I bought a house from a relative years ago. He signed a Quit Claim deed and i didn't recorded it until ......

Question

A few weeks ago.I wanna know if my property is "secured" now or what are the next steps i should take to have rock solid ownership of the house. My relative is having a change of heart and wanna take the house back. ( now that property values are high ) I can't afford to hire a title company now so i need to do the paperwork myself, so what's the next step? I want my name on all county records for now,i'll deal with the mortgage company later.Is there something this relative can do to get the house back after he signed the quit claim deed?

Answer 1

If you've never had the title transfered he still has legal ownership of the property. This could get ugly. You'll need an attorney to sort this out. The quit claim deed may not even be sufficient if it wasn't notorized.

Answer 2

Actually, they possibly can. It is my understanding that California is a race-notice state, so it is very difficult to try to disqualify a recorded deed based upon a prior deed that was never recorded.

If she has or does record ANOTHER transfer prior to you filing the deed, you will have a problem.

The reason? - "race notice principles", such that an unrecorded deed cannot overcome title held by a subsequent purchasers who paid valuable consideration and who had no notice of the unrecorded deed.

First, you need to go to the registry to see if there are any deeds issued other than your own, and record yours EITHER WAY.

If there is not, you should have a title claim, except that she may have been prohibited from transferring the deed by the mortgage company, under the terms of her agreement, which could cloud things...this is more her problem than yours, because she may be in effect defrauding the mortgage company from their security in the property if there is still an active mortgage on the property.

As it has been stated before, PLEASE consult an attorney...you can't afford NOT to.

Your name will not go on the tax records untill such time as the assessor updates, which here, where I am, is only once a year, in April. This is standard, ownership is not established by this, although it can serve as evidence of interest.

You need an attorney, and Title insurance. That is the only way to truly have protection...to believe otherwise is naieve in your particular set of circumstances. Good luck.

Answer 3

Hi, I think some education for your wife might be in order, from someone other than you, no offense. A third party influence could be helpful, but my expertise is not in marital affairs, even after two of them, LOL. An attorney might be bucks well spent, it should not be hard to find one who invests in real estate. The answer to the question is yes! The rule is, it takes one to buy and two to sell! If you have access to funds to provide certified funds at a closing, you can buy anything you want to. You can put the property in your name only. You can later provide a half interest by quit claim to keep the peace. The only time you may have a problem is when you get a loan to purchase, the lender will require her to sign the note and deed of trust, always, unless you use a Trust or, say a Limited Liability Company (LLC). If you establish a Trust and fund the trust for the purchase, that will work but if you need a loan, the Trust will need to show the ability to pay then loan, and yes you can have a conventional home loan, in the name of the borrower's Trust, but an LLC would be a business loan. I suspect you are requiring a loan as you said escrow documents, I think you mean closing documents. Some states require transactions to be closed in escrow, but this simply is for a third party agent to transfer funds and good title. As is usually the case, if you got enough money you can do what ever you want to, but if there is a loan the lender will require her to sign. Reason is, even if she is not on the deed, she has a marital interest in the property and in the event of a foreclosure the lender will want to foreclose on her as well as you in the event of default. Another reason is for title insurance purposes, as her interest needs to insured over when you pass on the title, that's why it always takes two to sell. You might consider a straw man, a third party to buy it for you and then he quit claims the property to you. You must tell the bank what your arrangement is, otherwise, the lender can call the note due under the Due on Sale Clause. You can co-sign a note by yourself, but if you are a borrower, then she is back in the picture. You might check with other lenders. If you find a "private investor" known by Realtors and closing agents, they can buy the house and you can buy it from them on an installment contract without her signature, or better yet, put your name on the deed with the investor as a partnership after the investor acquires the property. If you know what a quit claim deed is and actually does, conveying only that interest that the grantor has in the property or to the extent of participation, like a half interest, then such a deed may be used, but understand you would not be insured under any title policy from the initial closing, unless you obtained a policy after you acquire it by quit claim. Have you ever considered making mortgages instead of owning the house? If you make a loan to someone who buys the house, you'll receive payments each month and if they don't pay, you can take a deed in lieu of foreclosure by accepting a quit claim deed. You can make someone a loan without your wife signing anything. If you take back a property, she never signs a thing. But even if you acquire a property by foreclosure or a deed in lieu of foreclosure, you will need her to sign when you sell the property. Now I'll talk like an old man, this is really something you and your wife need to get straight. There is some reason she doesn't want to buy a house and that's strange. You really need to find out what the reason is and overcome the problem with her, again, a third party might help. Maybe you're bitting off more than she thinks you can chew, it's a matter of trust and if you are new in a marriage, get some help, because this is something that can lead down the divorce alley, maybe you should talk about that too! Hope you work it out. Maybe my answer is not what you wanted to hear, but that's the way it is! Good Luck! B

Answer 4

Your position is secure as far as any right that he quitclaimed to you. However a quitclaim deed doesn't include any guarantee that the person who gave it to you had any legal title to the property. You should be aware that if he quitclaimed title to anyone else after you but they recorded their deed before you did their title would be superior to yours. You should always record a deed immediately!

To perfect your title, you'll need to do a title search to see if he had legal title to give to you as well as if anyone else has any legal claim to the property.

This is going to be quite a bit of work, especially if the county records deeds sequentially by date instead of by the properties legal descriptions. A title company can do it pretty quickly and the cost isn't that high.

