What is your title policy worth?

A lot of people do not want to spend money on a new survey when buying property yet they would not dream of buying it without a title policy. Did you know that a title policy is like insurance and it is the only type of insurance that is planning on never having to pay?

Don't get me wrong. I am not knocking title policies.  If you have a mortgage the lender is going to require that you have a title policy. I would not by property without one, but lets look at what the title policy is doing for you.

The title policy guarantees that the person selling you the property has the right to sell it to you. For example, If I sell you a piece of property the title policy guarantees that I actually own it and have the right to sell it. It does not guarantee a quantity of land being sold and it does not identify any conflicts that might exist on the property.

A survey will take a legal description from a deed and identify that property on the ground. The deed may call a property to be 5.00 acres but when the survey is conducted on the ground it may be more or less than 5.00 acres. It could be a very old description that was not surveyed well or there could have been a mistake on a previous survey. A survey can also show any conflicts between the subject deed and adjoining deeds and can show easements on the ground and those that are described on paper. The title policy will identify these items on thier schedule "B".

The smart money is to combine a current title policy and a current survey. That way the title policy will guarantee that a person has the right to sell and a current survey gaurantees what is being sold. A title policy without the current survey may not be worth a whole lot.

Thanks

I run therefore I hurt

For those of you that don't know me I am 43 years old and 4 years ago I broke my right femur snow skiing. I would like to say I was doing some incredible trick at the time, but truth is I was basically on a bunny slope. Anyway, after 2 surgeries and a year on crutches and then 2 more years to get to feeling normal, I had gained about 50 pounds. Even at 6'2" tall, 265 pounds was no fun.

In March I started walking every morning before work. I had a friend walking with me at first but he chickened out after a few weeks. The walking became jogging and then the high school track just got boring. I started running on the roads around town and mile or two became three and then six. I can do ten miles now on my long days. I ran my first 5k (bout 3.1miles) a few weeks ago. I am currently training for a 1/2 marathon (13 miles).

I always heard the saying that when I see someone smile while they run I might consider taking it up. I know why no one smiles while they run. It can hurt. It usually takes me about 3 miles before I start to loosen up and feel good, but by that time my legs are pretty much numb. That is when the runners "high" starts to kick in and that does feel good.

Call me a masochist. Running can feel so good and hurt so bad at the same time. I am down to about 210 pounds now and I feel great so I guess I will take the pain.

Later
www.saxonsurveying.com

Yes surveying is expensive

I get calls all the time wanting to know the cost of a survey like there is one price that covers any situation. If you are going to a ask a builder how much it will cost to build a house, don't you think he would want to know a few things about what you want to build?

There can be a lot to doing even a simple lot survey. You need a copy of the plat from the courthouse. You might need to look up seperate restrictions. Does the title company need the schedule B on it showing all the restrictions? What is the size of the lot. Is it a recent plat where you would expect to find corners or is it old and likely that there will be no corners there?

If you are calling to get a price and the company is not asking thinks about the job... beware. Is the surveyor using current equipment, has it been calibrated recently? Are his crews professional are is it just some kids that will work cheap. Is the company insured, liability, auto, workers comp and professional liability. Do they have an office that is staffed and are the phones ansewered? These things cost money, but it can save you in the long run.

Saxon Surveying-we ask questions, we are insured and we are here to serve you.

Thanks