Do I need title insurance with a Marriott?

[Tokapeba]

We are buying a Marriott Mountainside. The title company wants$300 for title ins and I'm not convinced that I need it. Do I need it?

Andy.

 

[OCsun]

Andy,

I have bought two Marriott properties and sold one. Ownership transfer is handled through Marriott. They will not release a membership transfer unless the property and maintenance fees are paid up. Title Insurance when transferring a Marriott property seems like a waist to me. Pam

 

[Tokapeba]

Thanks, that’s what I thought. I just don't see the value in it. It just looks like a revenue source to the title companies.

Has anybody needed title INS? If so what did they do?

Andy.

 

[JimC]

If I were buying direct from Marriott I would probably say title insurance is not necessary. Buying a resale is a greater risk. Marriott only cares about its fees or its loans, not any other liens that could exist. So I guess it depends on your circumstances, risk tolerance, cost of policy and cost of contract.

 

[qlaval]

... it depends on your circumstances, risk tolerance...

Exactly!

Don't forget Marriott TS are not cheap...
$300 to secure a $40,000 Maui TS is probably a good option...

 

[JimIg23]

Although I am only buying my first timeshare now, I have purchased other real estate. Title insurance for any type of property is very important. A problem could come up from the past even after Marriott transfers ownership. It is worth the 250-300 bucks.

 

[dioxide45]

Although I am only buying my first timeshare now, I have purchased other real estate. Title insurance for any type of property is very important. A problem could come up from the past even after Marriott transfers ownership. It is worth the 250-300 bucks.

The difference with title insurance on a timeshare vs title insurance on a primary residence is that the insurance on a primary residence usually only covers your lender and not the property owner. It is required by your lender for your mortgage loan. Very few people purchase title insurance on their home for their protection. I don't see why a timeshare would be any different.

 

[cp73]

Title insurance for any type of property is very important. A problem could come up from the past even after Marriott transfers ownership. It is worth the 250-300 bucks.

I agree. I purchased title insurance with my resale mostly because I didn't want to deal with any potential probelms 10-20 years down the road if and when I decide to sell it. How would you like to realize there was a problem with the title 10 years from now?

 

[hipslo]

The difference with title insurance on a timeshare vs title insurance on a primary residence is that the insurance on a primary residence usually only covers your lender and not the property owner. It is required by your lender for your mortgage loan. Very few people purchase title insurance on their home for their protection. I don't see why a timeshare would be any different.

If its important to the lender, to protect the lender's interest in its collateral, why wouldnt it be equally important to the owner, to protect the owner's equity?! Often owners dont buy separate title insurance, figuring that if the lender got a policy, then title must be clean. That may be a reasonable approach, and depends upon each person's individual risk profile. However anyone who purchases real property for a significant amount, with no lender (and therefore no lender's title policy to at least give comfort that the due diligence was done and the title company was willing to issue the policy), who doesnt purchase an owner's policy, is in my view (and I represent lots of clients involved in very high end commercial real estate deals) looking for big trouble. The phrase "penny wise and pound foolish" comes to mind. Of course, on a timeshare resale for a few thousand dollars, it may be prudent to self insure and take the risk. But once we are talking about big bucks (which has different meanings to different people), doing without title insurance is a potentially serious matter, and should be treated as such.

 

[JimC]

The difference with title insurance on a timeshare vs title insurance on a primary residence is that the insurance on a primary residence usually only covers your lender and not the property owner. It is required by your lender for your mortgage loan. Very few people purchase title insurance on their home for their protection. I don't see why a timeshare would be any different.

I believe most policies sold today in the above median value residential market protect both and carry inflation riders. I'll see if I can locate some stats on this and report back.

 

[dioxide45]

I believe most policies sold today in the above median value residential market protect both and carry inflation riders. I'll see if I can locate some stats on this and report back.

Actually most title insurance polocies taken out at the time of the mortgage usually only have enough coverage to cover the amount of the loan. So if you have $300000 home and only have a $150000 mortgage, then the title polocy will only cover the $150000. There is no need to adjust for inflation, as the unpaid balance on the loan will begin to drop once the borrower begins to make payments. The lender is only interested in protecting their collateral.

 

[chrisfromOC]

The difference with title insurance on a timeshare vs title insurance on a primary residence is that the insurance on a primary residence usually only covers your lender and not the property owner. It is required by your lender for your mortgage loan. Very few people purchase title insurance on their home for their protection. I don't see why a timeshare would be any different.

In my experience, this is generally not the case. Owners and lenders policies are very different, with the key distinction being that a lenders policy simply pays the lender in the case of a loss covered by the policy, while an owner's policy pays the owner. For the most part, if you purchase an owners policy the title company will provide the lenders policy at little or no additional cost, and the reason for this is simple --- if there's a title problem the title company will have to handle it through the owner's policy, as the owner owns the first piece of the risk of loss (i.e., their equity). The title company doesn't really take any additional risk by issueing a concurrent lenders policy.

Also, I recently purchased a Marriott resale, and I obtained title insurance. A very small price to pay to protect my significant investment.