What Is a Title Commitment?
Also known as: Commitment for Title Insurance
A title commitment is a written offer from a title insurer describing the conditions under which it will issue a title insurance policy on a property. It lists who appears to own it, what liens and exceptions the search found, and what must be cleared before closing.
A title commitment is a written offer from a title insurer describing the conditions under which it will issue a title insurance policy on a property. It lists who appears to own it, what liens and exceptions the search found, and what must be cleared before closing.
Title Commitment explained
After the title company searches the public record, it issues a commitment organized in sections. One part identifies the property, the proposed insured, the current owner of record, and the policy to be issued. Another lists requirements that must be satisfied before the policy issues, such as paying off a mortgage, recording a release, or obtaining a signature from a missing owner. A third lists exceptions, the matters the policy will not cover, like recorded easements and restrictions. The commitment previews the final policy; it is not itself the policy.
Dispo managers and transaction coordinators read the commitment closely because it answers whether the seller can actually convey title and what will be paid at closing. A mortgage payoff, an unpaid tax lien, a judgment against the owner, or a deceased owner with no probate all show up here, often weeks after the contract was signed. In a wholesale deal the commitment also confirms that the seller on the contract is the owner of record, which protects an assignment or double close from falling apart at the table.
People misuse it in two ways. They skim the requirements and miss the item that blocks closing, or they read the exceptions as problems the title company will fix when those items are simply carved out of coverage. The commitment can also change if the search turns up something new before closing, and it expires if the deal does not close. Ordering it early, reviewing it with the title officer, and starting any curative work immediately keeps a clouded title from eating the closing timeline.
Example
Three days after signing, a transaction coordinator receives the commitment on a house the seller says he owns free and clear. The requirements section shows an old mortgage that was never released and a judgment against the seller, both of which must be paid or cleared from the proceeds. The coordinator tells the acquisitions manager, who gets the seller’s agreement to the payoff arrangements before the deal goes to a buyer.
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