You mentioned the mortgage. There's nothing to "deal" with there. Quite frankly, the mortgage company can call the loan now that title has passed. If the rate is lower than current market rates, that's pretty likely to happen. If you can't qualify for a loan in your own right, you may be forced to sell. At least you'll be able to keep the equity, assuming that your title search shows clear title to the property.

Answer 5

The ( "grantor") disclaims any interest the grantor might have in a piece of real property, and passes that claim to another person (the grantee) with a quitclaim deed. A quitclaim deed neither warrants nor professes that the grantor's claim was actually valid. So with the deed, the relative transfered his right to you. FYI.... deeds have to be....

1. in writing
2. grantor must have legal capacity...(if not, the court must have already deemed w/o capacity)
3. grantor and grantee must be identified
4. must have words of conveyance...(ie...convey, warrant, grant,remiss release, QUITCLIAM
5. must be signed by grantor
6. deed must be delivered and accepted.

*** Deeds do not have to be recorded to be valid....Under the Conner Act grantees must record the deed to protect their interest from 3rd parties. ***

If you bought the house..then there should also be consideration which is the "glue" for the contract.

You need to contact a lawyer...it will be well worth the money!

Answer 6

what you do not say is if you live in the house or if the relative lives in the house. If the relative still lives in the house there may be an issue because you never took physical posession of the home. TThere are a few loop holes such as mental incompetence that could void out your contract with the relative but for the most part I do belive your okay. My best advice to you would be to consult with a REAL ESTATE attorney......most attorneys do not charge for consultations or if they do it is a nominal fee Good Luck

Answer 7

You have options:

(1) First and best advice is to seek the advice of a real estate lawyer.

(2) Second, for as long as the deed has not been clouded by someone else since the deed was quit claimed to you, it is not too late to record the deed now. This is a matter of going to the county courthouse and asking a person who works in the property deeds and tax assessment area of the county courthouse to help you record your deed (there will be a fee for recording the deed). You can also ask this person to help you trace the deed back to when your relative recorded his or her deed to make sure know one else has since placed a lien on the property. For purposes of the court, deed events take order of precedence based on recorded date. Thus, if someone placed a lien on the property since your relative quit-claimed his property to you, that lien would have precedence over your claim because it was recorded earlier in time.

(3) Third, you will be responsible for real estate transfer taxes. If you cannot afford a title company (typically only several hundred dollars to take care of this matter), you may have an issue paying real estate transfer taxes which is most likely higher than the cost of a title company.

I am assuming that you have been paying the mortgage and property taxes on the property and that the mortgage company and the county still thinks your relative is the owner.

As soon as you record the deed, you will be responsible for paying real estate transfer taxes in that county. You may also have to refinance the property which will also add costs (also several hundred dollars).

It sounds as if you never did a proper real estate closing and that you helped a relative out by accepting his quit claim deed and offered to take over his or her payments and property. If you do not have a purchase contract in addition to the quit claim deed, you may face a costly lawsuit against your relative, especially if your relative claims that he or she never quit claimed the property.

While you have legal and equitable interest in the property, if the mortgage remained in his or her name, he or she has financial interest in the property. Also, if the quit claim deed was not properly notarized so that there was a witness to this quit claim deed, then your relative could claim that he or she never quit claimed his or her deed -- this will become a matter of his or her word versus yours in a court of law and not having a notarization makes it difficult for the quit claim deed to hold up in a court of law especially since there was not a proper real estate closing to go with this He or she can make your life painful by forcing the mortgage company to call the loan due in full because he or she no longer has equitable rights to the property.

If you cannot afford to refinance, pay the transfer taxes, and pay the title company to clear the title for you, then your best option is to make amends with your relative and potentially split the profits on the sale of the property assuming that is what you want to do at this time.

There is an old saying in the South -- pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. Also, blood is thicker than water. It is better to have part of something than end up with nothing at all. It is also wiser to stay in good graces with family because you never know when you may need him or her to help you out just liked you helped him or her out. Good begets good and ill-will begets more ill-will. Your kindness to your relative will be paid back in time for as long as you continue to honor the kindness and work with your relative to resolve this matter peacefully between the two of you before pursuing financial and legal recourse. Why lose money when you can make money instead?!

May God and St. Luke be with you during your time of need.

Best Wishes,

Jerry

Answer 8

Both Bostonion (spelling?) and Chris are correct. It only cost like 30 dollars to record title in Southern California at the county clerk's office. Either talk to your county clerk's office or a local title company, both can help you. Title company can insure your title (for a fee), which in turn, tells you if there is anyone else laying claim on your property and insures that.

Regards

Answer 9

If he/she gave/sold/conveyed the property you with a quit claim deed then you received it with whatever right that they had in it. So, if they owned it outright (fee simple) then you get it outright. If he just had a life estate - then you just have a life estate, based on his life. Etc.

Depending on your states' recording statutes, if you were the first to record, then you likely have priority. But, if he, in the mean time before you recorded, sold it to someone else, they would have greater priority, and you may have a claim against who you received it from.

You should look into legal aid if you have problems affording legal assistance.

Answer 10

recording the deed has no bearing on ownership. once the deed and transfered and excepted, thats it, you own the house. the quick claim deed is just a fast way of property transfer that in actuality says "i may not even own this property, but if i do, its now yours" as far as physical possesion, unless he is still living there, there is no problem. don't worry about it. talk to an attorney if it starts to get ugly