The following is a common moral, ethical and financial dilemma. For some
readers there is no problem and the solutions are very simple. For other readers,
it may take some thoughtfulness to make the best decision.

Do You Really Need Title insurance When Buying a Property?

Title insurance is not available in all parts of the world and in those countries title
disputes are settled through court action or a mediation board. Unfortunately,
those court and mediation actions can take a long time and the outcomes are
never guaranteed. In the United States, title insurance is a mainstay of
transferring a property, but is it really necessary?

I probably heard this question for the first time 30 years ago when a buyer asked me exactly that, “Is that the best you can do?” when I was selling him a house I rehabbed. Actually, it took me back at the moment but I quickly recovered my composure and answered, “Yes”. If this buyer had been more persistent and asked a couple of times more, I might have dropped my asking price, but he gave up too quickly.

Is it Illegal to Sell a Property You Don’t Own?

This Weekly Insight started with a phone call from a wholesaler who I have personally known for probably 6 years. He used to rehab when I did but we never actually rehabbed a deal together. Instead, I had sold him a few wholesale properties that he either rehabbed or re-sold as wholesale deals. I haven’t asked him, but I suspect between wholesaling and retailing, he has bought and sold between 135 and 150 properties.