Are you ready to sell your home but worried about the property transfer since your house has a quitclaim deed? Are you confused about the steps necessary for selling a home with a quit claim deed?
If so, we will go over the type of deed you may have and the definition of a quitclaim deed below. You will learn how to sell a house that needs quit claim deed transfers and provide tips for selling a home with a quit claim deed.
Read on to find out how you can sell that property despite the quit claim deed.
What Is a Quitclaim Deed?
A quitclaim deed moves a person’s interest in a property to a new owner. The claim deed does not include information about the person’s rights or potential ownership interest and does not cover any warranties for that individual’s rights to the property.
The biggest issue with a quitclaim deed is that the legal document does not guarantee that the person giving away their claim to the property had any true ownership.
However, it does ensure that the person (known as the grantor) can no longer claim any interest in the property in the future. Nonetheless, the new owner of the house may find themselves in a legal battle over ownership with another individual named on the title of the home.
What Does a Quitclaim Deed Include?
The deed, in this case, covers information like:
- A legal description of the real estate property
- The name of the grantor who transfers his or her interest in the home
- The name of the grantee who is getting that ownership interest in the property
- The date
- The notarized signatures of the two individuals
One thing that the quitclaim deed doesn’t guarantee is that the grantor even had an ownership interest in the property. If the grantor does, however, the deed removes all interest in the house to the new party.
Usually, these deeds are used to transfer property ownership between family members in non-sale scenarios. For example, newly married people often use this type of deed when adding a spouse to a property title. You can also transfer title rights to one spouse and remove the other spouse from a title after undergoing a divorce.
Furthermore, you can better clarify ownership of a property with the help of a quit claims deed. The deed form can transfer property into a living trust. Ensure that the deed includes a detailed description of the property and seek a notary to obtain those notarized signatures.
Buyers who purchase a home and gain ownership through a quitclaim deed have taken on certain risks, such as other people who may have an ownership interest in the property or that the grantor does not have true ownership of the house.
In these cases, buyers may want to perform a title search before agreeing to that type of sale. If that title search shows a clear title once the sale is complete, buyers won’t need to stress about the quitclaim deed.
Can You Sell a House With a Quitclaim Deed?
Selling a house with a quitclaim deed is a much faster process with less paperwork involved. However, buyers risk plenty when using that type of deed to transfer ownership of the property. As such, sellers will potentially have problems finding buyers in this situation, and it may take longer to sell such a house.
Therefore, you will likely want to sell a home with a quitclaim deed between family members, a spouse or an ex-spouse, close friends, or a living trust for estate planning. Otherwise, homeowners will find it difficult to find potential buyers, as their legal rights to a property will face risks with a quitclaim deed.
You may also have become the property owner of a house after inheriting it when a family member or friend passes away and grants you the house title. You may have also received the house as a gift, using that simple and inexpensive deed to transfer ownership to the title.
You can even use that property deed to fix errors in the title and make updates in case a title defect exists.
Despite the type of deed, you can still pursue a traditional sale of your house. The next step is to merely pursue a regular home sale. Before putting your home on the market, you may want to complete home renovations, remodel the kitchen or bathroom, and paint the walls. The better your home looks, the higher you can set your asking price and the more offers you will receive.
As such, you may need to hire a realtor to set up showings, market the property online, get a photographer to take pictures of the property, and possibly hold an open house.
Once an offer is made and accepted, you will need to hire a real estate attorney to help you complete all the paperwork and the sale legally when closing. You will also need to cover the commission fees of your real estate agent and pay off all closing costs.
The title should have been transferred to your name, which means you can sell the home directly to a new buyer. However, if you do not want to sell the house using the same quitclaim deed, you may want to use a warranty deed.
The warranty deed is a typical type of legal form in which the buyer and seller get protected from title issues. Essentially, it is a longer process common to most real estate sale and purchase transactions. The more formal title transfer here has legal protections that safeguard the buyer from any possible liens or title issues.
If you pursue a general warranty deed, you will need the help of a realtor to find a buyer. However, if you’re using a quitclaim deed, you can try selling a house without a realtor since you’re likely to sell to a relative or friend.
When selling your property to a family member or close friend, you can use a quitclaim deed to transfer the property in a quick and streamlined way. As long as both parties trust each other, few issues should come up after filing a quitclaim deed.
As the seller, you may need to prove that you can provide the buyer with a free and clear title despite the quitclaim deed. You can keep the buyer’s worries at bay by showing that no other individual has any ownership or interest in the property.
Tips for Selling a Home With a Quitclaim Deed
When selling a home with a quitclaim deed, you should go online to find a template of a quitclaim deed. Make sure that the deed includes information like a description of the property, the payment between two parties, the names of the grantor and grantee, the names of the witnesses, the signature of the notary public, and the notarized signatures of the two parties.
You need to make sure the deed outlines that the real estate property is being sold as-is. The next step is to file the documentation with the county clerk or the county recorder’s office at city hall.
We also recommend that you provide the buyer with more proof that they will have sole ownership of the property after filing a quitclaim deed. Therefore, you should provide a title search.
You can also show the buyer that a quitclaim deed is a faster and easier process with less paperwork involved. That may spark their interest as long as you provide proof of ownership transfer. In fact, these deeds have been called quick claims in the past.
Furthermore, we advise that you price your home at a lower value than the market price to attract more buyers and make it easier for them to buy your home via a quitclaim process. Since a quitclaim deed does not guarantee any warranties or even that the house has no liens, buyers expect a lower price for the property.
To properly fill out a quitclaim deed, check on your state’s requirements for the sale. You can also seek the legal advice of a real estate attorney.
Are you having trouble finding buyers willing to use a quitclaim deed? You can get assistance from a real estate agent with expertise in different deeds and house title transfers.
Conclusion
Selling a home with a quit claim deed is possible if you follow the tips above. Find a relative or a close friend willing to purchase your home using a quitclaim deed. Otherwise, you may need a realtor to help you find a willing buyer.
Once you have a buyer, you can sell a house fast in Texas by using a quitclaim deed. The straightforward process can move even faster if you sell to cash home buyers in Arlington and other Texas locations.
Texas cash buyers will provide a fair cash offer. You will see that the benefits of accepting a cash offer include selling your place as-is, avoiding renovations, foregoing realtor commission fees, and completing the home sale quickly.
Luckily, we buy houses Dallas locals love, so contact us to get the benefits of a cash offer.