What’s a Special Warranty Deed?
Title companies don’t want you knowing about this trick. For instance, Old Republic Title provides various sample documents on their website. But they don’t provide a Special Warranty Deed. There are different types of deeds: Quit Claim Deeds, General Warranty Deeds, Trustee Deeds. I could go on. Below I’ll explain why Special Warranty Deeds should be used more. So … what’s a Special Warranty Deed?
SHORT ANSWER: A special warranty deed is a transfer to real property and only warrants or guarantees the title against defects in clear title that may have arisen during the period of its tenure or ownership of the property.
TRANSLATION IN SIMPLE ENGLISH: A special warranty deed limits your liability for disputes over title to the real property. If an earlier owner messed things up by (for example) selling the same property to two different people, you aren’t responsible for that.
If you sign a deed to real property, how much liability do you want to assume? That’s the issue with different types of deeds. In order to qualify for title insurance, title companies require warranty deeds. But if you sign a “Warranty Deed” (also known simply as General Warranty Deed) you’re guaranteeing that there are no issues with ownership going all the way back to the beginning of time. Now no one is going to sue you over something from 4.5 billion years ago when the earth was first formed. But whoever owned the property before you got involved might have done something. Maybe that prior owner promised the next door neighbor that he could drive over a corner of your property. Or the prior owner allowed the neighbor to run a water pipe under your property.
If you sign a (General) Warranty Deed, you agree to pay for any problems caused by that prior owner. That’s right. The current owner could sue you because the owner before you supposedly sold the property to two different people.
Here’s how you know the difference. A General Warranty Deed (aka simply a Warranty Deed) will say “The undersigned hereby warrants the title against all persons whomsoever, subject to the matters above set forth.”
A Special Warranty Deed, in contrast, will say “Notwithstanding any warranty that may otherwise be implied from the use of any word, phrase, or clause herein, Grantor(s) warrant title to the Property, subject to the matters referred to above, only against its own acts, but not the acts of any others.” Notice the underlined letters. That’s the difference.
I don’t know your specific situation, so I’m not giving you specific legal advice. But in most situations, a Special Warranty Deed is the way to go. If you have any questions, contact us. Looking forward to it.