How Do You "Get The Deed"?

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When you say to get the deed from the seller, what exactly is he or she giving you? Does the seller have to have the original deed to the property being sold, or does he get one somewhere? Can anyone elaborate on this? Also, what version of a deed do you get? As in quit-claim, general warranty, etc...

Comments(15)

  • samedwin9th March, 2004

    One of the ?'s I had as a newbie...
    You go to a title co. (or Taco Bell, LOL) and have them sign a piece of paper saying "Me, owner give you, Joe 123 Street, forever and ever amen", well you get the gist. That piece of paper MUST have a signature by Seller, Buyer AND notary. If you use title co. notary is built in. If you go to Taco Bell, you might want to bring your own because I doubt that anyone working there is a notary public. .
    Good luck "Getting The Deed"
    PS, get a Warranty deed if you can. It holds them liable for signing a CLEAR title over to you. Quitclaim says that they give you their portion, whatever that may be... even if it's none, know what I mean.
    I heard some states are not taking QCD anymore, (California?) BUT DON'T QUOTE ME ONE THAT....
    Best of luck
    Sam

  • active_re_investor10th March, 2004

    'Get the deed' means you legally transfer the title of the property from the owner to yourself (or your company, trust, etc).

    They are selling or giving you the property and you want the deed to be correctly signed, etc.

    Record the deed once you have it signed. This completes the transaction in that you are publically declaring your interest in the property. In some states if the deed is not recorded it is not considered valid (someone else can record a deed after your signed deed and you lose you position).

    John

  • loon11th March, 2004

    I'm still not comfortable "getting the deed" (asking for it) on my first visit. But I am comfortable getting a Purchase Agreement (or 'Buy Offer and Acceptance', etc.dep. on state), which need not be notarized or recorded and is a solid first step.

  • InActive_Account11th March, 2004

    I'm still confused by what samedwin was saying. Here is what I think I understand:
    I'm at the sellers house and he agree's to give me the house sub 2. I then pull out a Agreement for Deed and have the Seller/Me/Notary sign. I then record with the county clerks office and then what?

    How do I specify what kind of deed I get? Any help would be appreciated.

    THANKS

  • Stockpro9911th March, 2004

    Deeds are not necessarily notarized. Nice, but not abosolutely necessary.
    Must state who is the grantor and the grantee, the property in question etc.

    They should however be recorded, because most states follow the "race rule" meaning that whoever gets to the courthouse first gets theirs recorded.

  • InActive_Account11th March, 2004

    Stockpro,
    THanks for the reply, but to get back to Joefromphilly's question is the Deed a real document that the seller will have at their home or am I just signing the Agreement for Deed and getting it recorded. a little confused now.
    Ha

  • loon12th March, 2004

    "The Deed"--typically Warranty Deed or Trust Deed or whatever your state calls it--is a blank form you should carry along with all the other paperwork you'll need. It should be state-specific, and the right dimensions (my county requires 3" margin at top or it costs an extra $10 to record). It's not a bad idea to pay a lawyer to help you with the first couple to make sure you do it right, impress your sellers, and get your bearings. And don't forget essentials like title opinions/insurance and such. And in most state I think Deeds need to be notarized.

  • arytkatz12th March, 2004

    In IL, you can go down to the county offices and get various blank deed forms (or you can get them from the county online if your county is gone digital). The deeds I saw online for Mchenry Cty here in IL were a Warranty Deed and Quit Claim Deeds.

    You make copies of these blanks (or print them out) and then fill them out with appropriate buyer/seller information (sometimes refered to as Grantee/Grantor in the deeds): Seller grants to you, Buyer, this property for this consideration.
    In IL, our deeds must be notarized.

    When the signing and notarizing are all done, you go back to the county office and "record" your deed: basically you are saying that you are now the registered owner of that piece of property. (There are other things to consider when recording, like paying real estate transfer taxes here in IL, but that's for another post).

    I agree with the above poster: watch out for the "generic" deed forms you can find online. Check with a local title company or the county office to make sure you're using one that's right for your state/county/township, etc.

    Andy

    BTW: these are the same deeds you are going to fill out for your buyers, naming them as the new owners of the property. The only difference is that you do NOT go to the county and record these signed/notarized deeds until your buyer has completely satisfied the terms of your the Contract for Deed (if you are following $Cash Locke's Sub2 method).[ Edited by arytkatz on Date 03/12/2004 ]

  • JohnMerchant12th March, 2004

    Deeds are not necessarily notarized. Nice, but not abosolutely necessary.
    Must state who is the grantor and the grantee, the property in question etc.

