When purchasing a property there are a lot of aspects to consider and various risks to be aware of. Engaging a skilled solicitor or conveyancer to act for you on your purchase is a great start and when you engage WMD Law to act for you, you can be sure that you are obtaining thorough advice.

One of our recommendations to consider when purchasing a property is Title Insurance.

Title insurance is not a compulsory requirement of purchasing a property but is an added safeguard for risks that you could not have known about before purchasing. WMD’s team of skilled property lawyers and conveyancers can provide you with further guidance on whether Title Insurance is right for you. Below is a summary of some things to consider.

What is it?

Title Insurance is a one-time premium that insures you for defects in the title of the property that you did not / could not have known about prior to purchasing.

This might include issues relating to the legal ownership of the property, for example fraudulent ownership or your right to occupy the property after you have purchased it. It can also cover issues such as the Local Council requiring you to demolish an illegal structure from the property or any loss of land you suffer due to errors in the boundary of the property.

Why is it important?

Title risks such as illegal structures on the property requiring demolition can be costly, so insuring against them can potentially save thousands of dollars in remediation work if the insurer pays your claim. Some issues with a property may be hidden and not even the best legal advice / pre purchase inspections would be able to reveal such issues, so even with expert legal advice you can still end up paying for issues with the property that were not your fault.

What types of properties can it cover?

Title Insurance policies can cover vacant land, a house or a strata property. The premium is valid for the life of your ownership of the home and for some policies there will be no excess to pay if you make a claim.

Example

An unfortunate but common example of where title insurance can assist is in circumstances of fraud – where a property was sold to you by a seller fraudulently – for example using forgery or identity theft, which causes a loss to you, for example you being deprived of owning the property.

If you are considering purchasing a property and you would like to know more, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated team of lawyers and conveyances on 9525 8688 or email info@wmdlaw.com.au. Please also feel free to download our free Property eGuide.