Kiwi property buyers are familiar with searching a LIM report and trusting that other information is good and accurate. But what happens if titles are incorrect or a property search has not revealed nasty hooks? Homeowners could be up for thousands of dollars and hours to remediate the problems on their title.
Wednesday, June 1st 2005, 7:47AM
by The Landlord
But now a new form of insurance, Title Insurance, is available to protect homeowners against the risk of such things as incorrect information on the LIM, houses, decks or fences encroaching on neighbouring land, buildings not covered by permits, unpaid rates or Body Corporate levies.
Common in the USA, Canada, and Australia the insurance is offered by FAST Lender Services, headed by solicitor Jonathan Flaws. Marketed through lenders such Liberty, Blue Stone, Sovereign and Kiwi Bank it is asked for in certain circumstances. For example, if a cross-lease flat plan doesn’t match information on the title. Sometimes lenders such as Sentinel purchase the cover on behalf of the homeowner.
Real estate agent Steve Koerber of Barfoot and Thompson is now marketing one of the first properties for which title insurance has been bought by the vendor. The cedar townhouse in Remuerais in zone for Auckland Grammar School so there should be no problem selling it at auction on June 8, but Koerber says the insurance provides added reassurance for potential buyers.
