A special warranty deed (limited warranty deed) in Georgia must conform to statutory regulations for conveyances of real estate.

The Georgia Statutes do not provide a form for a special warranty deed. If a deed is sufficient in itself, according to the Georgia Statutes, to make known the transaction between the parties, it will be valid. A deed should be properly labeled as to the type of transaction (i.e. "Special Warranty Deed"). A special warranty deed includes a covenant from the grantor to defend the title against only the claims and demands of the grantor and those claiming or to claim by, through, or under the grantor. There are no implied warranties of title in any deed in this state ( 44-5-61).

A special warranty deed in Georgia must be signed by the grantor and attested or acknowledged as required by law ( 44-2-14). A deed executed in a state other than Georgia can be attested or acknowledged before any of the officers listed in 44-2-21. Special warranty deeds executed out-of-state must also be attested by two witnesses, one of whom may be the officers taking acknowledgments (44-2-21). A special warranty deed executed in Georgia can be attested by a judge of a court of record, including a judge of a municipal court, or by a magistrate, a notary public, or a clerk or deputy clerk of a superior court. With the exception of notaries public and judges of courts of record, such officers may only attest such instruments only in the county in which they respectively hold their offices ( 44-2-15). A special warranty deed executed in Georgia must also have two witnesses. The special warranty deed must be accompanied by a completed real estate transfer tax form when it is submitted to the clerk of the superior court for recording.

Every deed conveying lands in this state should be recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county where the real property is located. A special warranty deed can be recorded at any time, but a prior unrecorded deed will lose its priority over a subsequent recorded deed from the same vendor when the purchaser takes such deed without notice of the existence of the prior deed ( 44-2-1). This is known as a race-notice recording act. Special warranty deeds that are required by law to be recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court and which are against the interests of third parties who have acquired a transfer or lien binding the same property and who are acting in good faith and without notice will take effect only from the time they are filed for record in the clerk's office in the county where the property is located ( 44-2-2b).

(Georgia Special Warranty Deed Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)

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