In Part 1 I discussed the protection title insurance provides after closing. But did you know that when buying a home the title report is an important part of your due diligence? The report shows what matters affect the title of the home and what will be excluded from coverage. Some of those matters may be negative and hurt you – if so you will want to cancel or require that the seller remove those matters, if that is even possible. That is because the coverage under the policy that will issue doesn’t apply if the defect was known at the time it issued. The Arizona contract gives the buyer the right to object to adverse title matters and to cancel the contract if necessary. To exercise those rights, the buyer’s agent must know what to look for. Unfortunately, despite the importance of adverse title matters, the Arizona Assoc. of Realtors says agents don’t have the training to do it.
