Real Estate Tip – Avoid a Grinch-y No Coverage Surprise: Add a UCC Policy to Your Title Insurance Checklist

No matter the time of year, an unknown lien against income producing assets may turn the jolliest landlords and tenants into humbugs. Owner’s or leasehold owner’s title insurance policies protect real estate interests, but as we learned in the previous tip, personal property liens against items like wind machines, cell towers and solar arrays may not be in the land records and ultimately not covered by your title policy.

Avoid the “no coverage” surprise and the possibility of making the wrong personal property v. real estate determination by buying both a title policy and a Uniform Commercial Code coverage policy from your title insurer. The UCC policy won’t assure that you’re the owner like title insurance does with real estate, but it will insure that there are no surprise liens against the equipment.

Today’s real estate tip is brought to you by Rick Smith, a member of Bernstein Shur’s Real Estate Practice Group. Stay tuned for more useful tips for real estate professionals.

For more information on title insurance and UCC policies, contact Rick at rsmith@bernsteinshur.com or 603 623-8700 ext. 8829 or 207 774-1200.