TITLE INSURANCE ARTICLES
Judgment Lien Against Principal Residence Prohibited
Question: We are in escrow to sell our Gilbert home. When our daughter went to UCLA four years ago, we guaranteed payment of her credit card. Although our daughter is doing fine now, she dropped out of UCLA and never paid the balance on her credit card. We were sued as the guarantors of her credit card, and we now have a $30,000 credit card judgment against us. The title company says that this $30,000 credit card judgment, unless we pay it off, prevents us from selling our Gilbert home because both the buyer and the buyer’s lender need a…
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No Title Insurance Coverage Generally If Home Is In Floodplain
Question: We purchased a home on a five-acre lot near Payson. Two months after we moved into the home there was an overflow of the nearby creek which flooded our entire backyard. Apparently 25% of our five-acre lot is in the Town of Payson’s flood plain. We immediately reviewed our title insurance policy to see if there was flood coverage, or if there was an exception to title insurance for flooding. There was no reference in our title insurance policy relating to coverage for flooding, one way or the other. The seller of the home was an elderly lady who…
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Divorce By Publication May Be Necessary for Title Insurance
Question: My three children and I have been living in an apartment in central Phoenix since my husband left us three years ago. My mother died last year and I recently received a cash inheritance of $225,000.00. I have now signed a $225,000 purchase contract for a Chandler home. The escrow company says that my husband has to sign the paperwork to disclaim any interest in this Chandler home. What can I do when I have no idea where my husband has been living the past three years? Answer: If only one spouse is buying a home, the title company…
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Title Insurance is a Must-Buy
Question: After my husband was out of work for almost six months last year, our credit was “shot to heck.” We cannot get a conventional mortgage loan so we are trying to buy a home in North Phoenix with seller carryback financing (i.e., the seller gives us a deed to the home and we make monthly mortgage payments to the seller). The seller says that in the twenty-five years that he has owned the home there have never been any title problems, and we should be able to save the cost of title insurance. Do we need title insurance? Answer:…
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Realtor Forms Provide for General Warranty Deed from Seller
Question: In a recent column you discussed the differences between a special warranty deed and a general warranty deed. My understanding from your column is that in more than 90% of commercial/industrial sales, vacant lot sales, and new home sales in Arizona, the seller only furnishes the buyer with a special warranty deed. In resale home sales, however, the standard Arizona Association of Realtors Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract (“AAR Resale Home Contract”) provides for a general warranty deed from the seller to the buyer. Why does this AAR Resale Home Contract provide for a general warranty deed and…
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Difference Between Special Warranty Deeds and General Warranty Deeds
Special Warranty Deed vs. General Warranty Deed Question: We are buying an office building in Casa Grande that the seller purchased two years ago. The proposed purchase contract drafted by our attorney provides for a general warranty deed from the seller. The counter offer drafted by the seller’s attorney provides for a special warranty deed from the seller. In a recent column you discussed the difference between a quit claim deed and a special warranty deed. What is the difference between a general warranty deed and a special warranty deed? Answer: A general warranty deed is a warranty of good title…
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Title Insurance Policy Covers Liability Scope
Question: We purchased a five-acre lot last summer in the New River area. We had title insurance. We recently decided to build a home on this lot. Our construction lender required a survey. This survey showed that our lot is not five acres, but only four acres, because the legal description in the special warranty deed from our seller includes an acre of land not owned by our seller. Do we have a claim for damages against our title company for the loss of one acre? Answer: Probably not. You should, however, have an attorney review your title insurance…
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Title Company Requires Special Warranty Deed v Quit Claim Deed
Special Warranty Deed v Quit Claim Deed Question: My brother and I inherited a lot in Show Low, Arizona from our mother ten years ago. Since that time I have paid the property taxes, and I have paid for a retaining wall after significant flooding on the lot one summer. Last year my brother said that I can sell the lot and keep the sale proceeds. He then sent me a quit claim deed to the lot which I have recorded. I found a buyer for the lot and we are in escrow, but the title company is refusing to…
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