You need to watch this video.

Lessons to take away from it:

Always read your title insurance commitment prior to closing.
Always buy a professional survey prior to closing.

This homebuyer did neither. Buying real estate is a major purchase and a consumer must participate with a thinking cap on.


When you shop for your title insurance and settlement services, confirm that you will have a title insurance commitment for your review prior to closing. That's critical, because most title agencies send the copy to your lender and presume they will forward it to you. That rarely happens. At The Closing Specialists, we recommend in writing that you buy a survey and we have you sign a hold harmless if you choose not to. We mail a copy of the title insurance commitment and ask that you review it prior to closing.

Never - ever - rely upon visual cues for lot lines. Hedges and mowing lines are not reliable indicators.

Why does title insurance not cover items that would be discovered by a survey? Because without a survey in hand, title insurers would be taking on unknown risk. You have to purchase a survey to have that knowledge. Most people don't want to spend the money, but as you can see, buying real estate without a survey is very risky. This consumer should not be blaming title insurance. He should have been a more prudent consumer.

If you are reading this blog post, I know YOU are a prudent consumer, so stay cautious and do it the right way, eh?