Q: Does the seller of a home have to buy title insurance for a cash sale?
My realtor has stated that it is a Brevard County law that the seller of real estate has to buy title insurance when selling a home. I get the feeling that this is a kick back to the title company, which she must have a sweetheart deal with. I understand I need to buy the title search. This is a cash sale of the home, so no lender is involved in creating a mortgage. Could you give me the statute number that the realtor is talking about? I know that if she gives me the written piece of the statute, she may not give me the full law, and I want to check the detail of this law for myself.
A: Obtaining title insurance is not required by law in Florida to my knowledge. I also seriously doubt that Brevard County passed an ordinance that requires a person to obtain title insurance. I suggest that you push the realtor to get you a copy of the law. Then once you are provided with the same, then google it. Florida Statutes can be found online with little effort, especially when you have the statute number.
Richard Paul Zaretsky agrees with this answer
A: There may be common practice but there definitely is not a law. If you have a contract then you need to see the contract terms to see what your obligation may be regarding title insurance. Cash or mortgage should not be the reason to have or not to have title insurance. We see claims on title insurance several times a month. We had two last month with one payout from the insurance company of tens of thousands of dollars and there was no mortgage.
A: I agree with my colleagues, only to add that the only reason Title Insurance would be required is if a Title Company is handling the closing. If you are not a licensed attorney in FL, you must provide Title Insurance to close a transaction. The Seller has the right to choose who closes the transaction, if you are the Seller, I would engage the services of a real estate attorney to close the transaction instead of a Title Company.
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