Selling a Home With a Quitclaim Deed

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Do you own a home with only a quitclaim deed, and you’re looking to sell your house? The process may not be as simple as you think. Selling a home with a quit claim deed can get rather complex, as the buyer tends to lack basic protections in such a case. Ownership of the property becomes more confusing with this type of deed. 

Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. In the guide below, you will learn about the definition of a quitclaim deed and how to sell real estate after such deed transfers between family members. You will learn about ownership rights when selling a home with a quit claim deed. Keep reading for more info on quitclaim deed transfers.

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What is a Quitclaim Deed

A quitclaim deed is a legal paperwork used to transfer title ownership rights from a grantor to a grantee. This simple document contains the legal information about a property and the grantor’s and grantee’s names. The county recorder’s office files the document, which becomes part of the public record.

Sometimes, a quitclaim deed is called a quick claim deed and is usually part of transferring the interest in real estate without the exchange of funds or money. Usually, you can use these types of deeds to transfer property between family members and they rarely have anything to do with commercial real estate transfers. A few other reasons for using a quitclaim deed include:

  • Moving real estate property to a living trust
  • Fixing mistakes and making corrections for prior real estate transactions
  • Supplying or removing an individual from an ownership group, such as an ex-spouse

A quitclaim deed is rather different from a warranty deed. The warranty deed is a legal document that guarantees ownership. During the title search, title clearance is also guaranteed. Usually, the warranty deed is the typical legal documentation that comes with property sales from one owner to another.

Fewer encumbrances occur when using a warranty deed since it includes guaranteed ownership and title clearance. To ensure a clear title, a general warranty deed ensures the title company verifies that the real estate lacks any property tax liens and legal claims from previous owners. 

Nonetheless, a quitclaim deed does have its advantages, such as how straightforward and quick the process of property transfer occurs. It allows for the property title transfer to occur easily between family members or from certain people to a living trust. Also, even though the paperwork is rather simple including the legal description of the property, a quitclaim deed form is legally binding. During a property title search, the document does prove legal ownership.

Can I Sell My House with a Quitclaim Deed

Usually, quitclaim deeds involve gifting a piece of property from one family member to another without the exchange of money. If you don’t need the money from a sale and you worry about the cost to sell a house due to renovations, then a quick claim deed may be the right avenue to take.

Yet, the home buyer or recipient often lacks the same amount of protection when using a quitclaim deed as compared to a warranty deed. 

Essentially, someone can buy a home using a quitclaim deed and find out later that the seller did not have the legal ownership of the property to sell the home. Due to these issues, many home buyers are not comfortable with purchasing a home using a quitclaim deed.

Due to the legal risks, you will find it much more difficult to sell your property via a quitclaim deed to home buyers you don’t know. Usually, homes using this type of deed are transferred only between family members, close friends, a spouse or ex-spouse, or within a trust. 

As such, you may want to seek out interest from your relatives, close family members, and friends. Also, if you have gained ownership of a property through a quitclaim deed, then you should have the legal right to sell your property in the typical home sale process. Since the title was transferred to you, you can sell the house using a warranty deed.

You may want to speak with a real estate attorney about whether it makes sense for you to use a quitclaim deed when selling your home. 

The quick claim deed impacts the name on the deed and ownership. However, it does not play a role in the name of the mortgage. You will need to transfer the loan into your name and make sure the mortgage lender receives all of your mortgage payments.

How to Sell a House with a Quitclaim Deed

When selling a home with a quitclaim deed, the best way to do so involves transferring property between family members. Also, if you are facing any title defects, you can use this type of deed to clear a title defect. Furthermore, you can add a spouse’s name to a property title upon marriage or remove an ex-spouse from the title with the help of a quitclaim deed.

If you’re looking to gift your home to your grown child or another family member, then you should use a quitclaim deed. However, in these cases, money is usually not exchanged between families. You can also use the document to place real estate property in a family trust.

You should speak with expert real estate agents and a lawyer when choosing to move forward with a quitclaim deed. Certain restrictions make it difficult to sell a house with a quick claim deed, such as:

  • Liens or interests that impact the real estate property
  • Other people with ownership claims on the property
  • A lack of guarantee that the seller has ownership rights to the home
  • The trigger of tax payments after title transfer

When you are selling a home with a quitclaim deed, you can go online to find a template of the document. The quitclaim deed documentation needs to include the following parameters.

  • The legal description of the property
  • The names of the grantor and grantee
  • The payment for the property
  • The parcel number assigned
  • The names of witnesses looking over the signing of the document
  • The name of the professional producing the paperwork
  • The signature of the notary public

Before you sign the documentation and have the buyer or grantee sign, you should first seek the help of a real estate attorney who will ensure everything is accurate. After everything is signed, you need to register the information with the county clerk’s office or the county recorder’s office.

Check with the county clerk to make sure you have followed all the regulations necessary to transfer property using a quitclaim deed. Now, all you need to do is move out of the home and have the grantee move in. 

Remember A Quitclaim Deed Affects Ownership

Legal rights to ownership of a property are much easier to establish with a general or special warranty deed as opposed to a quitclaim deed. The disadvantages of a quitclaim deed include the lack of ownership proof, no guarantees for the new homeowner, and general disdain from commercial mortgage lenders.

Since the grantor does not have to provide any proof of title ownership or title insurance when signing a quitclaim deed, it is possible for the grantor to illegally sell a property that he or she does not own. 

Furthermore, since proof of ownership is unknown, this type of deed does not include any guarantees that a property lacks title defects. The property may have title defects like tax liens or other people having claims to the capital. 

As such, buyers tend to avoid using quitclaim deeds when purchasing a new home. Furthermore, mortgage lenders constantly insist on having a warranty deed instead to ensure their loan on the real estate property involves more legal protections for the buyer. Lenders prefer the guarantee of property ownership, which a warranty deed ensures. 

However, cash buyers and real estate investors do not need to rely on mortgage lenders and are more likely to accept a quitclaim deed when purchasing a new piece of property. As such, you may want to look into the cash offer process in VA.

When I was looking for someone to buy my house in Norfolk, I targeted cash buyers and companies that buy houses in Virginia. Doing so means you won’t need to worry about repairing or renovating your home, as cash buyers often purchase properties in their as-is conditions.

As such, consider finding a cash buyer who is willing to use a quitclaim deed to buy your property.

Conclusion

A quitclaim deed won’t provide home buyers with as much legal ownership and protection as a warranty deed. These deeds are usually meant for transferring ownership between family members or for creating a family trust. 

However, if you want to sell your property quickly using a quitclaim deed without getting your family involved, consider speaking with cash buyers and real estate investors. We buy homes in Virginia Beach, so contact us today!

Do you want to learn more about how to find buyers for your house in Norfolk? We can help! Give us a call or send us a message today! 866-833-5262