Tag: real estate law
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Register of Deeds Blasts Crooks Who Steal Homes Out From Under Owners’ Funerals
The Register of Deeds of Shelby County, Tennessee recently took to a live television newscast to warn the public about scammers scouring funeral listings and obituaries. They’re looking for dead people whose homes they can steal. They forge deeds. They record bogus title transfers. Once they have control over their ill-gotten homes, criminals sell them,…
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Real Property Basics: What Is a Clear Title?
A clear title. The term is commonly used to mean the deed holder can prove ownership, unquestionably. To verify that, a title company can conduct a title search. Other parties’ claims on the title are called title defects, or clouds on title. What do these claims look like? They might be mortgage liens, court judgments,…
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Florida’s Highlands County Introduces New Ordinance for Real Estate Transactions with Roadway Verification Requirement
In a recent update from the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners, a new ordinance (No. 22-23-23) has been established that directly impacts real estate transactions within Highlands County, Florida. This article aims to provide an informative overview of this ordinance, its requirements, and its implications for property transfers in the area.
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Could a Home Swap Turn Out to Be a Win-Win? Here’s How It Works.
Well, it’s one way to transfer property deeds between people! Yet trading homes with someone else isn’t your typical deed transaction. In a prolonged tight market, deed exchanges are drawing growing numbers of curious and creative homeowners. Here’s a bit more about the concept.
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Texas Real Estate Deed Recording Fees and Estates Code Updates
Recent legislative changes in Texas, specifically Senate Bill 1612 and amendments to the Estates Code, have brought significant adjustments that impact real estate deeds and the probate process. These changes are essential for professionals in real estate, law, and estate planning to understand and incorporate into their practice.
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Selling Your Property When a Renter Still Lives There: Why and How?
Can you sell a rental unit “out from under” your renter? A loaded question, of course. Look at it this way. If your renters love where they live, it could be a win for all involved. You have a few things to consider as you plan for positive outcomes, of course. This is true whether…
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Buying Without Your Spouse? What to Know About a Purchase Money Mortgage
Sometimes a homebuyer who’s married wants to buy property as an individual. They want to be the sole buyer, with no other name on the closing papers. How can it work? Consider the purchase money mortgage. As Cleveland’s CrossCountry Mortgage® company explains, “if a married person wants to purchase a property without their spouse being…
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Texas Warranty Deed Forgery Plot Thickens
More Houston-area deed fraud victims are speaking out. The alleged perpetrator has already been charged with a first-degree felony of forgery, fraudulent document execution, and theft greater than $300,000, in connection with warranty deeds worth some $15 million. He would forge property owners’ signatures. Then he’d go buy their properties at a deep discount. Investigators…
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Trees, Smoking, and Other Neighbor Troubles: What’s a Homeowner to Do?
They say good fences make good neighbors. Perhaps we could add shrubs or trees, too. Fences and trees can helpfully separate one residential property from the next. Their presence can make boundaries obvious and clear-cut. Then again, their helpfulness depends on how homeowners personally experience them. Hedges or fencing can be poorly placed, making property…
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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.
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Can I Quitclaim My House Into a Living Trust?
We’re glad you asked. You might have heard that a living trust can… All of the above are reasons many people use this method of passing their property along after they die. And a home is a typical piece of property that people put into a living trust. Importantly, a living trust is a…
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Will Versus Quitclaim: When There’s a Conflict, Who Owns the House?
Usually, the quitclaim deed overrides the instructions in a will. But the devil is in the details. At age 60, Letitia bought her Sacramento home, as a sole owner. Twenty years later, aged 80, Letitia went into a care home. Letitia subsequently signed a quitclaim deed and gave the home to Jackson, the only one…
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Buying Property with a Quitclaim Deed in Massachusetts
A Quitclaim? No problem. It’s Common Practice Here — and Safeguarding Your Title Is Straightforward. Three major Massachusetts real estate deeds are commonly used: the quitclaim deed, the warranty deed, and the release deed. In contrast to most other places, Massachusetts home buyers receive their property through quitclaim deeds. So, we need to delve into…
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Bargain and Sale vs. Quitclaim Deeds: A Concise Guide
Are you looking to buy a home though a bargain and sale deed? Perhaps you’re buying after a foreclosure, or from an estate or a court-ordered sale. If so, the entity granting the deed to you might lack knowledge of the property’s history. Basically, the deed means a buyer is expected to accept the house…
