What is the name of your state? Minnesota
I purchased a condo last year as a quick rehab and sell investment. I paid cash for the property and was issued a ALTA Owners Policy and ALTA Loan Policy. I have reason to believe there were multiple parties involved that were aware this property would have title issues including the attorney that issued the title policy as well as a chain of sellers. After purchasing the property I had it rehabbed and ready for market within about 2 weeks. A week after that I had a full price offer set to close in 30 days. Two days before we were supposed to close I get a call from the buyers title company asking about a Lis Pendens on the property? After a lot of research I find that on the day I purchased the property a Lis Pendens was filed as the result of two opposing investors who had been fighting it out for controll of the property during the foreclosure redemption. One of them was the investor who sold me the property. Long story short the buyer who I was supposed to sell the condo to waited around for about 2 months before finally giving up on the title issue being settled in a timely manner. I was forced to rent out the property to help cover my expenses. Chicago Title eventually stepped in and started paying my legal fees; the issues was settled in my favor in court.
So here is my question. This title issue caused me to lose my buyer who had signed a purchase agreement and had deposited earnest money. They were going to purchase the property for $154,000; I stood to make a $15,000 profit. By the time the title issue was resolved and the Lis Pendens was removed the real estate market tanked and now I haven't even been able to sell the home for $140k. Do I have any chance of collecting damages from Chicago Title for my loss of profit and to be determined loss of initial investment; afterall I still haven't been able to sell the property. Also, Chicago Title paid thousands of dollars to the law firm they selected to handle this issue, however shouldn't they reimburse me for the money I spent on legal fees prior to them accepting the claim? They took their sweet time officially accepting the claim and in the mean time I had a buyer waiting for clear title so obviously I employed a reputable firm to try and resolve the issue; only $700. My primary concern is lost profits and potential loss of additional capital when the property eventually sells.
I purchased a condo last year as a quick rehab and sell investment. I paid cash for the property and was issued a ALTA Owners Policy and ALTA Loan Policy. I have reason to believe there were multiple parties involved that were aware this property would have title issues including the attorney that issued the title policy as well as a chain of sellers. After purchasing the property I had it rehabbed and ready for market within about 2 weeks. A week after that I had a full price offer set to close in 30 days. Two days before we were supposed to close I get a call from the buyers title company asking about a Lis Pendens on the property? After a lot of research I find that on the day I purchased the property a Lis Pendens was filed as the result of two opposing investors who had been fighting it out for controll of the property during the foreclosure redemption. One of them was the investor who sold me the property. Long story short the buyer who I was supposed to sell the condo to waited around for about 2 months before finally giving up on the title issue being settled in a timely manner. I was forced to rent out the property to help cover my expenses. Chicago Title eventually stepped in and started paying my legal fees; the issues was settled in my favor in court.
So here is my question. This title issue caused me to lose my buyer who had signed a purchase agreement and had deposited earnest money. They were going to purchase the property for $154,000; I stood to make a $15,000 profit. By the time the title issue was resolved and the Lis Pendens was removed the real estate market tanked and now I haven't even been able to sell the home for $140k. Do I have any chance of collecting damages from Chicago Title for my loss of profit and to be determined loss of initial investment; afterall I still haven't been able to sell the property. Also, Chicago Title paid thousands of dollars to the law firm they selected to handle this issue, however shouldn't they reimburse me for the money I spent on legal fees prior to them accepting the claim? They took their sweet time officially accepting the claim and in the mean time I had a buyer waiting for clear title so obviously I employed a reputable firm to try and resolve the issue; only $700. My primary concern is lost profits and potential loss of additional capital when the property eventually sells.
