The Title
A title is a legal document listing the history of ownership of a home. After the buyer and seller have reached mutual acceptance, an attorney or title company will review the home's title to look for any problems that might prevent the home from being legally sold. The results are written up for the buyer in a preliminary title report.
The buyer will have a few days to review the title report, and can then work with the seller, title company or attorney, and real estate agents to resolve any issues.
If the issues in the title report cannot be resolved in a way that satisfies the buyer, the buyer can invoke her title contingency to back out of the deal.
On the other hand, if the buyer approves the title report, the deal will continue. The title company will finalize the title report, and use the information to issue title insurance.
Title insurance protects the lender and homeowner from damages if a problem with the title comes to light after the buyer purchases the home. Usually, the buyer must pay for the lender's title insurance policy, and has the option of purchasing a separate policy to protect themselves.
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