How To Use A Quit Claim Deed

The Quit Claim deed is the most common deed. It is literally a deed to quit any claim you have on real property. The deed does not guarantee you have interest in the property only that you are abandoning any interest you may have to the persons receiving the deed. It is mistakenly called a Quick Claim deed or quitclaim deed.

Purpose of the Quit Claim Deed

A quitclaim deed does transfer any ownership held by the seller to the buyer, but does this without guarantees. If a seller issues this deed on property they don’t own, they are not liable in any way. They are not guaranteeing they own anything, they are just transferring any interest they may own to the buyer.

When Are They Used

This type of deed was not meant to be used in standard real estate transactions. It was designed to be used for very specific purposes. These include:

• Transferring property between family members.
• Adding additional owners to your property.
• Transferring your land to a Family Trust or Company.
• Donating property.
• Clearing up title problems.
• Changing the vesting of your property.
• Correcting errors in previous deeds.

The above uses do not include the transfer of money. When property is sold a Warranty Deed should be used.

How They Affect Real Estate Buyers

A buyer should never accept this deed in a real property transaction. It provides no guarantees that you now own the property. If the seller owned the property or a portion of the property it does transfer their ownership however, if you later find title problems you have no recourse against the seller.

How They Affect Real Estate Sellers

Using this deed is helpful to sellers. When transferring property they are not making any guarantees to the buyer. If there are title problems a seller may want to use a quit claim deed to transfer real estate. This should be a red flag to any buyer of possible title problems.

This type of deed is not appropriate for real estate transactions. It should only be used for purposes listed above or similar that do involve the transfer of money.

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The Warranty Deed. The Warranty Deed is the most secure deed and should be used in all real estate transactions. This deed guarantees title to the buyer.

The Special Warranty Deed. The Special Warranty Deed is a compromise deed. It guarantees title only for the time the seller owned the real estate.