How to read Schedule B of a title commitment before closing

Schedule A names the proposed insured, the type and amount of proposed policy, the estate or interest to be insured, the person shown as owner and the land description. Check the purchaser's legal name, the policy amount and whether the legal description matches the deed and survey. If you expected coverage for a driveway across a second parcel, do not assume it is included just because you use the driveway. Ask whether the access right is described and insured.

The commitment has an effective date. A deed or lien recorded after that date may not have appeared in the first examination. Your closing team should address the gap between commitment and closing through its customary update and closing procedures. Ask for a revised commitment when major changes occur, and compare its exceptions with the final policy after closing.

ALTA's form expressly says the commitment is not an abstract of title, report of title condition or legal opinion. It is not a promise that no other rights exist. That is why the wording in a recorded instrument and the conditions you can observe on site deserve separate attention.

Part I is the closing to-do list. Typical entries require the proper deed to the buyer, payment of the purchase price and premiums, discharge of an existing mortgage, and recording of documents. The exact list depends on the transaction. A requirement is not the same thing as an exception: it is something the insurer says must happen to issue the policy on the offered terms.

Take each requirement seriously. If the seller has a lien to discharge, ask who will obtain and record the release and when it will appear in the public index. If the seller is a trust or company, ask the title agent whether the signer's authority has been documented. If a requirement asks for a new easement or access agreement, ask to see the final signed instrument and legal description before funds move.

Do not assume the printed commitment proves a requirement was met. At closing, ask for an updated status and copies of any recorded releases or agreements. After closing, keep the issued policy and compare the insured land description and exceptions with what you were promised. If an important requirement remains unresolved, raise it with the settlement agent before signing, rather than expecting the policy to cure it later.

Part II lists risks that the proposed policy will not insure against, unless an exception is deleted or modified in the issued policy. Some are broad, sometimes called standard or general exceptions: matters that a survey or inspection could show, rights of people in possession, and unrecorded rights may appear in different wording depending on the policy and jurisdiction. Others identify particular recorded instruments by document number, book and page, or plat reference.

Not everything in Part II is an easement. A subdivision's covenants may limit building materials or rental uses; a utility grant may reserve a strip for underground lines; a plat may dedicate road right-of-way; a mineral reservation concerns subsurface interests. Property taxes, existing leases and an old deed restriction each pose a different question. Read the noun and the referenced instrument instead of treating every line as a fence or building setback.

An exception can also have an exclusion-by-reference effect: the commitment might except matters shown on a recorded plat without copying each note. Get the plat and read all its notes, easement labels, building lines and dedication language. A seemingly routine plat reference can have a larger effect on a small lot than a separately listed utility grant.

A title exception changes insurance coverage; it does not create the underlying right or locate it in the yard. Conversely, an existing right need not be listed accurately for it to become a real dispute. Ask your title company how a specific exception will appear in the issued policy, and ask an attorney licensed where the land sits if its legal scope is contested.

Suppose Part II says 'easement for utilities recorded as Instrument 12345.' First, retrieve Instrument 12345 from the county recorder or clerk. Identify the owner who granted it, the utility or other holder, and any later amendment, assignment, release or relocation. A one-line title description is not the operative language.

Second, read the grant's purpose, its described width and location, and its access and maintenance clauses. Some grants describe a fixed-width strip by a surveyed exhibit. Others permit a line in an undefined location or affect an entire parcel. If the text says 'blanket easement,' drawing a neat 10-foot strip from it would invent certainty. Ask the holder whether it has as-built plans, but do not mistake those plans for a recorded boundary.

Third, compare the grant and recorded plat with a current survey prepared for the parcel. A county GIS overlay may help you spot an issue, but it is not a boundary survey. Ask the surveyor to locate record easements to the extent their documents allow. If you intend a deck, addition or driveway, give the survey and plans to the easement holder and local permit office before construction. Neither the existence of a title policy nor the apparent emptiness of the yard is permission to build.

Fourth, ask the insurer what happens to this item on the final policy. Can a specifically worded exception be narrowed to its actual recorded location? Will a survey allow a general exception to be amended? Whether that is possible depends on underwriting, local forms and the evidence supplied; it is a request, not an entitlement. Get any promised change in the commitment or policy in writing.

Your purchase contract may set a deadline for objecting to title matters. The deadline is contractual and varies by deal; do not rely on a generic number of days. Ask your agent or attorney when it falls, whether the seller may cure objections, and what choices you have if a material exception remains. Put important objections in the form and channel the contract requires.

A useful question is specific: 'Which recorded document creates item 8, where does it cross the proposed garage footprint, and will the policy except the whole parcel or only the surveyed strip?' That is much more actionable than 'Is the title clean?' Ask for copies of every referenced document, not just a list of numbers. Ask whether the title agent has checked amendments and releases under the same parties' names.

Compare the title list with what you see: a worn access path, a drainage swale, power equipment or a neighbor's fence may reveal something the paper alone cannot explain. Photograph the site and ask a surveyor about placement. This is especially important if a standard exception leaves survey or possession matters uninsured. For a lender policy, remember that the lender's insured interest is not the same as an owner's policy for your investment. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains the distinction in its homeowner guidance.

Keep the issued owner's policy, all endorsements, final survey, recorded deed, plat, relevant easement instruments and correspondence about requested changes. The issued policy, not the preliminary commitment, establishes the actual coverage. Verify its named insured, legal description, amount and exceptions promptly. If the promised narrowing did not appear, ask the title company to correct the discrepancy while the closing file is fresh.

For future projects, revisit the documents rather than relying on the prior buyer's interpretation. A fence allowed by a neighbor today may obstruct utility access tomorrow. If the issue affects closing, insurance coverage or a proposed structure, a local title professional, surveyor or real estate attorney can resolve the specific facts. A preliminary online report can organize the questions, but it cannot substitute for those records and professional decisions.