Protection From Defects
When you are talking about real estate, you’re talking about large amounts of money. And, wherever there are large amounts of money, there are dishonest people----fraud and forgery are large claims areas for title insurance companies. More than once, I’ve seen private investigators/forgery experts in the record room taking hi-definition/hi-resolution photographs of signatures for court cases.
Real estate is often sold after the death of the owner. Conflicting wills, challenged wills, incorrect Lists-of Heirs, unpaid estate and inheritance taxes are just a few of the problems that can adversely affect the title.
Human error may be the fastest growing of the problems. Every day, hundreds of deeds, deeds of trust, easements, judgments, wills, etc. are recorded throughout the Commonwealth. To be found by a title examiner they must be correctly indexed in the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. If an instrument presented for recordation is misindexed it may be unfindable.
The American Land Title Association, in a 2005 survey, determined that title problems were found in 36% of all residential real estate transactions for that year.