my title insurance company didnt disclose an easment ( whats it worth?)?

Question

I found out 2 years after buying a house that there is an easement on my property that the title insurance company didnt report, from 1944, from a pipeline company, a lawyer said he has never heard of a title company only going back 40 years, ( which is what they (title comp) said is standard policy?) The easement was recorded at the register of deeds in 1944, now the pipeline company is clear cutting my yard, tearing down an out building I have. They arent doing this after 62 years for nothing, so what if they put a above ground pipe, or a pump station? ( I live on a corner so they might do this ) my question is what amount do I sue the title company for?
I just lost the use of 1/4 of my land, a permanent building, 5 very old mature trees, this kills my property value.
Does this make my mortgage null and void? I had plans to add to my house,Build a pole barn, and build a fence around the yard, I cant do anything now, I never would have bought the place if I knew this, help!

I did have a survey done, it did not list any easements or encroachments. and I bought title insurance and had a title search done to cover myself, ( this isnt my firts purchase ) I fully understand that this is not my land, and what an easment is, my question is, because I bought this property under assumption that I had full use of the land, and this easement was in fact on record at the courthouse, and should have been discovered by the title company, what amount I should seek fron the title company, I talked to them already, they said they cant talk to me and suggested I call an attorney, I did that, and he wants a $ amount to submit.
Had I known about this easement I would NOT have bought this home and property.
as far as buyers doing there own research??( isnt that what I paid the title insurance company to do for me?)
The property is worthless to me now, I dont want it, and will likely lose a bundle trying to sell it now. that the building and trees are gone!
Ineed a $#

Answer 1

OK, I work for a title company. If there is a recorded easement and the title company missed it you need to file a claim with their CORPORATE office, don't deal with the local office at all. They aren't allowed to talk to you about it. On your title policy jacket there should be listed an address for filing claims. You will need to send a COPY of your policy together with a letter explaining the situation. The company will review and get back with you. Be specific in your letter. The title company may offer you a certain amount of money or may offer you the full amount of your policy in exchange for a deed to your property. If your not satisfied with what they tell you, get a lawyer. You may want to have a lawyer involved before you send the letter, and you may want the lawyer to draft the letter on his letter head. When we do title insurance policies we go back to the date of entry of the land, back into the 1800's in our state. Mistakes are made, but a 40 year search is simply not good enough. Who knows what else they missed. Good Luck.

Answer 2

Well, it's actually not your land, since there was a valid easement on file. As we tell people in our office all the time, you better know what it is that you own!

First off, do you have title insurance? If you do, try to follow up a claim with them first. If you do not, you may wish to sue the title company. I would sue for the full value of your property (you probably won't get it) and some punitive damages.

In all honesty - and I'm telling you from years of experience - if you were in Texas you'd lose this case. Most judges are real picky with owners who don't do their own research to find our what it is they actually own. However, I'm not sure what state you're in, so I'd need more info.

Finally, depending on how old your house is, I'd say 40 years is not good enough. If this were rural property I'd run it back to the sovereign. If this is an old subdivision, I run it back a couple of owners before the home was built.

Were there pipelines marked on your survey? If so, then that's a huge red flag that there's going to be an easement and that pretty well kills your case. If not, the title company will have an argument for their side.

Good luck. And be sure to get a lawyer that is board certified in your state in real estate law!!

Answer 3

NO, YOU NEED A NEW ATTORNEY!!!!!

Why on earth can your attorney not do some math for himself? Does the law limit damages?

And doing a 40 year search is actually common practice for title companies, in the absence of the actual abstract to the property. They're trying to save time and money by not going back 100+ years. And sometimes that causes mistakes that they have to pay for. Your attorney doesn't know much if he's never heard of this before.

You should get a new appraisal, one that takes into consideration the loss of value after this stuff happened. That's a starting point in your case, how much your value was actually impacted. But they should also pay a reasonable amount for moving and selling costs on top, since eventually you'll probably move because of this? I don't know if you can have a mental anguish charge, but that's a popular one you hear about.

A good attorney would be thinking of all these issues, and guiding you directly on how to come up with a number for each of the various issues. Get a new one.

And no, your mortgage is not null and void. You still owe the bank.

Answer 4

Did you purchase an owners title insurance policy? Remember that this is different from the policy that the bank/lender purchases to cover itself. A bank's policy doesn't cover you at all.

