Title insurance on an OTP

Puchasing my first IP which is an off the plan townhouse. My conveyancor has a questionnaire which recommends i get one. Do you think its worth it?

 

how much is the fee and what does it supposedly protect you from?

 

About $450

Copied from First Title website:
"Title Insurance protects you against legal risks that can threaten the ownership of your property, or affect your right to occupy and use your land. These risks include:

• illegal building works
• boundary issues
• fraud and forgery against your certificate of title
• unpaid rates and taxes
• unregistered rights of way and easements
• adverse possession
• zoning non-compliance."

 

Do you see those risks as potentially happening for your situation and if so do you think the fee is worth it?

 

I'm in the same situation. My Lawyer gave me option to choose. The choice is between Stewart title and First title. I don't know which to choose from.
Reading the post of Whirlpool, these policies are important in USA but are considered Junk insurance in Australia. I don't know what to do.
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2684274

 

Some ppl shared good experiences with having title insurance:
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2707300

User #26768 1341 posts, Veroxii, Whirlpool Enthusiast
posted 2018-Feb-28, 11:34 am AEST

We have title insurance with Stewart Title. About 2 months after we moved in we got a huge bill from the council for unpaid rates. The actual outstanding values didn't match up with what was on the settlement contract.
We called our conveyancer who was basically useless and in the end put in a claim to the title insurance. Explained the situation, submitted documents and was paid out within a week. No dramas at all.
Just this one payout covered more than what the insurance cost originally, so can't complain.
A lot of the other threads linked are about defects etc. That's not what Title Insurance covers. It's for when people screwed up the paperwork or approvals etc.

User #402411 17 posts, Aries898, Participant
posted 2018-Mar-1, 12:34 am AEST

Surprised to see all the responses are negative.
I bought an apartment so saw absolutely no use when I bought, but a colleague of mine bought it when purchasing 12 months ago. it wasnt until later they discovered their neighbours fence was a couple of meters into their property. The insurance paid for all fencing changes and did all the heavy handling with the neighbours. They had the option of simply recieving a payout but went for the land.


User #744172 28 posts, SoundsOfSilence
posted 2018-Mar-1, 10:27 am AEST
We were recommended title insurance by our conveyancer. Thought about it.. and ended up getting it.
I think its First title.
Then had an issue after we moved in, and the previous owners moved o/s where the conveyancer made a mistake with the rates at settlement. Title insurance covered it. I guess without it, we would have had to get the money back from the conveyancer somehow.
Maybe is like other insurances.. peace of mind.?