Place An Order For Title Insurance

A title commitment is our written promise to insure the title at closing, subject to the items it lists. We examine the public record (deeds, mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, and court filings), trace the chain of ownership, and tell everyone exactly what has to be cleared before the deal can close.

Order a commitment once you have a signed contract and need title work started. We deliver it with the requirements spelled out plainly, so you and your client know what stands between contract and closing and there are no surprises late in the deal.

Title insurance protects against problems the search did not reveal: a forged signature in the chain, a missing heir, a recording error, or a lien that surfaces after closing. A lender’s policy protects the bank and is almost always required when a buyer finances. An owner’s policy protects the buyer’s equity up to the purchase price.

The lender’s policy does nothing for the buyer’s own equity, so we recommend an owner’s policy on every purchase and explain to the client exactly what it covers. Our policies are underwritten by Advocus, the only bar-related title underwriter based in Illinois.

A letter report is a limited title search delivered as a written report rather than an insurance commitment. We search the public records and report what is recorded against a specific parcel (mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, and the deeds in the chain) back to a date you specify.

Banks, lenders, businesses, and other professionals order letter reports to confirm there are no liens, verify current ownership, or pull the vesting deeds without paying for a full policy. They are faster and less expensive than a commitment and answer a narrow question with a clear written record.

The closing is where the deal happens: the deed is signed, funds change hands, the loan is funded, and the documents are recorded. We prepare and review the closing documents, calculate the credits and prorations, hold the escrow, and record the deed and mortgage with the county recorder where the property sits.

We close purchases, sales, refinances, new construction, cash deals, and for-sale-by-owner transactions for residential and commercial property. Whether your client is the buyer, the seller, or both sides of a family transfer, we coordinate with everyone so the funds reconcile and the title transfers cleanly.

A deed is the document that transfers ownership, and the type of deed controls what the seller promises about the title. We prepare warranty deeds, special (limited) warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, and the deeds used to move property within a family or into a trust.

We make sure the deed names the parties exactly as they hold title, carries the correct legal description and parcel number, and is properly signed, notarized, and accompanied by the transfer declaration the recorder requires. A deed that is even slightly wrong can cloud title for years, so this is not the place for a fill-in-the-blank form.

You can open a title order three ways: fill out the order form on this page, email our title team at leslie@mtvernonlaw.com, or call (618) 316-7322 ext. 4. Send the property address, transaction type, price or loan amount, and the parties, and we confirm the order and start the search.

The more detail you can give us up front (county, target closing date, lender contact, and any prior title policy), the faster we can open the file and spot anything that might slow the closing. If we need more, we reach out, often the same business day.

To open a title order we need a way to identify the property (a street address, or a PIN or location description for land with no street address), the county, the transaction type, the price or loan amount, the buyer and seller names, and a target closing date. Lender and escrow details help us line up the lender’s policy and the figures.

A prior title policy, if one exists, can speed the search. Please do not send Social Security numbers or other confidential personal or financial information through the web form; we gather anything sensitive through a secure channel once the file is open. If you only have part of this when you place the order, send what you have and we follow up for the rest.

Turn time depends on the county, the property, and how clean the title is. A straightforward residential commitment usually comes back quickly, while a file with liens to clear, a death in the chain, or a slow county takes longer. We give you a realistic timeline when we confirm your order.

Because we clear title problems in-house instead of sending them out, files that would stall elsewhere often keep moving here. If anything threatens your closing date, you hear about it early, not the day before closing.

Yes. That is the core of how we work. Olson & Reeves co-owns Mt. Vernon Title Company, so the same office searches and clears title, issues the policy, prepares the deed, and runs the closing. One file and one point of contact from contract to recording, underwritten by Advocus.

Keeping it in one office removes the hand-offs that cause delays when a separate lawyer and title company have to coordinate. It also means one team that knows your file is still there if a question comes up after closing.

Our title work is underwritten by Advocus National Title Insurance Company, formerly Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, the only bar-related title insurance underwriter based in Illinois. Advocus was built by Illinois lawyers on the idea that a real attorney should stand behind the largest transaction of a client’s life.

For your client, that means title insurance that comes through an accountable attorney-agent rather than an out-of-state processing center. For you, it means a closing office that answers its own phone and knows the deal.

In Illinois the buyer and seller choose the title and closing provider. An agent or lender can recommend a provider, but cannot require a client to use one. We are glad to earn that work by doing it well, and your client is always free to choose.

We keep this simple and above-board. We do not offer anything of value in exchange for sending us business, and nothing on this page should be read as asking you to. If you recommend us, recommend us because the title and closing get done right.

Yes. We handle purchases, sales, refinances, new construction, cash transactions, and for-sale-by-owner closings for residential and commercial property. We prepare and review the closing documents, hold escrow, calculate credits and prorations, and record the deed and mortgage in the county where the property sits.

We do not perform abstracting or mineral-interest searches. For everything else in a standard Southern Illinois closing, the order form on this page is the fastest way to get started.

Yes. A letter report is a limited title search delivered as a written report rather than an insurance commitment. We report what is recorded against a parcel (mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, and the deeds in the chain) back to a date you choose. It is faster and less expensive than a full policy.

Banks, lenders, businesses, and other professionals use letter reports to confirm there are no liens, verify current ownership, or obtain copies of the vesting deeds without paying for a full title commitment. Select “Letter report” on the order form and tell us the search date you need.

Olson & Reeves co-owns Mt. Vernon Title Company, so the legal work and the title work come from one office. Where that affiliation applies to a transaction, the consumer receives a disclosure and remains free to choose any title or closing provider.

The affiliation is what lets us move a file from contract to recording without hand-offs. It does not limit anyone’s choice: the disclosure spells out the relationship, and the buyer and seller decide who handles their title and closing.