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Quitclaim Deed: A Document that transfers property-interest

Posted on: 05th Jun, 2005 10:42 pm
A quitclaim deed is a legal document that transfers your interest to another individual in the property such as
  • House - A building for human habitation
  • Land - A place which can be used for habitation, investment or any other purpose
  • Mobile home - A movable house that is parked in a place
Two parties are there in a quitclaim deed process – grantor and grantee. Grantor is the party that transfers the property and the grantee is the party that gets the property. In a quitclaim deed, no promises are made by the grantor that the property is lien-free. Before opting for this deed, it is advised that the grantor should consult an attorney and know about the possible consequences of such property transfer.

To help you get a clear idea of what a quitclaim deed (often misspelled as quick claim deeds or quit claim deeds) is, the whole information is divided into different sections:

When to use quitclaim deed

A quitclaim deed is commonly used in the following situations:

  1. In a divorce, when an ex-spouse transfers ownership of the property to the other.
  2. A spouse may add other spouse's name to the property title after marriage only by issuing the spouse a deed.
  3. At the time of purchasing a property, ownership is transferred from the seller to the buyer. For such transfer, parties involved may use a quitclaim, general warranty, or special warranty deed.
  4. Sometimes, previous owner of the property may retain some ownership interest in the property. This interest can be transferred to the new owner with the help of a quitclaim deed.
  5. A person planning a will or a living trust can use the document to transfer ownership of the property into a trust or the person they want to inherit the property.
  6. Parents willing to transfer the ownership in a property to a child or a relative before the property gets stuck in a probate.

6 Steps to follow in a quit claim deed

Preparing a quitclaim deed is very easy. Here are some quick steps to do so.

  1. First of all, obtain a quit claim deed form. You can get the form online. You can also obtain it from the office of the local county recorder.
  2. Fill in the names of the grantor and the grantee. If possible address of both the parties has to be filled in.
  3. Signature of the grantor should be there in the form. In some states, signatures of both the grantor and the grantee are required.
  4. A public notary should verify the signature of the grantor. Generally, the grantor has to sign the deed in front of a public notary.
  5. A legal description of the property is a must. This is because of the fact that without the legal description, deed can’t be recorded in the recorder’s office.
  6. In order to make the deed valid, it should be recorded in the recorder’s office.

Life estates and quitclaim deeds

Even after transferring a property through quitclaim, you can have the right to stay there till your death. This is possible only if you retain a life estate for yourself. A life estate is a kind of estate where you retain interest in the property for your lifetime, and specifically name the person to whom the property is to go to immediately after your death.

Reverse/undo quitclaim

Once you have signed a quitclaim, the only way to get the property back is to have the grantee quitclaim it back to you or prove the transfer was invalid. If you can prove that you signed the deed under threat, external pressure, or the grantee made you sign by telling you false information, then you can have the quitclaim deed invalidated. For invalidating a deed, consult an attorney in your state. Learn more...

This legal document is a good way to transfer property if you are transferring it between family. The best way to transfer property to or from someone who is not family is to use a general or special warranty deed which gives the buyer warranties as well as transfers property.

Related Readings

Related Forum Discussions

Hi carolynjeter,

I will suggest you to contact a real estate attorney and take his opinion in this regard. Depending upon that you can take further actions.

Thanks
Posted on: 21st Sep, 2012 11:19 pm
If five family members are on the quitclaim deed, do all five family members have to approve the sale of the real estate? or Can one person decide to sell it on their own? Thanks!
Posted on: 24th Sep, 2012 05:47 pm
Hi Dorothy!

Welcome to forums!

If there are five family members on the property deed, then all of them have to agree to the sale of the property. Unless everyone agrees, I don't think the sale of the property will take place.

Feel free to ask if you've further queries.

Sussane
Posted on: 24th Sep, 2012 11:03 pm
l sent you a question and did not receive an answer
Posted on: 19th Oct, 2012 09:10 am
Hi Norma!

Welcome to the forums!

It will be great if you could re-post the question or post the url of your query.

Sussane
Posted on: 25th Oct, 2012 01:16 am
bought a house while married, due to my wife's bad credit the loan was gotten in just my name and she signed off on the interspousal deed. now a divorce is imminent and i am willing to give up the house to her but she has a bad credit. will any lender fund her? what do i do so i dont carry the responsibility?
Posted on: 13th Nov, 2012 07:22 pm
hi guest,

if your wife has bad credit, then the lender won't fund her a loan. she won't be able to refinance the mortgage in her name and release you from your liabilities.
Posted on: 13th Nov, 2012 10:52 pm
We sold our home 12 years ago to a couple that assumed our mortgage. We thought we were released from the mortgage and recently shredded all paperwork regarding this transaction as it had been so long. Last week we received a certified letter from the Trustee stating the new owners had defaulted and the property will be sold at auction in 3 months. We are now wondering how we can reclaim the property, fix it, and perhaps re-sell it? We no longer live in the area and cannot reach the new owners by phone. We were named as Trustors on the letter. Where to start?
Posted on: 18th Nov, 2012 08:55 pm
Hi Tricia,

You should contact the concerned lender and discuss your plan with him. It will be the lender's discretion whether or not he will allow you to get back the property.
Posted on: 20th Nov, 2012 09:21 pm
hello i buy a home in florida but that person sale that house his take from forcloser, and now i want sale my house and i have one problem for sale , that tiltle company send me this This property was in foreclosure before it was
conveyed to you and the foreclosure needs to be re-done, but i dont understand whats is this, can u helpme and may giveme one xplication of this , whats that problem please
Posted on: 12th Dec, 2012 12:35 am
Hi remm!

Welcome to forums!

Did you buy the property from the foreclosure sale? And did the lender recover all his dues? If yes, then I don't think the foreclosure needs to be re-done again. It will be better if you could get in touch with an attorney and take his opinion in this matter.

Feel free to ask if you've further queries.

Sussane
Posted on: 12th Dec, 2012 09:34 pm
My wife and I couldn't find a traditional buyer for our house. We transferred the title to a couple through a wrap-around. They got divorced, she moved out, and he is behind on the mortgage to us. We are concerned about how to get the title of the property back in our name after eviction--does that happen automatically?
Posted on: 18th Dec, 2012 04:23 pm
Hi Chris,

As far as I know, it won't happen automatically. If the property has been transferred to both of them, then you will have to get in touch with them and ask them to sign a quitclaim deed and transfer the property back to you.

Thanks
Posted on: 18th Dec, 2012 08:58 pm
My son's name was entered into the loan when Iapplied for a equity loan and I am paying the mortgage ever since 2002.Now my son wants that his name be romove because he want to buy for his own Please help me what todo.
Posted on: 28th Dec, 2012 05:01 pm
hi jun,

you will have to refinance the mortgage in your name in order to remove your son's name from the loan docs.

thanks
Posted on: 30th Dec, 2012 10:37 pm
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