A few weeks ago I wrote about a few listings/listing photos that should make any seller curious about seeing a copy of their own listing -- and not just take their agent's word for it that the listing will accomplish their mutual goal of selling the house (click on the "Real Estate" category to the right and it should pop up).

This morning, I came across a listing that stood out as I had seen it before many years ago.  It appears that the owner has put the property back on the market with several different brokers within the past few months. While I expected to see that the listing photos had changed (they had -- although one of the agents used a very inexpensive wide angle lens with which to take the photos, resulting in a "fish-eye" effect, with very curved walls -- like living in a submarine!).

What I didn't expect to see was that the last agent had simply cut/pasted the listing description from a prior listing agent!  They couldn't even be bothered to draft a new description of the property!  My first thought was that perhaps they worked for the same office/broker and simply transferred the listing from one agent to another (maybe one left the business, or the broker, but the listing remained with the brokerage, for example).  Not so -- different offices, different companies, and different brokers.  Here's a copy of the pertinent parts of the listing:

And here's the 2nd listing:

And here's an example of a listing photo taken with an inexpensive (cheap!) wide-angle lens - note the curved door frame!:

Title insurance seems to be one of those necessary evils that everyone is forced to purchase when buying or selling a home -- one rarely hears of title insurance claims being paid, so it seems as though the title insurance companies have a pretty good thing going.  I suspect that it's a profitable endeavor, but like any insurance, when you need it you reaaallllyyyy need it and you're glad it's there!

While I've been fortunate to not ever had a title claim situation, I have had a few instances where a title company was able to bring resources to an issue that might have become a bigger problem in the future!

Recently, I was involved in a transaction where the seller, when purchasing the property a few years prior (direct from another party for cash - no Realtors or lenders involved), neglected to require title insurance from the seller.  When he decided to sell, the lack of a clear chain of title became a huge impediment to the sale, requiring several months of paperwork and affidavits to provide the title insurer for the the current transaction confidence that they could deliver clear title to my clients (in this case, the buyers).  So the good news is that my clients are covered should there ever be a title issue in the future -- most likely when they sell the property down the road.  They should have smooth sailing at that point

Another situation arose when it was discovered that a portion of the back yard of a property in which I was involved selling was thought to belong to Cal Trans.  As it turned out, the property still belonged to the family of the original developer of the tract.  My clients were able to use the property, but at some point the owners could put up a fence (and likely get rights to an easement across my client's property for access) to build a billboard, cell tower or other use that was suitable to a long, narrow strip of land adjacent to a freeway.

And the the last example that I recently encountered was a simple structure that a neighbor had built that crossed my client's property line.  Fortunately, it was shoddy construction and easily removed (which the City required/enforced upon discovery). Again, the title insurance company sent out an inspector to confirm that the structure was not infringing upon the neighboring property -- title insurance couldn't be obtained until the offending structure was demolished.

So when you see title insurance on your closing statement, whether buying or selling, rest assured that it is a valid service and may very well protect the largest asset that you own!