Q: Does a title company have to notify the buyer and seller of a house of any encumbrances they discover prior to closing?
After closing on a home, the county contacted me saying the property lines for the home I just bought are incorrect. After speaking with the county, the title company contacted the county about this issue. However, the title never notified myself or the seller about this issue prior to closing.
A: I would carefully examine your title insurance policy on the home to see if the issue was discovered during the title search and discuss this issue with a real estate litigation attorney in your area. The title company should have run a title search before issuing the title insurance. If the issue came up during the search, it should be listed in those documents that you were presented with at the closing. If it is an issue that no one knew about until now, then that is a good reason you buy title insurance and your title insurer should help make you whole. This of course will depend on the exact language of the title insurance policy, so again I would review it carefully with a real estate litigation attorney in your area.
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