
The party receiving title to the property acquires only those interests and rights that the grantor previously had. If not recorded, the actual physical deed must be held by the owner to demonstrate ownership and if lost, requires a complex court action to demonstrate good title to the land.Ī quitclaim deed is a term used to describe a document by which a person transfers or quits any interest that person may have in a piece of real property and passes title to another person. Most deeds must be notarized to be effective. Thus, if W granted X title and X granted title to Y, but Z shows no title from Y but has name on title from A, there is a break in continuity of title and true ownership may not be demonstrated by the deeds alone. A break in the chain of title occurs when there is a period in which there appears to record owner that precedes the current owner. Thus, recording increases the protection of the deed.Ĭhain of title is simply the history of the deeds ownerships over time, from the original owner of the property to the present owner.

If one records the deed, then there can be no bona fide purchasers (unless one acts oneself to void one’s deed) since notice of true ownership is given to the world. In certain circumstances a bona fide purchaser may even have superior rights to the property over the actual title holder. either by mistake or fraud, a person granted a false deed to the bona fide purchaser. Note that a bona fide purchaser is one who has reasonable cause to believe that title is vested in him or her, e.g. Recording is filing them in the county recorder’s office and if recorded, the title deed acts as defacto notice to all third parties as to ownership in the property. These indexes are classified according to time periods. Almost all states have a grantor-grantee index including a reference to all documents recorded. The office of the Recorder of Deeds maintains a set of indexes about each deed recorded, for an easy search. The original deed is returned to the owner of the property from the office of the recorder after proper entry. A map of the property is also included as a part of the document for identification purposes. The copy of the deed is inserted into the current book of official records in numerical order. The initial step in the recording process is the presentation of deed along with copies to the recorder’s office in the county where the property is located. The Recorder of Deeds is a local government office which maintains records and documents relating to real estate ownership.Ī deed to real property becomes a public document when it is recorded with the Recorder of Deeds subsequent to delivery and acceptance. Recording deeds is a system of recording legal instruments at the Recorder of Deeds.

The document indicates who owns the property and usually who granted the deed to the current owner. It normally has a “legal description “ of the land or real estate right granted, which is a detailed description of the location of the land, often created by surveys. In its most basic definition, a title deed is a document that vests ownership in a person and conforms to various requirements imposed by state law as to what must be contained on the deed. This article shall outline the basic law of title deeds. One wishes to obtain a “deed” to a piece of property and generally understands that in order to own the property one must be named on the “deed.”īut what is a title deed and what is the legal effect of the various types of title deeds or recording the deed? What happens if one is granted a defective title deed and how does a deed get negated by adverse possession? As with so many legal terms, one uses the word and concept “title deed” often whether one is engaged in real estate business or not.
