Buying or selling a home comes with enough moving parts. We explain title insurance clearly, help identify issues before closing, and provide dependable protection for one of the biggest investments most people make.
Before you buy, someone needs to confirm the seller owns what they are selling — free and clear, with nothing attached that would follow the property to you.
We coordinate the closing attorney, work through any outstanding liens, and keep the file moving so nothing stalls at the table.
Short answers, in plain language. Open whichever one applies to you.
“Title” means legal ownership. Title insurance covers third-party claims on a property — claims that did not surface in the original search and only appear after closing.
A third party is anyone other than you: a contractor who was never paid by the previous owner, a county tax office, an heir nobody knew about.
The premium is paid once, at closing. There is no renewal and no expiration.
Someone may hold rights to the property that nobody flagged when you made your offer — and often the seller did not know either.
In the case of an overlooked heir, that person may not learn they have a claim until a lawyer tells them. That is why coverage runs for as long as you hold an interest in the property.
Before your loan closes, your lender orders a title search. A title company works the public record — deeds, mortgages, court judgments, divorce decrees, tax records, child support orders — looking for anything that would affect the lender’s or the buyer’s rights.
Liens. A contractor, tax authority, or lender who was not paid can attach a lien to the property. You do not want to inherit a previous owner’s unpaid bills.
Easements. Someone else’s right to use land you own — a utility corridor across the back of the lot, a neighbor’s driveway. It can quietly limit what you are allowed to build.
Encumbrances. The broad category: liens and easements, plus zoning rules, HOA covenants, and any leasehold rights already running with the property.
We go to work clearing it. Sometimes that means your agent and the seller’s agent getting the seller to resolve it before closing.
Occasionally a problem is serious enough to end a deal — and it is far better to learn that now than after you have signed.
One premium, paid once at closing. The owner’s policy is priced off the purchase price, the lender’s off the loan amount. Together they typically run 0.5% to 1.0% of the purchase price, or roughly $1,500 to $3,000 on a $300,000 home, according to ALTA.
The buyer covers the lender’s policy as part of closing costs. The owner’s policy can be paid by either side — local custom usually decides, and it is negotiable. Buying both at once lowers the cost of the owner’s policy through a simultaneous issue rate.
In North Carolina, title insurance is filed at the same rate no matter which agency you use. What differs is who is running the search, and whether their underwriters can clear a problem when one appears.
It protects the lender, not you, though you are the one paying for it. If you lose the home because it was sold to you fraudulently, the lender files a claim to recover the payments it was counting on.
An owner’s policy is what protects your equity, funds your defense if someone sues claiming rights to the property, and preserves your ability to sell later when the next buyer’s search runs.
A policy covers underlying problems with a property’s title that were missed before you bought it.
A policy will not cover problems you create yourself after closing:
The line is timing. Title insurance addresses issues that already existed and would have changed your decision to buy had you known about them.
Expanded coverage reaches additional risks a standard policy leaves out. Which one fits depends on the property and the transaction — call and we will walk you through it, or estimate your cost with the WFG rate calculator.
We would rather spend fifteen minutes on the phone now than have you find out what a policy does and does not cover once something has already gone wrong.