Conveyance Law has prepared title opinions on commercial and residential transactions of every size, including service as lead title attorney on multi-state corporate transactions involving hundreds of sites. We issue commercial and residential title opinions, platting opinions, and the certifications required for Iowa Title Guaranty coverage and for institutional lenders.
Iowa is the only state where private title insurance does not operate for most transactions. Instead, Iowa uses a state-administered system: attorneys examine title and issue title opinions, and the Iowa Title Guaranty Division of the Iowa Finance Authority issues certificates of title guaranty based on those opinions for properties that qualify.
The result is that the attorney’s title opinion carries the legal weight that, in other states, gets distributed across an underwriter’s opinion and the title insurance commitment. For out-of-state lenders, attorneys, and buyers unfamiliar with the system, the implication is that the Iowa attorney issuing the title opinion is the substantive title authority on the transaction. The opinion needs to be done correctly, completely, and on a schedule that doesn’t hold up the closing.
What’s actually in a title examination
A complete title examination reviews the abstract or title evidence and identifies:
- The chain of title from the original conveyance through the proposed closing, with attention to gaps, defective conveyances, and breaks in the chain
- Recorded encumbrances: mortgages, liens, judgments, mechanic’s liens, and tax liens of record
- Easements: both recorded easements and any apparent easements not of record
- Restrictive covenants and deed restrictions, including analysis under the Iowa Marketable Record Title Act of which restrictions remain enforceable
- Vacated rights-of-way and alleys, and the related reversion rights
- Title defects that have ripened into prescriptive claims, boundary by acquiescence, or adverse possession
- Mineral and royalty interests severed from the surface estate
- Tax status and any current or delinquent special assessments
- Pending litigation affecting title, including lis pendens
The title opinion summarizes findings, identifies defects to be cured, and sets the requirements that need to be satisfied before closing.
Cure work and title objections
Most transactions of any complexity surface at least one title issue that needs to be addressed before closing. Curing these, through quiet title actions, corrective deeds, easement releases, lien releases, scoped title insurance endorsements, or affirmative coverage from Iowa Title Guaranty, is a meaningful part of title practice. We handle the cure work on transactions where we issue the opinion, and we coordinate with title companies and underwriters where private coverage is involved.
Pricing
The legal foundation of every Iowa transaction, at a flat fee.
Iowa title opinions are offered at flat fees for most engagements, including platting opinions and Iowa Title Guaranty certifications. Where the abstract raises unusual cure work, we quote that work separately and confirm the fee in writing before work begins.
Flat fees
Commercial Title Opinion$625
Residential Title Opinion$375
Platting Opinion$625
Quiet Title Action$2,000
Release of Mortgage$375
Deed$125
Routine engagements. Abstract continuation and recording fees billed at cost.
Common questions
How much does a title opinion cost in Iowa?
Our flat fee is $625 for a commercial title opinion and $375 for a residential title opinion. Substantially complex parcels, such as multi-parcel assemblages or heavily encumbered ground, may be priced separately, and we confirm the fee in writing before work begins. See our full pricing.
How long does a title opinion take?
The schedule usually turns on the abstract, not the opinion. Once the continued abstract is in hand, a routine examination and written opinion typically takes a few business days, and we flag anything that needs curing right away so the cure work starts early rather than the week of closing.
What is the difference between a title opinion and title insurance?
Iowa is the only state that primarily uses an abstract-and-attorney system instead of private title insurance. A licensed abstractor certifies the parcel’s complete record history, and an attorney examines it and issues a written opinion. Buyers and lenders who need formal coverage for secondary-market purposes can add an Iowa Title Guaranty certificate, which provides ALTA-form coverage on top of the attorney opinion.
Do lenders accept attorney title opinions in Iowa?
Yes. Iowa lenders work from attorney opinions as a matter of course, and national lenders on Iowa collateral typically pair the opinion with an Iowa Title Guaranty lender certificate. We handle both.
What happens if the title opinion finds a defect?
The opinion lists each objection and what will cure it. Most defects are routine and cured by paperwork: a release for an old mortgage that was paid but never released, a curative affidavit for a name discrepancy or a marital interest, probate documentation for an estate transfer that was never completed. The seller is usually responsible for delivering clear title, so cure work typically lands on the seller’s side before closing. The rare defect that paperwork cannot fix, such as a genuinely disputed interest, is resolved through a quiet title action. The earlier the abstract gets examined, the more cure options stay cheap.
Related reading: Commercial Real Estate Conveyancing in Iowa: How Title, Abstract, and Closing Actually Work
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Working with our firm
If you’re considering a project, structuring a transaction, or working through a problem that’s developing, we’d be glad to talk. The decisions made early in a deal compound, and engaging the right legal counsel before the structure is locked in is meaningfully more valuable than fixing things later.
Conveyance Law, PLC | Des Moines, Iowa | 515.519.3600
