Your home may be the largest investment you’ll ever make.  To protect it, you need an Owner’s Title Insurance Policy.
What is title insurance?  It is the application of the principals of insurance to risks, which are present in all real estate transactions.
Title insurance protects against the possibility of future loss should your legal rights to your property be challenged for events that have happened in the past.
Your interest in real property can be insured regardless of whether it is fee simple, meaning by deed, equitable interest, by contract, a leasehold estate, by lease, inheritable interest, meaning you inherited the real estate, or mortgage interest.
There are two types of title insurance: Lender’s title Insurance and Owner’s Title Insurance. The lender’s policy protects the lender’s interest in the property for the amount of the mortgage loan.  The priority of the insured lien (mortgage) and the marketability is what is insured.   Most lenders will require a lender’s policy at the borrowers expense and it only insures the lender.   The lender’s policy lasts for the life of the loan, meaning until it is paid off.   An owner’s policy protects the owner, as named on the deed, for the full property value (recited on the deed) and stays in effect for the life of the ownership, passing on to the owner’s heirs and assigns.   Purchasing an owner’s policy is up to the proposed buyer to obtain.
For more information on buying and selling property in the USVI, contact Alexandra Laing at 340.513.7259 or alexandra@seaglassproperties.com.