A title commitment is the title insurer's written statement of the policy it will issue, and on what conditions. It comes in three parts: what is proposed to be insured and in whose name, the requirements that must be satisfied before the policy issues, and the exceptions the policy will not cover. The exceptions are the part that describes the property's real constraints.
- The exceptions are the document. Read them, and pull the recorded instrument behind each one that touches use, access or buildable area.
- The requirements are a to-do list with a closing date attached: payoffs, releases, entity documents, signatures. Someone has to own it.
- It is a commitment, not a policy. Coverage exists when the policy issues, and the terms can change if something surfaces before then.
- A clean commitment is not a clean property. It insures title, not condition, zoning, permits or boundaries.
Related terms
All termsEasement
An easement is a recorded right for someone else to use part of a parcel for a stated purpose: a utility line, a drainage swale, a shared driveway, access to a parcel behind it.
ClosingEstoppel Letter
An estoppel letter is a written statement of what is actually owed and agreed, given by the party in a position to know and binding on them afterward.
DevelopmentBoundary Survey
A boundary survey is a licensed surveyor's determination of where a parcel's lines actually run on the ground, built from the recorded description and from monuments found and set.
Terms arrive with the writing.
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