Title insurance

When you’re buying a property, there is a huge list of items to be ticked off and it can be hard to be across every possible risk that exists at the time of purchase. Title insurance is a one-off policy that is calculated based on the property purchase price and it covers your title for the lifetime of your ownership. Before buying, you have the option to arrange pest and building inspections and of course you can seek the advice of your conveyancer on your contract and the Vendor Disclosure Statements (Form1) in order to reduce your risk at the time of purchase. Title Insurance offers you additional protection for the term of your ownership.

Read on to learn more about Title Insurance and how it can protect your investment

Title Insurance is a specialised insurance policy that protects you from unknown and potentially hidden risks that may exist at the time of purchase.

It can cover a range of risks like:

• Illegal building works- that are not compliant to Australian/Council standards and permits. For instance, structures and renovations like carports, sheds, fences, or swimming pools.
• Registration Gap – between settlement and the registration process being finalised at Land Services SA, there is a period that is referred to as ‘the registration gap’. The inherent danger in the gap is that if another party were to register an interest on the title before the buyer’s interest is registered, the registration may not go ahead.
• Survey/Boundary defects – that might prevent you from accessing or using the part of your land.
• Fraud, Forgery & Identity Theft- that can deprive you from the ownership of your own property.
• Planning & Title Defects- which can restrict you from accessing your own land due to existing planning and zoning law.
• Wrong or Outstanding Rates & Taxes- this protects you from inheriting large outstanding bills or wrongly calculated council rates, land tax or strata levies.

These issues might seem unlikely and easily overcome, but they can end up being significantly costly. Fortunately, there is protection available. and we recommend that our clients consider taking up title insurance.

Over the 405years we have been in this business, we have seen many cases like those we described above and those clients who had taken out title insurance saved themselves a lot of money and a lot of heartache.

Title insurance does not attract an annual premium – it is a one-time premium that is calculated based on the property purchase price and it covers your title for the lifetime of your ownership.

Your conveyancer will be able to recommend a provider if you wish to take out title insurance. Remember that title defects can come up long after you’ve settled on your property and can cost you thousands of dollars. If you use Eckermann Conveyancers, you will find a reference to Title Insurance in our Purchaser’s Questionnaire along with our recommended Title Insurance provider, Stewart Title.