Unit 5: Methods of Transferring Title

General Warranty Deed

A deed in which the grantor fully warrants good, clear title to the premises. Used in most real estate deed transfers

Covenant of Warranty Forever

A deed provision in which the grantor promises to compensate the grantee for any loss suffered while defending the title against persons asserting a genuine claim to the property from any time in the past.

Bargain and Sale Deed

A deed that carries with it no warranties against liens or other encumbrances but that does imply that the grantor has the right to convey title. The grantor may add warranties to the deed at his or her discretion

Quitclaim Deed

A deed to relinquish any interest in property which the grantor may have, without any warranty of title or interest.

condemnation

A judicial or administrative proceeding to exercise the power of eminent domain, through which a government agency takes private property for public use and compensates the owner.

Special Warranty Deed

A limited warranty deed in which the grantor warrants or guarantees the title only against defects arising during his ownership of the property and not against defects existing before the time of his ownership.

grantee

A person who receives a conveyance (i.e. a title or a deed) of real property from someone who is transferring the ownership of the interest in a property.

Covenant of Seisin

A promise in a deed assuring the grantee that the grantor has the title being conveyed or passed on.

Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment

A promise that no one has superior or paramount title to that of the grantor; assures the grantee of peaceful possession without fear of being ousted by a person with a superior claim to the property.

Involuntary Alienation

A transfer of title to real property without the owner's consent .

deed

A written instrument that, when executed and delivered, conveys title to or an interest in real estate.

Delivery and Acceptance

Actual delivery of the deed by the grantor and either actual or implied acceptance by the grantee.

Cloud on Title

Any document, claim, unreleased lien, or encumbrance that may impair the title to real property or make the title doubtful; usually revealed by a title search and removed by either a quitclaim deed or suit to quiet title.

Adverse Possession

The Open, Continuous, Exclusive, Adverse, Notorious (OCEAN) possession of another's land under a claim of title. Possession for a statutory period may be a means of acquiring title.

NC Intestate Succession Act

The State law of descent that dictates distribution of the real and personal property of the deceased that died without a will.

Alienation

The act of transferring property to another. It may be voluntary, such as by gift or sale, or involuntary, as through eminent domain or adverse possession.

Covenant of Further Assurance

The grantor promises to obtain and deliver any instrument needed to make the title good.

Action to Quiet Title

The lawsuit filed by a person to remove or clear the claims of others against property.

Title

The right to or ownership of the land.

Granting Clause

Words in a deed of conveyance that state the grantor's intention to convey the property at the present time. This clause is generally worded as "convey and warrant"; "grant"; "grant, bargain, and sell"; or the like.

Deed of Conveyance

a document under seal that transfers an interest in land from the owner to another party

Covenant against encumbrances

a promise that the property is not hindered with liens, easements, or other such limitations except as noted in the deed

Covenant

a written agreement between two or more parties in which a party or parties pledge to perform or not perform specified acts with regard to property; usually found in a deeds, mortgages, leases, and contracts for deeds.

Intestate

dying without a will

Escheat

forfeiture of a decedent's property to the state in the absence of heirs or when the property is abandoned.

grantor

the property owner that is transferring title to or an interest in real property to a person interested in that property.

eminent domain

the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation.