New Jersey is my home state. I grew up in a town outside of Philadelphia called Cherry Hill. I spent my summers "downashore". I keep my eye on what's happening there as best I can. There was some great drama in the late 90s that explains the need for title insurance to customers who think it's a "scam".
Wildwood was always the "party town" of the Jersey shore. High school kids and college students used to head down to Wildwood to celebrate their newfound freedom as adults. You all know how that goes; raucous parties which made it difficult for Wildwood to establish itself as a "family" vacation place. I guess Mayor Fred Wager and the town council decided that the riches from Casino gaming (allowed only in Atlantic City) were the answer to their problems.
The town council agreed to deed a parking lot to the Delaware Indian tribe who would pay the city $8 million annually in rent. The tribe also agreed not to operate restaurants, nightclubs, etc. Just a gaming hall. Well, this set up tremendous drama because New Jersey state law only authorizes casino gaming in Atlantic City (and takes a 8% tax on all receipts). Other ancillary businesses were not happy about Wildwood encroaching upon the monopoly AC had (I imagine the Sopranos family was upset also).
Don't stop reading, yet. Here's where it gets funny.
The state talked about intervening. It seems that the Delaware Indian tribe sued the city and state claiming that Wildwood sat on ancestral tribal grounds. Well, the tribe's law firm must have had some good researchers because they found a problem in the chain of title.
It seems that all land sales and treaties have to be ratified by the US Congress. Somehow, someway, some bright young law clerk discovered that Congress never ratified a treaty for the sale of the land from (you guessed it, the predecessor of the Delaware tribe) in the early 1800s. I don't need to tell you Realtors about unexecuted contracts. It further stated that all the land from Princeton south, in the State of New Jersey was affected by this non-ratified treaty.
New Jersey in the most densely populated state. It affected some 6 million people and some 2 million households. Close to 7 million pieces of property would be subject to a HUGE title claim.
A year later, the tribe withdrew the lawsuit.
Do you think title policies are a bargain now?
