Infill Lots and Title Insurance (LA 1060)

Transcript:

Steven Butala:                   Steve and Jill here.

Jill DeWit:                            Good day.

Steven Butala:                   Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala.

Jill DeWit:                            And I'm Jill DeWitt, broadcasting from sunny Southern California.

Steven Butala:                   Today Jill and I talk about infill lots and title insurance.

Jill DeWit:                            For somebody, this is a great show. For some people, other people, for the people in the... This is when... If you're driving around right now because your kids need to fall asleep, this is perfect. Just be careful because you might fall asleep.

Steven Butala:                   I can make it real quick if you want.

Jill DeWit:                            No, this is good. I know there are plenty of people who sought out this show because they're like, "I need to know."

Steven Butala:                   Oh, yeah.

Jill DeWit:                            Exactly.

Steven Butala:                   Because they need to know. Here's the thing so I'll get right to it. This is a condensed version, in case you're putting the kids to bed.

Jill DeWit:                            And you don't need to listen after this.

Steven Butala:                   Infill lots, by very definition are lots that are, they're infill lots in a subdivision where there is already houses or structures and some stuff going on there already. Chances are utilities are available or close. And it's financially advantageous for a builder to buy a lot from you and build a house on it or whatever they're going to build. So you need title insurance. You can't buy and should never buy, in my opinion, infill lots that are, with the intent of reselling them to somebody who's going to improve the property, without title insurance. And so that could be the whole show there. This came up. You'll see it in the question here in a second when Jill reads it and, well, we'll talk about it a little bit further.

Jill DeWit:                            Great.

Steven Butala:                   So before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the LandInvestors.com online community. It's free.

Jill DeWit:                            Joe S. wrote, "I've done some reading online and somewhat know the difference between title insurance and title opinion. I'm wondering what other investors are using. Do you use an insurance after a certain dollar threshold has been met? Basically, I'm purchasing lots, anywhere from 7,000 to $20,000. A local attorney recommended using a title opinion on cash deals. Anyone have advice from personal experience? If not, what's your business's policies for closing with title and escrow? Thanks, guys." This is very smart.

Steven Butala:                   This is a great question.

Jill DeWit:                            I like it.

Steven Butala:                   I haven't had this question in years. Years and years and there's a reason for that. Because I think a title opinion is silly.

Jill DeWit:                            I agree.

Steven Butala:                   I don't think it's silly, silly. I think in certain cases, you could order a title plant, form your own opinion, because I have Jill and she has a title opinion on every deal before it ever goes to get title insurance. So I'll explain what the difference is here in a second. If you go onto LandInvestors.com and look this up, look up keyword title opinion. I have a link posted there in my response to this where somebody on the internet gives them really a description of exactly what the difference is between these two, almost without our opinion.

Jill DeWit:                            Right.

Steven Butala:                   We're packed full of opinions on on this show. If you just want the facts that, go check that out.