hey! i need homework help with my real estate law class. help! :o)?

Question

okay...the question is "assume that mr. jay intends to transfer his deed as a quitclaim deed. unknown to mr jay, his father fraudently obtained the property from ms. bee 60 years ago. what impact will this have on everything? I was thinking along the lines that it wouldn't have much impact because title exams. only go back 50-60 years where it would have an impact but i am probably wrong huh? any advice would be nice! thanks!

Answer 1

Well It would help if I knew what state you were in; however, I may be able to help anyway because I took Real Estate Law a couple of semesters ago.

First of all I think title exams go back further than 50 or 60 years. I think they go back as far as the title has been recorded. Regarless, if the title was obtained fraudulently at anytime that causes an issue. Legally if the deed was ever obtained fraudulently or if there is some other flaw in the deed then some unknown person may have a legal claim to the property if they ever find out they have a claim and may be intitled to quite title lawsuit. The other problem that could occur is if the real estate is ever sold and title insurance is purchased and the fraud is discovered then the current owner may loose his claim to the property or the flaw in the title will have to be resolved before it can be sold.

According to my real estate law book a quitclaim deed purports to convey only the grantor's present interest in the real estate, if the grantor has any interest, rather than the real estate itself. Since such a deed purports to convey only whatever interest the grantor has at the time, its use does not mean or imply the grantor has a good title, or any title at all. This form of deed does not impose any future obligations on the grantor. If the grantor has an interest, it is conveyed by the quit claim deed. If the grantor has no interest none will be conveyed. If the grantor aquires an interest after executing the deed, the interest will be retained as the grantor's property.

Quitclaim deeds are used when the grantor knows that the title held has a flaw, such as where another may have an interest in the real estate, or where the interest of the grantor is doubtful, but a deed is need to clear that interest. They are commonly used when parties have aquired title through foreclosure or some other involuntary means.

The point of the quitclaim deed is to release the grantor from the covenants and warranties included in other types of deeds becuase he knows there is a flaw in the title. This knowledge alone would make me wonder why he is choosing this method of transfer if he allegedly know nothing of the flaw.

I don't know if this helps or not but I hope it does! :)

Answer 2

The question is poorly written and nearly impossible to answer. First of all, real estate law varies by state. Second, there is no indication of a transfer to Mr. Jay from his father. Third, there is no indication regarding how Mr. Jay's father alleged perpetrated this fraudulent transfer or how Mr. Jay discovered that it was fraudulent. Ms. Bee might still be alive, be unaware of the transfer and still have time to file a quiet title lawsuit.

There are simply to many variable and undisclosed factors that would impact the answer to this question.