Warranty Deed

Warranty deeds: one is a general deed while the other is a special deed. Discover which one you need to transfer your property.

Jasper L. Edwards

A deed is a special written instrument that conveys or passes the title of a property from one party to another. Regardless of whether you are buying a house from a stranger, inheriting it from your parents or adding your spouse to the home’s title, you will require a deed for transferring the title.

There are various kinds of deeds but titles are often transferred using a warranty deed. They provide the buyer (grantee) with the legal protection they need since the seller (grantor) warrants or pledges that they legally own the property in question and things such outstanding mortgages, liens or other encumbrances do not exist.

General or Special Warranty Deed?

There are two kinds of warranty deeds; one is a general deed while the other is a special deed. When it comes to a general deed, the grantor’s title and all of their interest to the property are conveyed to the grantee. In addition, the deed also guarantees that in case the title happens to be defective or have things such as a tax lien, mortgage claim, title claim, mechanics lien or judgment tied to it, the grantee can hold the grantor accountable.

With a special deed, the grantor passes the title of the property to the grantee with a promise to protect the grantee against any claims asserted by grantor or any other parties who may have asserted their rights against the title during the time the grantor was in possession of the title. With this type of deed, the grantee is assured that nothing was done during the time the grantor held the title that could impair it. In addition, the warranty also guarantees that the title has no defects.

With a warranty deed, there has to be a detailed description of the specified property being conveyed, signatures and witnesses in accordance with state laws. Once this is done, the deed needs to be sent to buyer at or before closing. Buyers of the property should also record the deed at the office of public records, which is mostly found at the county courthouse. When buyers record the deed, it provides notice to the public that the specified property is no longer on the market. Even though the seller grantees good title, buyers should not mistake a warranty deed for title insurance since the warranty from a seller who goes on to become bankrupt or dies, makes the title to have little or no value.

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