Real Estate Deeds Made Easy Since 1997 – Deeds.com
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This story, alas, is unfolding. Physical signs of a heating world and its shifting weather patterns appear in tropical storms and in sea level rise, in heat waves, droughts, and wildfires. The economic and physical impacts of climate change are making their mark on real estate. Affected cities have…
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Owning a Co-Op: Different From Traditional Real Estate
A co-op is different—and maybe it’s perfect for you. But if you opt to live in a co-op, will you hold the title to your home? Here’s how it works.
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Property Title? Deed? What’s the Difference?
When you buy a home, you receive the deed. And you hold title. The deed and title are interrelated yet distinct concepts. Title refers to ownership, including the legal right to possess and use a parcel, the right to exclude others from using it,…
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How to Prove Ownership of Real Estate
You own real estate. If you’re asked, how do you show proof of your ownership? Essentially, the proof is in your property’s title history. This means: Your ownership interest is only as good as the interest conveyed to you by…
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You Have the Deed and Keys to Your New Home. What About a Guarantee?
A new owner of real estate receives a real estate deed. But what about a real estate deed warranty? What are the common deeds, and what assurances do different deeds make? Here’s what’s at stake for a new owner, depending on the deed involved in…
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Should You Remove a Deceased Owner from a Real Estate Title?
When someone who owns real property dies, the property goes into probate or it automatically passes, by operation of law, to surviving co-owners. Often, surviving co-owners do nothing with the title for as long as they own the property. Yet the best practice is to remove the…
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Deed Restrictions: How They Impact Homeowners and Communities
Your home is your castle. But language in your deed just might keep you from installing a pool, constructing a basement apartment and renting it out, or using a non-neutral shade of paint on your exterior walls. Here is a brief explanation of…
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You Have One Job: The Narrow Duty of a Trustee Under a Deed of Trust
In states using deeds of trust, a trustee is a third party who holds legal title to a property until the homebuyer or commercial developer pays off a loan associated with the parcel—or until the borrower defaults. When a state’s law allows for deeds of…
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How a Lien Affects the Real Estate Title
Many people have liens on their real estate. Consider your mortgage—a lien that leverages the home as collateral for your mortgage loan. Other liens, too, can show up in a title search. Homeowners should know what kind of liens might attach to a home they already own, or…
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How’s Your Property Vested? It Matters as Much as Your Will or Trust
In estate planning, wills and trusts aren’t everything. Homeowners who want to be sure the home passes to the desired beneficiary must be sure the property is correctly vested. Consider a common example. If you co-own property with a right of survivorship,…
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Gig Economy: The Impact on Mortgages and Real Estate Ownership
Many people hope to buy homes, but struggle to qualify for loans. And this means millions of first-time buyers are deferring their dreams of homeownership until they are in a stronger position to qualify for a mortgage loan. Today’s renters are renting longer—often not by…
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How Real Estate Legal Descriptions and Surveys Work Together
Real estate transactions involving home sales, deeds, mortgage loans, or deeds of trust all rely on a binding legal description. Mortgage companies, for example, need to be sure that the property is well described—and worth the money they lend to a buyer. A properly written legal description sets…
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How Getting a Mortgage With a Co-Borrower Affects the Deed
Loan underwriters are hard to please. When a mortgage loan approval eludes the hopeful homebuyer, another signature on the papers might be the only way to move forward.
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The Land Trust Approach to Affordable Housing
Rises in property values are great news for city homeowners. On the other side of the coin, they make the home buying journey that much steeper for buyers. Gentrification of near-downtown areas can make personal finances harder to handle, as property taxes go up. This…
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The Real Estate Easement: A Guide and Glossary
An easement is a right to use another’s land for a specific purpose not inconsistent with the landowner’s simultaneous right to hold the same property. The word is derived from the Old French term aisier: to assist. This legal right to use land that…