title transfer Archives

December 22, 2023April 25, 2024

Who Owns Your Home—You, or the Bank? Check for a “Defeasance Clause”

Defeasance? What’s that?

Some home loans contain a defeasance clause. It means you’re giving up collateral. Do your home loan documents have defeasance language? If so, your lending institution holds your home’s title for as long as you owe the lender money.

Although the legal owner is your lender, you are still called the homeowner. Yet your title isn’t at home with your loan documents. Your lender will hold onto your title until after that final payoff.

Once you meet all of your loan obligations, including a full and final pay-off, you trigger the defeasance clause. That, in turn, unlocks the final phase of your agreement. That’s the conveyance of title from the lender to the successful owner of a paid-off home. The title will then be yours — free and clear.

September 22, 2023April 25, 2024

When in Delaware… A Homeowner’s Deed Must Be Filed With the Register of Wills

What happens with Delaware real estate deeds when someone dies?

The home’s title (whether the owner dies with or without a will) vests immediately in the beneficiaries’ names. The home county’s Register of Wills sends the deed to the County Assessment Office. That’s how a title is transferred upon death. There’s no need for a new deed.

This makes Delaware different from other states. And there are a few more things to know about how a deceased person’s home goes to the beneficiaries in Delaware.

September 5, 2022April 25, 2024

Can a Quitclaim Deed Be Undone?

A quitclaim deed transfers real estate to a new owner. A properly completed and recorded quitclaim cannot be undone. Here’s why — and what to do next if there’s a problem with the transfer.

May 13, 2022April 25, 2024

Divorce, Property Division, and the Quitclaim Deed

Parting of the Ways

Co-ownership of a house can unwind in several ways. One way is through divorce proceedings. You might be wondering how this works, and what kind of decisions have to be made.

You might have questions about passing the home to your ex using a quitclaim deed. Here are some of the key issues that arise, and what steps need to be taken in each case.

September 1, 2021April 25, 2024

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.

October 14, 2013April 27, 2024

An Unrecorded Quitclaim Deed Can Still Be Valid

An unrecorded quitclaim deed is still valid. While there is no time limit on recording a deed or recording required for a quitclaim deed to be valid, record all deeds as soon after the transaction as possible. Failure to record a deed could render transfer or mortgaging of the property impossible and create numerous legal difficulties.

October 26, 2012April 27, 2024

Adding a Person to a Deed Using a Quitclaim Deed

One of the most common incorrect assumptions in real estate is that someone can be added to a deed. If one person owns a piece of real estate and wants to bring on another owner, this means that the current owner would give up their interest in the property to themselves and the other person. Both people would acquire their interest in the property at the same time in the chain of title. The chain of title in real estate has been established so that an interest in real estate cannot be valued by the amount of time an owner has been in possession of the real estate.