Download Ohio Real Estate Deed Forms

The statutory forms for land conveyance provided in the Ohio Revised Statutes are sufficient as conveyance documents for the transfer of real property or interest in real property in Ohio. They may be altered as circumstances require, and the use of other forms is not prohibited by the authorization of these forms. In a conveyance of real estate or any interest therein, all rights, privileges, easements, and appurtenances belong to the granted estate will be included in the conveyance, unless a contrary intention is stated in the instrument (5302.04). Commonly used forms in Ohio are warranty deeds, limited warranty deeds, and quitclaim deeds. These can be residential or commercial and with or without a survivorship clause.

Real estate or interest in real estate in Ohio can be conveyed to an individual, to two people as tenants in common, or to a business or corporation, as long as the person, or tenants in common, or business or corporation has the legal capacity to receive the real property or the interest in real property. There are no restrictions in this state for resident aliens owning real property or interest therein: according to statute, aliens may hold, possess, and enjoy real property within the state, either by descent, devise, gift, or purchase, as fully as any citizen of the United States would (2105.16). The restrictions for non-resident aliens are as follows: every non-resident alien who acquires any interest either in his own name or in another's name in real estate located in Ohio that is in excess of three acres or that has a market value greater than $100,000 should, within thirty days of the acquisition of the interest in the property, submit a form to the secretary of state, the details of which are described in 5301.254. The way in which title to real property is held will dictate the type of conveyance used in the transaction.

In Ohio, a real estate deed must be signed by the grantor and should also be acknowledged by the grantor before a judge or clerk of a court of record in Ohio, or a county auditor, county engineer, notary public, or mayor, who should certify the acknowledgment and subscribe the official's name to the certificate of the acknowledgment (5301.01). If a deed has been executed by a married person, it should be signed and acknowledged in the same manner. If executed out of state, a deed should be acknowledged according to the laws of the state in which the act took place and will be valid in Ohio when presented for recording (5301.06). No witnesses are necessary for deeds executed on or after February 1, 2002. Additional requirements, such as proper format, prerequisites, and information necessary to the conveyance, will apply to a real estate deed.

Until a deed is recorded in the office of the county recorder in the county where the property is located, it is fraudulent insofar as it relates to a subsequent bona fide purchaser having, at the time of purchase, no knowledge or existence of the former deed, land contract, or instrument (5301.25). The recording act in Ohio is a race-notice statute, which is one that gives priority of title to the party that records first, but only if the party also lacked notice of prior unrecorded claims on the same property. Recording a real estate deed in the proper county will give constructive notice of the contents of the instrument.