If you did purchase an owner's policy, then you can 'fall back' on this policy for redemption of property value. It is true that most insurance companies only require a 40 year title search which wouldn't include an easement from 1944.

This doesn't not make your mortgage null and void. However, I would contact your lender and make them aware of the changes. It lowers the value of your home and that affects the lenders' ability to resell if you default.

As for how much you should seek in payment, I would recommend that you get an appraisal of the property completed. When the appraiser takes into consideration the damage done to the property and comes up with a number, take that amount subtract the amount you paid for the property then add 25% percent. That should be the lowest amount you should seek.

Answer 5

my title search didn't disclose a water easement, that was signed on my property in1963, Church first owned the property. Then was sold to a member of congregation. 1989 and to us in 1993. Church member claims he did not the easement was on the property. Because its a state easement for a water flow. Off the joining property's. When the state put the Highway through and tile was placed under the highway we get all drainage from all the farmers fields. The previous owner filled in the yard and place a new termite shield and vapor barrier under the house so every thing looked fine. LITTLE DID WE KNOW WE HAD BE SCAMMED. after about MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WATER STARTED FLOWING THOUGH OUR BACKYARD. It took us from 1993 until 2013 to find out why we could not get the state to do something before it destroyed our house.
We finally had to go deed searching our self to find it. To late now our house has molded and water has destroyed the second central unit. HOUSE IS SINKING, 9 months out of the year can't flush, run dishwasher, or do laundry, IN the spring the smells so bad because water stands on our septic lines from OCT. until may or June depends when rains stops,
I've got a lawyer, contacted state EPA and Cannot fill yard back in now and lawyer said the property has no resale value We put every thing we had into this house. Because this was to be our final home. NOW WE ARE BOTH ELDERLY NOT ABLE TO MOVE THEIR TELLING US JUST TO LIVE IT OUT.
and we have


a one credit but everything is tided up in this house. So What Are OUR OPITIONS.
stay and let the mole kill us.

Answer 6

First off, you didn't "lose" the use of 1/4 of your land... you never HAD it. It wasn't yours to begin with. Of course, that doesn't clear the title company from responsibility for discovering that fact. In my state they go back all the way to the Lords Proprietors sometime in the late 1700's. I've never heard of a title company going back only 40 years. You'll just have to talk to a lawyer, I suppose.

And there's no guarantee that the pipeline company intends to build something on your land. They may be just upgrading or maintaining the pipe?

ALSO... the presence of this easement does significantly affect the value of the property.. Was it accounted for in your appraisal report? If not, then perhaps the appraiser has some liability too.

Answer 7

Your question should be more specific... But, I think this is what you're looking for... Health insurance companies can disclose most of the above information, as long as it does not identify which employee or family member the PHI pertains to. So, the employers can ask for data that tells them how much, & what type of a prescription their employees are taking. Or, how many people on their plan had claims for heart disease, & how much did it cost... etc... Generic stuff regarding finance. It just can't be individually identifiable. Make since?

Answer 8

Welcome to my world.I have a fiber optics cable running through my property...and I too have about 3/4 acres I cant build....but I worked out a monetary deal with them when I found out they never paid the previous property owners for the easement.
But what you need to do is find out how long that easement was granted for...and if they paid the previous owners any moneys for that easement. If they didn't then the pipe company needs to sit down and figure out what they owe you.....all that info is available from the company.

As for the title company you could file a claim for lack of disclosure...because those little things is what keeps people from getting sued....they should have had something in writing regarding how far they go back.

Answer 9

Title insurance is INSURANCE against such things and they do pay off. You can try dealing with them on your own but you may need a real estate attorney to represent you.

It may end up in a lawsuit but not necessarily. If you read your title POLICY it may payoff the amount of your mortgage. You have to decide what you want from them before you approach them.

Stay away from realtors in this matter. They are not trained or licensed to practice law.

Answer 10

gosh, this sounds like a terrible situation. you DEFINITELY have rights here. the whole purpose behind title insurance is to make sure the title is clean and their aren't any problems like this. i think they are fully responsible and you have no choice but to sue. i don't know for how much, but if you would not have purchased the property with this information - and they were negligent in providing this information - then i think they should have to eat the property. i would talk to your lawyer about suing them for the purchase price of the house plus punitive damages. perhaps you'll get them to settle out of court and still keep the property. either way, you need to be compensated. good luck!!