Can you educate me on escrow accounts and titles and such?

They are not asking you to do a title search and spent yet another $500+ to prove once again that the property is as claimed. They might ask for it down the road, but if they do, they will pay for it.

Not a lawyer, just aware of some stuff.

Escrow is a way of having funds deposited and unencumbered without turning them over to the seller. That way the seller has a guarantee before closing of the funding, and the money can be transferred day of closing.

Titles to land can be quite complicated, so the Title insurance is to cover the transaction so that the Buyer gets what is being paid for, and the Seller sells what is intended to sell.

For instance, the property line of my old place had an easement that prohibited building within eight feet on the rear edge of the property so that a natural swale would not be impeded. The previous owner had build a deck, but without a survey and a title guarantee, there was no way to make sure the deck did not violate the easement.

In some states, titles can be encumbered by all kinds of things, like mineral rights or air rights. The title search and insurance also guarantee there isn’t a lien on the property that would disrupt the sale.

Oh, thank you you guys! But…I don’t need that unless the buyer requests it, right? Then they have to pay for it, right?

Right and right !

Oh, you guys are awesome.

OK, the thing that I’m most concerned about is insurance. How do I make sure they pay insurance? As long as I’m holding the note I technically own the land, and if something happens, someone drowns in the pond, I could be held liable…

Put a clause in the contract that they have to provide you with evidence of liability insurance annually until the loan is paid off.

^ I’m thinking it would be easier to add a clause stating that the buyers are required to insure the area until they are legal owners. Asking for annual proof could be risky – suppose they don’t provide proof, and this gets overlooked even for a couple of days. @Dutchess_III‘s staying quiet on the matter could probably be construed as tacit consent. If there’s one thing I learned in law school, it’s to say exactly what you want in legal issues.

Not a lawyer, just studied law for a while. Correct me if I’m wrong.

I’m going all around the mulberry bush with this. My lawyer wrote up the contract, and in it she states that the buyer is responsible for insurance if they choose to insure it.

So I called my bank, who has the mortgage on the land loan. Her response was “Why would you have insurance on an empty lot?” (Because there is a pond and other hazards on the land…..?) And come to think of it, we don’t have insurance on it.

So then I called my insurance agency who has the cars. They said my home owners insurance should extend to cover the land.

So I called the insurance company who has the homeowners insurance and they just talked about escrow and if they get insurance, be sure to list myself as an “additional interest” on the policy.

So I’ve just gone in one big circle and I don’t know if I should be worried about this or not.

^ I’d call the lawyer again, explain all your concerns. Unless she isn’t being helpful?

Title insurance is not the same as insurance. It just insures that you have a clear title and discloses any liens or encumbrances on the property. I would never buy or sell without title insurance.

She just hasn’t responded to my current email yet. I sent it late Friday, @longgone.