A deed is a legal document used to transfer the title of a property from a seller to a buyer. The buyer will not have ownership of the property until the deed is legally signed and notarized.
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The deed requirements by law
- It must be filed in the public record by a government official
- It has to be notarized
- You might need witness based on your state law
Major real estate types of deeds
- General warranty deed: It provides high-level protection of the buyer. It guarantees that the person selling a property has full rights to it and the property in question has no lien or other related debts on it.
- Special warranty deed: This one does not provide as much protection of the buyer as the general warranty deed.
- The bargain and sale deed: It does not provide the protection of the buyer. It does not clearly state that you have the title of the property. In addition, this deed does not clarify if there is a lien on the title. Should you discover problems later, you will not have legal help on this matter.
- Quitclaim deed: It has the least protection to the buyer. Usually, it is used to transfer titles between individuals who know each other. Since the quitclaim offers much less protection, you could lose the property. For example, let’s assume that you bought a house from your cousin. If you later discover that the house does not belong to your cousin, you will not be able to sue him.
When do deeds get used?
Most real estate transactions used some of these deeds to transfer titles from holders to receivers. The difference between these deeds is the agreement and warranties associated with them. Local attorneys will normally prepare deeds. Their sizes depend on states and who prepared them. They could be one page or several pages.
