Title Insurance in Boca Raton, Florida

What the title process actually involves

Title work is investigative before it is insurance. The search determines what the public records say about the property, and the commitment tells you what the underwriter will and will not cover.

• A title search examining the chain of ownership, recorded mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, restrictions and tax status.
• Examination of the search by the attorney, not just clerical review, to identify defects that require action before closing.
• A title commitment listing the requirements to be met and the exceptions that will remain in the final policy — reviewed with you line by line.
• Curative work: obtaining satisfactions and releases, correcting scriveners' errors, resolving probate gaps, addressing liens and, where necessary, filing a quiet title action.
• Municipal lien, permit and code enforcement searches, along with association estoppel letters where an association governs the property.
• Issuance of the owner's policy, and the lender's policy where financing is involved, with endorsements appropriate to the transaction.

Owner's policy versus lender's policy

A lender's policy protects the mortgage holder up to the loan amount and nothing more. If a title defect surfaces, it makes the bank whole while leaving your equity unprotected. Buyers who assume the lender's policy covers them are frequently surprised at exactly the wrong moment.

An owner's policy protects your interest for as long as you own the property, covering defects existing at the time you took title. Coverage typically includes the legal cost of defending your title, which is often the more valuable half of the policy.

Because Florida title insurance premiums are promulgated by regulation, the price of a policy does not vary by agent. Simultaneous issue of an owner's and lender's policy also lowers the combined cost — worth confirming on your settlement statement.

Why an attorney title agent is different

As an attorney serving as title agent and closing agent, Mr. Harris both issues the policy and represents you on the transaction. When the commitment lists an exception you do not understand, or the survey reveals an encroachment, or the seller's authority to convey is questionable, you get legal advice rather than a referral.

That matters most when something is wrong. Curative work, a probate gap, a lien negotiation or a quiet title action can be handled in the same office rather than pausing the closing while outside counsel is retained.

Closing funds are handled through the firm's trust account, the settlement statement is prepared and explained, deeds and closing documents are drafted here, and the deed and mortgage satisfaction are recorded and confirmed after closing.