There is a lot to know about owning a home and one of the questions that people often ask.....What is a Deed? A deed is a legal document that grants ownership to a piece of real estate or other property asset. A deed transfers the title of an asset to a new owner, and it is usually recorded in the local county clerk's office. There are a variety of deeds currently in use for the conveyance of title. Here's a brief description of the most common ones you will hear about:
Quitclaim Deed: This deed conveys any possible interest of the grantor in said property at the date of the deed without representations of encumbrances on title arising from liens, easements, etc. It is usually used to release an estate or interest less than “fee” interest. One of the most common is a divorce deed, which is used when one spouse is given full rights and ownership of a house or piece of land. This type of quitclaim deed removes the other spouse from the title of the property, changing joint ownership to sole ownership.
Grant Deed: Conveys all the title that the grantor has and any title the grantor may acquire in the future. With a Grant deed, the person transferring the property guarantees that he or she has done nothing that would cause title problems, but makes no guarantees about what might have happened before he or she acquired the property. In California, Grant deeds have several purposes but are often used to transfer property to a trust—like a living trust—that the transferor controls or benefits from and for sales of commercial or multi-family residential property.
Deed of Trust: A Deed of Trust is used to convey the “dormant title” to land to another person or company as a “trustee”, in order to secure debts or other obligations. For example, it is an agreement between a home buyer and a lender (bank, investor or private individual). The agreement states that the home owner will repay the home loan and the mortgage lender will hold the property's legal title until the loan is paid in full.
Source: Deedclaim. com, Old Republic Title