Our Services
Buying or selling a property is the largest monetary transaction most of us experience in our personal lives. Buying or selling a property usually involves the transfer of a large sum of money. As a buyer or seller, you want to make sure that all the conditions of the sale have been met before property and money exchange hands. Through the years, custom has dictated that money and all related documents be transferred through a neutral third party. Heartland Abstract, Inc. issues title policies and offers complete escrow closing services including residential, commercial and industrial in the metro Philadelphia area.
Buyer's Services Seller's Services
Building Your Real Estate Team
Whether you are buying or selling, it's best not to hire a one man band.
Its time to assemble your Real Estate team:
Realtor
Every house for sale anywhere in the nation is available for you or your realtor to find on the internet.
Title Insurance Agent
Choose Heartland Abstract as your title agent. Our focus is on you!
Attorney
Think of your real estate attorney as the quarterback of your team.
Mortgage Broker/Lender
Your best bet in choosing a mortgage broker is to engage an experienced title agent or attorney.
Buying a home is, for many of us, the biggest single investment we'll ever make. Knowing this, most homeowners provide for the security and safekeeping of their homes by insuring them against hazards such as fire, theft and weather damage.
But there is another hazard that can pose an even greater risk to homeownership: defects in the title to your property can cause you to lose part or all of the investment in your home.
Fortunately, there is a way to protect your investment from these title defects. It comes in the form of title insurance.
What is title insurance and why do you need it? We've listed the answers to these and other commonly asked questions.
Standard | Enhanced | |
Someone else owns an interest in your title | ||
A document is not properly signed | ||
Forgery, fraud, duress in chain of title | ||
Defective recording of any documents | ||
There are restrictive covenants | ||
There is a lien on your title from: | ||
- Deed of trust/mortgage | ||
- Violates a restriction in Schedule B | ||
Title is unmarketable | ||
Mechanic's Lien | ||
Forced removal of a structure because it: | ||
- Extends onto another property and/or easement | ||
- Violates a restriction in Schedule B | ||
- Violates an existing zoning law* | ||
Cannot use the land as a single family residence because the use violates a Restriction in Schedule B or zoning | ||
Unrecorded lien by a homeowners' association | ||
Unrecorded Easements | ||
Building permit violations* | ||
Restrictive Covenant violations | ||
Post-policy forgery | ||
Post-policy encroachment | ||
Post-policy damage from extractions of minerals or water | ||
Lack of vehicular and pedestrian access | ||
Maps not consistent with legal description | ||
Post policy adverse possession | ||
Post policy prescriptive easement | ||
Covenant violation resulting in reversion of title to previous owner | ||
Violation of building setback regulations | ||
Discriminatory Covenants | ||
OTHER BENEFITS | ||
---|---|---|
Pays rent for substitute land or facilities | ||
Rights under unrecorded leases | ||
Plain language statements of policy coverage and restrictions | ||
Subdivision law violation | ||
Coverage for boundary wall or fence encroachment* | ||
Added ownership coverage leads to enhanced marketability | ||
Insurance coverage for a lifetime | ||
Post policy inflation coverage (150% over five years) | ||
Post policy Living Trust Coverage | ||
NOTE: Enhanced policy costs more than the standard policy | *Deductible and maximum limits apply |
Heartland
Abstract:
Our Company,
Our Store And
Our Philosophy
Heartland Abstract was formed in 2000, as a result of the acquisition of Heartland Settlement Company. Founding partners Andrew J. Monastra, Esquire and Bonnie Gregory have set the bar for professional excellence in title insurance in Southeastern Pennsylvania for a combined 70 plus years. In fact, many of our competitors in the area were trained by Bonnie and Andrew. But why settle for the pupil when you can work with the teacher?
At Heartland Abstract we choose to follow a different path than our competitors. Our competitors will form title insurance agencies with realtors, lenders and builders – Heartland Abstract will not. Why? Because realtors, lenders and builders view title insurance as just another potential profit center. The realtors, lenders and builders will use your confidence in them as a way to send you to “their” title company, which will then charge you hundreds of dollars in extra fees (satisfaction fees, settlement fees, wire fees, document preparation fees, etc.). The title companies charge you these “junk” fees because they have to share their profits with their referring partners at the end of the year. Since the profits are shared, the title companies extend their margins by charging you “junk” fees. Heartland does not share profits with anyone else, and charges no junk fees. Period.
Heartland Abstract only looks out for our customers. Heartland Abstract does not sponsor the XYZ Realty Company's Holiday Party or rent “space” from realtors, lenders or
builders, or pay for their marketing expenses so that they in turn will prevail upon you, the consumer, to purchase your title insurance, including all the junk fees, from their title agency. Heartland Abstract wants no part of that type of business arrangement as it adds unnecessary expenses to you - the homebuyer.
Our parents taught us that doing something deceitful is not acceptable because “everyone else is doing it.” We want you to make an informed choice about from whom you purchase your Pennsylvania title insurance, BECAUSE IT IS YOUR CHOICE. The realtor, lender or builder has no say in the matter. The only reason they have created a culture where their customers believe they must use their beholden title agents is because they want more of your money. How does that help you?
View our blogs
What are the different types of home insurance
The Top 5-First Time Homewoner Tips For Insurance
A Home Buying Checklist For First Time Buyers