Texans Welcome New Guidance for Quitclaim Deeds

Adverse Possession Also Clarified

Congrats to Texas, where the government just gave a boost to the quitclaim deed! People who receive their homes through recorded quitclaim deeds will now be on firmer ground in the Lone Star State. Here’s what you need to know.

Strengthening the Chain of Title for Texas Property

Image of the American Flag and the Texas Flag.

In May, a bill was signed into law to amend Chapter 13 of the Texas Property Code, to take effect on Sep. 1, 2021. From now on, using a quitclaim deed to transfer title from one owner to the next will be easier. Title companies will be able to consider buyers who accepted and recorded quitclaims as bona fide purchasers after four years. Texas formally set a four-year statute of limitations for competing claims.

Once a quitclaim deed is recorded in the property’s county, a later purchaser or lender has good-faith protection, as long as the party has no knowledge of other unrecorded claims on the property. What does this mean for buyers of real estate with a quitclaim in the chain of title? The buyer can legally claim good faith purchaser status.

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Gaining Title to Property Through Adverse Possession OR The Myth of Adverse Possession

Gaining Title to Property Through Adverse Possession OR The Myth of Adverse Possession

It’s not rare to read about people using—or trying to use—squatter’s rights and the property doctrine of adverse possession in order to legally take title to and possession of an abandoned home. Some of these attempts have even been successful, if only for a short while. It happens often enough to warrant discussion, but it could also be that these stories are the stuff of urban legend, or maybe their occurrence is simply few and far between.

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