You as a home buyer may find a house that seems like everything you want in a residence. You make an offer, dreaming of your life to come inside your new home. But then you might find there is a problem with the title of the home. If this should occur, you might want to back out of the sale. A title contingency can make this possible with little trouble.
The Motley Fool explains that real estate contracts often contain contingency clauses intended to protect a buyer who for some reason cannot go through with buying a home. Sometimes a buyer does not have the money or cannot secure the financing to purchase a home. In other instances, a home inspection may turn up roof damage or other problems that would take a lot of money to repair.
Sometimes, problems may turn up during a title search. A buyer may hire an attorney to investigate the title of a home to make sure there are no problems with the ownership of the home. Title searches may turn up liens against the property that will impede its sale, or discover past owners that have not approved the property for sale. In many cases, the parties involved can resolve the problems revealed by the title search and the sale may proceed.
Unfortunately, some title issues take much longer than a home buyer may feel comfortable with. Sometimes title problems turn into litigation, and if a home buyer goes through with the sale, the new owner could become swept up in a court case by people who have some claim on the home. A new owner might also have to pay old debts on the home.
For these reasons, people choose to invoke a title contingency. This particular contingency clause grants home buyers the right to back out of a deal without penalty. Like any contingency clause you might need, it is a wise move to make sure an initial real estate offer contains a title contingency provision to protect you from title problems.