Caliban wrote in message
arthlink.net...
To anyone:
Let me add that I am looking at three houses. The oldest is 15 years old.
The youngest is 7 years old, and the original owner is selling it. (I have
paperwork from the county tax office confirming this.) All are in a large
neighborhood development less than 20 years old. I see on the Internet
that
title companies advertise examining the title for the last, say, 40 or 60
years. I am not convinced (yet) that whoever does the title search has
much
to do at all for either of these three homes, especially for the
7-year-old,
original owner house. Are there generally only fixed prices for title
searches? Or would it be worthwhile to shop around for someone who takes
into account the very little legal research needed (I think; could be
missing something) necessary, especially if I make an offer on the
7-year-old, original owner house?

The age of the house has nothing to do with it... how old is the land?

The point is, the property has a chain of title. Construction merely adds to
the potential for clouds on title like liens.

Not buying title insurance is the most foolish thing you can do in a real
estate transaction.

Something else to consider is resale. Title companies don't like dealing
with properties that have a lapse in insurance.