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Real Estate Journal — Fall Preview — September 27 - October 10, 2019 — 11C
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I nsurance /T itle By William J. Levant, Kaplin|Stewart Yes, YOU Need Title Insurance
itle insurance is the only kind of insurance coverage where – if the closing is done prop- er ly – the incidence of valid claims can be re- duced to al- most zero. It’s also in- expens ive , and should be part of every real estate sale. Your homeowner’s carrier can’t make you less clumsy, or your all-wood house less flammable. Your automobile carrier can’t make you a bet- ter driver (though those plug- in gadgets that monitor your driving habits try to). Your life insurer can’t ex- tend your life, and by defini- tion, for every life insurance policy that remains in force for the policyholder’s life, the carrier will eventually have to pay a claim. As an aside, since “collision insurance” pays if a collision occurs, and “fire insurance” pays if a fire occurs, shouldn’t life insurance really be called “death insurance”? Answer: yes, but then no one would buy it. Seriously, most title claims arise from inattention to detail. Did the title agent ask for photo identification from all signers? Did the title agent actually look at the photo identification pre- sented? There’s a story, likely apocryphal, about a worker at the Philadelphia Navy Yard who, during World War II, wore an ID badge with Hitler’s picture on it instead of his own; no one ever noticed, or so the story goes, but a word to the wise should suffice: Always check the evidence. Are the documents set up properly, so that everyone transferring an interest in the property has a signature line? This isn’t the 19th cen- tury; when a married couple transfers real property, then both must sign. A “waiver of marital rights” form, which turns up from time to time, won’t replace a missing sig- nature. Period. Full stop. Did all of the signers actu- ally appear before the Notary Public? Apart from the occa- sional meretricious imperson- ation (yes, we had such a case), beware the wife (or husband) T William J. Levant
go to another closing (and another, and another…) with the result that the property is mortgaged multiple times; in that case, only the holder of the first recorded mortgage is likely to be able to recover (yes, we had one of these, too). There are other refine- ments to the closing pro- cess that can draw the risk aperture even smaller: a Secretary’s certificate and a properly adopted resolution authorizing the transaction for all corporate signers; a survey of the property to be transferred or mortgaged;
who swears that his absent wife (or her absent husband) absolutely , positively signed the document, and begs the Notary to acknowledge it in his or her absence. That puts the Notary’s commission at risk. The “fine print” of an acknowl- edgment always says that the signer “before me appeared”. Make it so. Otherwise, use a Power of Attorney. If electronic recording is available and you aren’t us- ing it, why not? Electronic recording eliminates the chance that the mortgagors will leave your office, and
and a strictly enforced policy requiring deposits to be made by wire transfer are just a few. In this day and age, when high-quality imaging and printing equipment is available for peanuts, ca- shier’s checks are just too easy to fake. When all is said and done, the illegitimate offspring of the third-prior owner may still come out of the wood- work, but that’s unusual (and no, we haven’t seen one of those … yet). WilliamJ.Levantisaprin- cipal of Kaplin|Stewart
and a member of the Com- mercial Litigation Depart- ment. His practice focuses on representing creditors, par- ticularly small- and medium- sized financial institutions, in foreclosure, collection, and workout matters, and in bankruptcy court. He also works with title insurance companies to represent their insureds in matters arising from title insurance claims. He also defends creditors in actions brought under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and similar state statutes.
Kaplin Stewart At t o rney s a t Law Business and Corporate Law - To the point! Experience Counts. Count On Us.
Contact: WILLIAM J. LEVANT • wlevant@kaplaw.com • www.kaplaw.com 910 Harvest Drive, Blue Bell, PA 19422 • 610-941-2474 Other Offices: • Cherry Hill, NJ 856-675-1550 • Philadelphia, PA 215-567-3120
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