    They should however be recorded, because most states follow the "race rule" meaning that whoever gets to the courthouse first gets theirs recorded.

    So far as know, no state will allow recording of any deed (or any other doc) that has not been notarized, and if a deed doesn't state description of RE and names of Grantor and Grantee, it really is not a deed.

  • Tedjr12th March, 2004

    A whole lot of confusion and misunderstanding here. I hope all members and investors get their deeds signed by the seller only and notarized and then recorded. Do not get a quit claim deed as these are no good. Most title companies will not insure them. Most sellers will sign whatever you stick in front of them. Get a warranty deed. The only reason you would need their old deed is to get the recording info off it, the lot and block # and the subdivision and the vol and page # where the plat can be found or other such county recording info. You can find notary at your bank, some car dealers and car title transfer offices, mail box stores, some grocery stores, neighborhood signs, and at the courthouse. I can not believe all the misinformation posted about this. I have never seen a buyer sign a deed and have never seen a deed not notarized.

    Good LUCK and Thank You
    Hope this helps some
    Ted Jr

  • samedwin13th March, 2004

    Ted Jr.
    Mea Culpa. I was thinking about CONTRACT OF SALE OF REAL PROPERTY (CFD) when I was referring to having the buyer sign, also. You are correct, only the seller (grantor) and notary need sign an actual deed over to a grantee.
    Sam

  • loon14th March, 2004

    I reviewed Mr. Locke's Sub To manual, and hope I'm not divulging too much proprietary info by paraphrasing... by "get the deed" he means you should take the existing deed--for copying--or a copy of it (I keep a small photocopier in my car for this) with you when you leave the house. But you only need them to sign one thing, the Purchase Agreement/Buy-Sell Offer & Deposit Recpt. document. Get that or some kind of contract before you leave to cement the deal, even if it's not notarized like a deed has to be.

  • mwinburn15th March, 2004

    A contract in and of itself is still not going to "seal" your deal. Remember the courts generally side with whoever filed first, so if you aren't the only one who got a contract signed, then whoever files it first wins.

    Your seller is sometimes more concerned with their problems than the technicalities that keep your title clear, and yes, they WILL sign multiple contracts without telling you.

    So either file a memorandum of contract to protect your interests, get a warranty deed, or both. Just having the deed without the memorandum could cause problems later on if another investor filed his or her own memorandum before you filed your deed.

  • JimFL15th March, 2004

    joefromphilly,
    Oh my, I see why you might be confused.
    Sadly, there are too many courses out there, and posts stating, "Get the deed".
    When someone is new, and not familiar with common RE terms, I can see how this might be taken as getting an actual deed handed to you.
    Like a car title.
    It don't work that way with RE however.

    When you buy a property, subject to the existing financing, you are taking ownership of the property, and leaving the existing financing in place, in the sellers name.
    The person on the loan, and who owns the house are two seperate things.
    When a seller grants(gives) title(ownership) of a property to you, they do so using a document called a deed.
    A deed simply conveys title(ownership) of the property to another person or entity.
    When posters mention different types of deeds here, this is because there are several kinds.
    Surely you've heard of a "Quit claim" deed?
    This is a deed that conveys whatever ownership interest someone MIGHT have in a property, subject to no conditions or warranties.
    I could "Quit claim deed" the townhall to you, but you get zilch cause I don't own it.
    Further, I could "Quit claim deed" a house to you, telling you it has $100k in leins on it, and in fact it has $150k.
    You'd could not come back at me, unless a contract stated that, because a "Quit claim" simply gives you what I had, mess and all.
    A warranty deed, or special warranty deed, or warranty deed to trustee all would convey(transfer) title(ownership) of a property, with certain garuntees of condition of title.
    Much better to buy with this, and seller with a quit claim deed.

    So, did that help at all?
    A deed is simply the document that one party signs, has witnessed, notarized, and recorded in public records, to convey title to another.
    A new deed is prepared.
    The deed the seller got when they purchased is merely a good thing to review to obtain a proper legal description for title work, and preparing your new deed.
    Something that if you are new, it would be wise to have an attorney help you prepare, to insure all docs are proper and legal for your area.

    Good luck, and hope this helps some,
    Jim FL
    [addsig]

  • JohnLocke16th March, 2004

    Jim FL,

    I thought you made the seller ride on the back of your Harley until they would sign anything even a deed.

    What an approach to getting the deed.

    John $Cash$ Locke

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