Q: We’re about to purchase a new home in a 55+ senior community in New Jersey. The builder is the largest in the state and last year was builder of the year.

We feel we don’t need to buy title insurance as we’re not financing and all the approvals have been in place for years on the property. What is your opinion?

A: Buy title insurance. There are loads of reasons to get it and only one reason not to (you think you’ll save a thousand dollars or so). The only time you can purchase an owner’s title insurance policy is before you purchase the property.

It’s a small price to pay for enormous peace of mind. You might be very sorry if you don’t get title insurance if there were errors in the conveyance documents or unknown issues that could cause a problem on your title. While the risks might be small, the losses you might sustain as a result of not buying title insurance could be the loss of your home.

Published: Jul 16, 2004