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After you’ve found your dream home here in New Mexico, you’re going to want to protect it! Title insurance is a type of insurance policy that protects a property owner or lender against any financial loss that may occur as a result of defects in the title to the property. Title insurance is usually purchased near the end of the home-buying process and is meant to provide protection against any unforeseen issues that may arise with the title after the purchase. While there are far more than five reasons to purchase title insurance, we’ve got our top five listed below:
Protection
Title insurance provides coverage for any potential issues with the title to your property, such as liens, encumbrances, or competing claims. It can also provide coverage for title defects that were not known or could not have been discovered during the title search. This covers any fraudulent activity associated with the buying and selling of the property. Title insurance will help cover the costs of legal fees if you need to defend your title in court as well.
Peace of Mind
At Centric Title, we value your peace of mind. Knowing that you have title insurance can reduce a lot of the typical stress associated with purchasing a property and give you some much-needed peace of mind. With title insurance, you can be assured that you will be able to peacefully enjoy your property without any unexpected title issues.
Other Insurance Policies Can’t Compare
Regular homeowners’ insurance and warranties only protect the structure and belongings of your home, not the right to own the home. Getting owner’s title insurance ensures that your family’s property rights stay protected.
Affordable
Title insurance is a one-time cost that is relatively inexpensive compared to the overall cost of buying a property. Owner’s title insurance typically costs only about 0.5% of your home’s purchase price and, for how much money you are spending on your home, this is surely worth the buy.
Resale Value
Title insurance can increase the resale value of your property by providing potential buyers with the assurance that the property has a clear title. In addition to this, it protects a property when it’s being inherited.
If you’d like to learn more about acquiring owner’s title insurance, our team at Centric Title is here for you — get in touch with us today! You can find your local office here. We hope to hear from you soon!
There’s been a lot of buzz about the decline of the housing market lately—it’s hard to miss. With interest and mortgage rates on the rise, many buyers are being pushed out of the market. It doesn’t help that the prices of homes are also particularly high right now. There has been a major lack of residential development for over a decade across the United States, which has created a gap between the supply and demand of homes. Currently the supply of houses on the market is low, while the demand has remained relatively high. It's the culmination of these issues that has led people to fear that the current decline will result in a crash in the housing market, similar to what occurred back in 2008. However, New Mexico is already familiar with these problems, as our housing market hasn’t quite realized its potential since the Great Recession. Our market has done well for the past two years but has fallen behind the national market overall.
What’s looking up for New Mexico
The median home value in the New Mexico real estate market has been increasing continuously for almost a decade now and we certainly won’t be seeing a price decline in the Albuquerque area. However, unlike the majority of the country, New Mexico still has quite the inventory of relatively affordable homes. Now for New Mexico natives these prices probably seem absurd, but for those looking to move to The Land of Enchantment the price might be just right.
Not only are the homes affordable, but the job market is also growing. We’ve seen tremendous growth from the energy and tourism industries as of late. We’ve also got a lower cost of living than the national average. With utilities, transportation, healthcare, groceries and more costing less, an increasing number of people may have the opportunity to become homeowners here in New Mexico. With these factors in mind, hopefully this is only a dip for our housing market rather than a crash. It’s important to keep in mind that the market is never going to be perfect—there will always be some ups and downs.
CTE is here to help
Regardless of the current challenges the market is facing, the CTE Team is well-equipped to serve you. And, while we may be relatively new to the Albuquerque area, our title and escrow teams together have a combined total of 300 years in the housing industry. We have truly seen it all! The tenure of our team in the housing market has resulted in an abundance of knowledge that is indispensable to our buyers, sellers, and agents alike.
We also have a wealth of resources you can conveniently access from home! Our online library has a ton of organized and accessible information. We understand that, at the end of the day, everyone’s timing is different and you’re in charge of your own financial future, but we are always here to help in any way you need. Whether you’re just browsing or currently in the market looking for supportive title and escrow officers, feel free to get in touch with us!
Buying a home is most likely one of the largest purchases you’ll make in your lifetime. During the closing portion of your home buying process, you’ll be opening escrow with a trusted company of your choosing. The Centric Title and Escrow team is well-prepared and happy to help you through the last part of your most important purchase and to make sure that you will be able to protect it.
Understanding Title Insurance
After we do a thorough search of public records to find any risks that may affect the title to your future property, we will issue a title commitment, which contains information that can affect your close of escrow. With all of this information at your disposal, you will then have the opportunity to purchase title insurance. Title insurance is a type of indemnity insurance that serves to protect you from financial losses that may result from defects in the title to the property you are buying. Title insurance is paid for only once at the close of escrow and requires no further fees to be paid for as long as you own the property.
Protecting Yourself and Your Home
Without title insurance, you will be at risk to any liens, encumbrances, and defects affecting the title to your new property. These threats could change what should be a cherished life-accomplishment into a legal nightmare. A title insurance policy will help pay for legal fees in defense of a claim against property covered under your policy to protect your investment. Your home is a highly valuable investment that should be protected for your present and future financial health. Just in the same way you wouldn’t drive a car without car insurance, you shouldn’t purchase a home without title insurance.
If you have any questions about our title insurance policy or would like to learn more, please check out our online library or get in touch with us directly!
During the process of buying or selling a home, it takes plenty of people surrounding our customers to protect their best interests and their money. Realtors, loan officers and title companies are all on the same team. By now, we’re all aware of the dangers wire fraud and cybercriminals continue to pose for our customers and their transactions, but we must continue to alert our buyers and sellers about them.
It’s important to start these conversations early on in the process. Realtors, that’s why we need you in particular to keep up the fight. No matter how much we talk about the issue, there are plenty of stories out there about new victims. These scams are expensive. In 2020, there was more than $213 million reported lost, according to the FBI. Even the Secret Service has issued warnings on this topic.
We recognize your valiant efforts to stay ahead of the criminals who are scheming daily to upend customers during such an important life event, but the mission must continue. Clueing buyers and sellers in on what to look for concerning wire fraud is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Getting real about wire fraud—and the very real threat of it affecting any transaction—can seem scary, but it’s well worth it for the safety and security of our customers.
Thank you for such a great first several months in business. We’re grateful that plenty of New Mexico’s real estate professionals recognize that Centric Title & Escrow is a trusted, local title and escrow provider. Our growing team is ready to help even more in 2022.
For those of you who don’t know, we’re located at 100 Sun Ave NE, Suite 440 in Albuquerque. You can reach Centric Title by calling 505-295-6686, or by visiting our website at www.centrictitle.com.
See what our president Jennifer Greenwood has to say about the experienced group of title professionals we’ve already assembled to serve you.
“Our office is full of people who are dedicated to our customers, and they know how to be your problem solvers through the real estate settlement process,” she said. “We look forward to working with a larger share of the Albuquerque community this year.”
We are a proud part of Mother Lode Holding Company which allows the CTE team to provide best-in-the-industry support and resources to their customers. Tracing its roots back to the formation of California’s Placer Title Company by the late Leo French in 1973, MLHC now includes more than 1,110 team members spread across several subsidiary companies throughout the western part of the United States and is a true independent powerhouse in the title industry.
As our customers already know, Centric Title has the resources and tools needed to deliver the modern experience they deserve, plus the local and industry expertise they can trust to get the job done for them. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.