Title Producer flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Date of Policy

The effective date and time from which coverage begins; matters recorded or occurring afterward are generally outside the policy's protection.

Simultaneous issue premium

A reduced rate charged when an owner's policy and a loan policy are issued at the same closing covering the same land and transaction.

Duty to defend

The insurer's obligation to provide counsel and pay defense costs for covered claims, continuing until coverage is disproved or the policy limit is exhausted.

Title plant

An insurer-maintained duplicate index of public records that allows rapid, consistent title searches without repeated trips to the recorder's office.

Fee simple absolute

The largest estate in land, of potentially infinite duration, freely inheritable, transferable, and subject only to governmental powers and private encumbrances.

Tenancy in common

Concurrent ownership in undivided fractional shares with no right of survivorship; each co-tenant may convey or encumber that share separately.

Severance of joint tenancy

A joint tenant's conveyance of their interest destroys the right of survivorship as to that share and converts the co-tenancy into a tenancy in common.

Easement appurtenant

An easement benefiting a dominant parcel and burdening a servient parcel; it passes automatically with conveyance of the dominant estate.

General lien

A lien, such as a judgment lien, that attaches to all real property the debtor owns within the jurisdiction rather than one identified parcel.

Mechanic's lien relation back

Priority of a mechanic's lien ordinarily dates to commencement of visible work rather than recording, so it can prime a later-recorded mortgage.

Lis pendens

A recorded notice of pending litigation affecting real property that gives constructive notice and binds purchasers who acquire an interest during the action.

Cloud on title

An outstanding claim or encumbrance that, if valid, would impair title or marketability, and is often removed by release, quitclaim, or quiet title action.

Chain of title

The sequence of recorded conveyances linking the present owner back to a safe starting point, demonstrating an unbroken transfer of the interest.

Gap in title

The interval between the effective date of the search and the recording of the new deed or mortgage, addressed by bring-down searches or gap coverage.

Constructive notice

Notice imputed by law from properly recorded documents in the public records, whether or not the party actually knew of them.

Bring-down search

An update of the public records between the original examination and closing to catch newly recorded liens, judgments, or conveyances.

Schedule A

The policy schedule stating the insured, the estate or interest insured, the policy amount, the legal description, and the Date of Policy.

Schedule B-II exceptions

Items specifically excluded from coverage, such as recorded easements, restrictions, rights of way, and other matters the insurer declines to insure.

ALTA 9 endorsement

An endorsement insuring against loss from violations of restrictive covenants and from encroachments, overlaps, or boundary disputes; commonly issued to lenders.

ALTA 4 endorsement

A condominium endorsement insuring the unit, its undivided interest in common elements, and priority over the association's assessment lien.

Owner's affidavit

The seller's sworn statement about possession, liens, construction, and parties in occupancy, used to reduce underwriting risk at closing.

Closing protection letter

The underwriter's agreement to reimburse a lender for losses caused by the agent's misapplication of funds or fraud in a specific closing.

Subrogation

After paying an insured loss, the insurer's right to stand in the insured's shoes and pursue parties legally liable for the defect.

Coinsurance

An arrangement in which the insured bears a stated percentage of each loss, used to reduce premium on higher-risk or larger transactions.

Escrow

An arrangement in which a neutral third party holds funds and documents and disburses them only when the parties' written conditions are satisfied.

Good funds

State rules requiring that closing money be in a form actually collected and available, such as wires or certified checks, before disbursement.

Proration

Allocation between buyer and seller of accrued or prepaid items such as property taxes, rents, and interest as of the closing date.

RESPA Section 9

Federal prohibition against a seller requiring, as a condition of sale, that the buyer purchase title insurance from a particular company.

Agent fiduciary duty

A title agent must hold escrow and premium funds in trust, account for them accurately, and remit premiums to the underwriter as agreed.

Rebate prohibition

Paying or receiving anything of value for the referral of title business is unlawful under RESPA and most state insurance statutes.

Unauthorized practice of law

Title agents may not give legal advice or represent parties; examining records and issuing policies is an administrative, not legal, function.

Promulgated rates

Title insurance rates fixed by state regulation or a rating bureau that every insurer must charge without deviation or discount.