What's in a title? Condo buyers thought they knew
New owners are getting notices of unpaid taxes dating to 2008, and title-insurance company says its not responsible.
DEAR HARRY: We live in an eight-unit condo. When we settled in June, we were told that everything was OK with the title and that we were in, free and clear. Now the city is sending us notices of unpaid taxes for years going back to 2008! You read that right. The title-insurance company says it is not responsible. We discovered that the other owners (who settled earlier in the year) are in the same boat. The developers bought the property in 2013, so another title company had to be involved. When we called them, they said to "bug off" because we are not the owners they insured. Are we out of luck on this? Where do we go from here?
WHAT HARRY SAYS: Title-insurance companies almost never fall into such situations. Their searches rarely miss unpaid taxes due from previous owners. At the very least, your company should help you get to the bottom of this. It would help if all the owners involved would join hands with you in your quest. Contact your title-insurance company first. Tell them you will seek legal and government help if they fail to protect you. If that fails, contact the Pennsylvania Insurance Department at 1-800-PA BANKS. Their putting toes to the fire usually helps get companies to toe the mark. If that fails, get an aggressive lawyer.