Rick Smith, Bernstein Shur’s Real Estate Practice Group and Green Building Team
Buyer beware is an old warning. A recent title insurance case reminds us just how wary a buyer must be, even in 2015. In the case of IQ Holdings, Inc. v. Stewart Title Guaranty Co., 2014 WL 6601148, the buyer thought it could rely either on an escrow agent’s responsibilities, on the title insurance company insuring the closing, or on the title insurance policy itself. The buyer was wrong on all counts.
As is the case in most closings involving a condominium unit, the title insurance policy took an exception for matters that are set forth in the condominium declaration. Reading the declaration and other documents to which it refers is a very …