that you can detect problems by an on-line title review. The primary purpose of title insurance is to cover those things that you cannot detect through a proper title search. Your method assumes that all possibilities can be resolved by looking on-line and asking the right questions. What you don't account for:

That all documents related to title are posted on-line. That the RMC will not lose the deed or fail to properly record the deed. That the deed is properly witnessed and executed when recorded. That the seller has not committed fraud (i.e. sold a property that is not theirs to sell.) The the seller does not have any judgments or liens at the time of sale that might interfere with marketable title. That the title company/attorney handling the transaction doesn't make a mistake.

There are dozens of others that I have seen or heard about in my many years as a real estate attorney. It really sounds as if you hold a grudge against insurance companies.

The bottom line is that it is a cost-benefit analysis. Title claims are exceedingly rare. However, the proposed premium is only $75. I understand the mindset that if purchasing from Disney they are more likely to cooperate in resolving problems than a private seller who may have no motivation to do so.

Ask yourself this: In the unlikely circumstance that a minor title problem arises would you rather just submit the matter to the title company and have an assigned and paid for lawyer work out the problem? Or, would you rather pick up the phone and call me, have a nice discussion and then send me the $2,500 (in a minor matter) I will need to begin pursuit of your case?

It's not just online, that's only part of it. If people want to throw away the money rather than take the risk their options. But you can get this information with minimal effort. Title insurance is not all encopassing either. If it costs $75, that means the risk to them is only around $25 for that situation statistically speaking. There are situations where I'd get it and most are more expensive than the $75 so one should look at the cost and what's at risk.