Team
In process of selling my place and downsizing to a new place..> Last time i went through all thsi was 25yrs ago.. cant remember much
But conveyancer has sent me loads of paperwork, one was Title Insurance which I've never heard of before. Searched here and 2015 was last hit on it without much info.
Is this something people usually go with - its approx $726
Thoughts?
Thanks for reply - yea Its stressful enough going through all this and forests of paperwork
I thought this stuff was what you pay the conveyancer for in the first place.
https://www.firsttitle.com.au/products/title-insurance-for-r…
Covers you for:
Unapproved building works
Incorrect boundaries
Encroaching structures built on your land
Planning and zoning
Errors on property searches and enquiries
Fraud
I heard at my workplace that title insurance helped someone was when they bought an established house and there was concreting done on the easement. Water company or someone needed access to pipes via property and had to dug the ground, but it was left to owner to get the concreting dug and removed at owner's cost and that's where the title insurance helped in re-couping costs. Again I haven't met the person but heard people talking about the incident. Again may be 1 in 1000s and that is what insurance is, you may never need it…
All depends what is covered in the insurance.
Covers you for:
Unapproved building works
Incorrect boundaries
Encroaching structures built on your land
Planning and zoning
Errors on property searches and enquiries
Fraud
I am not sure how they are going to cover that given they haven't done a proper onsite risk assessment and charging so little.
Unapproved building works should stop the sale because council won't clear it. Boundaries incorrect, they paying for land survey and new fencing?
Insurance is always a waste of money until you need it.
It's probably best you read the PDS to understand exactly what it covers, then you yourself make that decision on whether you would like cover for those events. If you accept and are willing to take on those risks yourself, then there's no need for it.
Insurance is always a waste of money until you need it.
Agree totally. Just wasnt sure if this was like extended warranty on your car that the dealer sells you.. usually useless. :)
It's all about understanding exactly what events the policy covers and then weighing up on whether it's worth paying for.
Most of those that buy aftermarket extended car warranties would've just made plenty of assumptions and not actually have read and understood the PDS. Then they find out the hard way when they try to claim something that's not covered. lol
They sell the policy so not a true unbiased opinion.
Might be OK for peace of mind but personally I wouldn't bother.
No.
Ask your conveyancer why you need it.
Or, why your conveyancer does not have it themselves?
Thats what I thought - they should have insurance to cover screw ups…
I'm starting to wonder where the conveyencer responsibility begins and ends for their money
Sounds like insurance that won't pay out. For small amount they are insuring against a lot of risk. Almost every old house will have something wrong with fences. $700 for them to pay a few thousand to fix fences or fight your neighbours legally is a bargain.
Sounds like insurance that won't pay out.
Spot on. There are a bunch of ways for them to weasel out of paying, mostly around what you knew or ought to have known.
There are a bunch of ways for them to weasel out of paying,
as if insurance companies need any help getting out of paying :) LOL
Hard no. This is junk insurance. Read the Whirlpool thread/s for why.
Thanks people.. think I'll give it the pork sword.
https://www.stewartau.com/docs/default-source/claimstories/r…
a number of years after settlement? they would still pay out a claim for $50K for a spa not meeting requirements?
seems far fetched.
The Scenario
*Insured purchased a 40 year old house
*A number of additions had been made over the
years, including a spa room
*A few years after settlement, the insured decided
to rent the property and engaged a property
agent who advised that the spa required a safety
barrier
*Insured disputed this requirement and
approached Council who identified spa room
was unapproved and required a safety barrier
Claim Resolution
*Stewart Title engaged planning and building
consultants to provide advice and options
*The spa room was non-compliant, not structurally
sound and required demolition
*Insured was covered for demolition and ‘make
good’ costs and loss in market value
*Claim cost over $50,000
*Premium paid $363
*No excess
Purchased and sold a few properties over the years and never heard of it before. Apparently it's something recent to Australia.
From a quick Google it seems to cover events that your Conveyancer/Lawyer should be looking into anyway.
IMO if they miss something major they could be liable if there are any issues that occur due to their errors/oversights.