What you don’t know about your home’s history can hurt you. Here are some real life examples:

Strathcona Suprise
Properties that pre-date modern zoning and building codes can often spell big trouble. Many historic properties encroach on one another, and while often municipalities relax modern regulations for heritage buildings, every once in awhile renovations to an old house can mean trouble.

Take the case of a Vancouver couple who, in the course of restoring their 117 year old house, discovered it was eight inches over the property line to the east. The city placed a stop-work order on the homeowners’ renovations, and forced the couple to pick it up and move their entire home a total of 8 inches! The cost was untold aggravation and $6,000.

If the couple purchased title insurance when they bought their home – even if they knew of the encroachment issues when they moved in – there is a chance they would have had some relief to their circumstances.


The Leaky Ceiling
Mr. Smith was experiencing water leaking into a room that had been built as an extension to the house years before he and his family had moved in.   The leakage was so extensive that Mr. Smith and his family had to move out.  He contacted the Municipality to inquire about any prior building permits and was told that none had been issued. A municipal inspector attended the property and confirmed that several home improvements had been made without permits.  Mr. Smith faced the choice of removing the structure or fixing the problem, with permits, at his expense.


We Paid For It So We Own It...Right?
A fraudster registered forged documents transferring the property of an elderly couple to his name, then registered a forged discharge of the existing mortgage, and finally obtained a new mortgage against the property.  The fraudster then made off with the money but made one or two months mortgage payments so as to avoid detection.  Only when the mortgage went into default did the elderly homeowners become aware of this situation.

For Sale!
Your neighbour puts his house up for sale and the interested buyers order a new property survey. To your surprise, the survey reveals that your garage – built before you bought your home – is encroaching partly on their property. In order for the sale to go through, the new owners want the garage to be moved or torn down.

Encroachment issues. Permit problems. Right of way wrongs. Unpaid liens.

 Every homeowner seems to have a story. Tell us about your experience.

In each of the above examples, a title insurance policy would have provided protection for the homeowners from the stress and expense of resolving their respective title issues.

 Click here to find out about the Top Benefits of Title Insurance.