What Does Title Insurance Cover in Jacksonville Beach?

Day in and day out, the real estate team here at Atlantic Coast Title & Escrow proudly works with individuals, families and businesses from all over Jacksonville to make their lives easier when it comes to buying and selling property in Florida.

In this blog post we wanted to address a question we get asked a lot by clients at our Jacksonville Beach office: what does title insurance actually cover?

Keep reading to learn more about title insurance.‍

Protection From The Past

OK, here’s the deal with title insurance: it is a rather important part of the property-buying process since having such a policy ensures that you will not be liable for any title flaw that suddenly emerges from somewhere in any given property's historical record (from the period before you purchased it). 

What does that mean? Essentially this means that title insurance covers any claims that could potentially be made against your ownership in a particular property due to unforeseen issues in the series of ownership records on file for your home. 

While your eyes may be glazing over as you read this, we can assure you that it is no joke. There are often circumstances in which undisclosed heirs, outright fraud, mis-indexed or defective deeds, forgeries, and unpaid liens can materialize to wreak havoc on a client’s business dealings. Unless you like litigation and the inside of courtrooms, it is always smart to cover your bases.

That said, title insurance does not help you in situations involving fires, hurricane damage and other kinds of flooding, or other types of property damage. It simply protects you against losses from ownership gliches that came about before you ever took control of the property, and that were not spelled out when you assumed ownership. In Florida, the buyer or seller may purchase both the lender's policy and the owner's policy. Don’t worry, if it is all still as clear as mud, we’ll be here to walk you through it in a way that makes sense.

Your Future Starts Now

As you can see, the legalities of buying and selling property can be complex and, at times, confusing. However, because our firm is attorney owned and operated, you can rest assured knowing that your real estate transaction will receive customized legal review at every turn. As such, there will be no last minute surprises surrounding your transaction. 

So, if you are a buyer, seller, lender or agent in the Jacksonville area, Atlantic Coast Title & Escrow would love to talk to you about title insurance and all of your other real estate closing needs. We’re ready when you are. In fact, if you’d like, you can contact us online to get started right now. Importantly, we can now offer remote closings and online notary services, plus we are conveniently located between military installations to better serve our friends in the armed forces. Be sure to ask about our flat fee pricing structure.