There are various interests in the real estate transaction process. While you want a quick and effortless transaction, you also want the maximum amount of protection possible. Every year, people lose hundreds of millions of dollars to real estate fraud. Many people do not even know the warning signs to look out for when they are buying or selling property. If you are purchasing a property, it can be a flashing red light when someone is offering you a quitclaim deed. It means that they will not promise that they actually own in full what you may think that you are buying.

However, there are different types of transactions, in which property is changing hands, but there may not be negotiations between the parties. Then, it may make sense to use a quitclaim deed for a smoother and quicker transaction.

When you need legal help and advice for any Seattle real estate transaction, contact the experienced Seattle quitclaim deed lawyers at Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess. We partner with you and take the time to listen before we provide you with pragmatic legal advice for your situation.

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A quitclaim deed is the legal equivalent of transferring the deed to the property “as is.” The seller makes no warranties whatsoever about the title and their ownership of the property. The buyer is getting only what is conveyed to them, and they do not know the seller’s true property ownership. Essentially, the seller is not guaranteeing you anything, including the fact that they even own the property in the first place.

The standard deed makes a warranty that the owner really has possession of the property. They can be held legally responsible if they do not really own the property. Of course, your real estate attorney will perform a title check before the transaction closes to see if there are any defects in the title as a way of protecting you. The quitclaim deed makes no such representations or warranties. The seller, or the person who is transferring the property, ordinarily cannot be held liable because they did not make any representations about the property. If you are buying a property, and the seller is not offering you a warranty deed, it is a surefire sign that something may be wrong. They may not be in a position where they can make any representations about a title, or they may simply be trying to defraud you. Essentially, there are very few reasons why you would ever convey money to anyone else in exchange for a quitclaim deed, because you may literally just be buying a piece of paper that does not carry any weight.

In most cases, quitclaim deeds will not be a part of a transaction between two arms-length parties. The buyer will be taking a true risk when they do not really know if they own the property. Quitclaim deeds are more common in transactions between two related parties. In these situations, family members may be transferring property between each other, and there is no money changing hands. Quitclaim deeds are often used in a divorce when one spouse is transferring the deed to the home to each other.

There may be other instances in which it makes sense to use a quitclaim deed. For example, there may have been an error on a previous deed that makes warranties about the property. You will need to have a proper and correct deed without having to go through the entire transaction from scratch. You will have a quitclaim deed that corrects the errors in initial deed without making any new warranties.

A quitclaim deed can help you transfer a property with speed and efficiency because there are less issues with researching the ownership of the property. There are some times when the parties involved in a transaction need to transfer property in a hurry. Although the buyer takes a huge risk, they may agree to the use of a quitclaim deed. Most real estate lawyers will advise against this, but there may be specific considerations related to your transaction that will make this the best option for your situation.

Another common instance in which people use quitclaim deeds is when they are transferring property to a trust. If you have established a revocable or irrevocable trust, you will transfer property into it to be managed by the trustee. This transaction will not be an arms-length one because property is not changing hands. Still, there will need to be a deed involved in the transaction, and it is often a quitclaim deed. The Seattle quitclaim deed lawyers at Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess also work with clients on estate planning solutions, and we understand how property is transferred to trusts. We can work with you on a comprehensive estate plan, especially when it involves real property.

Finally, you may use a quitclaim deed to make a gift of property to a loved one or a charity. When you are giving a gift, you may not want potential legal liability (even though there is no legal agreement between you and the other party, and thus, no consideration). Still, you want the transfer to be as easy as possible, and you can accomplish that through a quitclaim deed.

The requirements for a quitclaim deed are relatively simple. You will need to include the following:

• A legal description of the property being deeded, 
• the county in which the property is located, 
• the date of property transfer, 
• the name(s) of the person transferring the property (grantor)
• the name(s)of the person in receipt of the property (grantee)

Once the quitclaim deed is conveyed, it will be recorded in the county where the transaction takes place. While it may seem simple to draft this quitclaim deed on your own, it never makes sense to take any chances when something as valuable as property is involved. Since a Seattle quitclaim deed lawyer may also be performing other tasks for you, it is helpful to have them draft the deed as well to ensure that it is done correctly.

When you have a warranty deed, you can file a lawsuit against the seller if you learned after the transaction that you did not receive the property free and clear of any defects or liens. For example, you may not have learned that there was an easement on the property. Hopefully, you hired a real estate lawyer to perform a title search before the deal closed, and you made a visual inspection of the property. Still, there may be others who claim to have an interest in the property, and you were never able to learn about it. If you have a warranty deed, you may take legal action to either get financial compensation or to rescind the transaction entirely,

If you have a quitclaim deed, there is no potential lawsuit because the owner made no representations before they transferred the property (unless they actively committed fraud and broke the law). There are still potential lawsuits when you believe that there was fraud or any other illegal conduct used to transfer the property, but there is a high level that you must meet to prove fraud. Still, because you have been defrauded, it can be difficult to track down the person who did it and collect on any judgment that you obtained from them. If the owner simply made a mistake, or there was something that they did not realize, you may not have a valid basis for a lawsuit.

If you have purchased a property through a quitclaim deed, and you have learned that you were defrauded, the attorneys at Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess can help you take legal action.

There are very limited circumstances in which you should ever accept a property with a quitclaim deed. If you are considering an arms-length transaction with a stranger who proposes to offer you a quitclaim deed, you should be extremely skeptical. Lenders will certainly not want to offer you financing on a home with a quitclaim deed. Mortgage lenders will take a collateral interest when they lend you money, and there are no assurances that they will own the property if they have to foreclose. For residential property, banks will typically only lend money when there is a deed that makes warranties. If you are paying cash for a property in which a quitclaim deed is offered, you are likely making a huge mistake.

In a standard real estate transaction, you will obtain title insurance when purchasing the property. This insurance will cover you when there is a defect in the title. However, the title insurance company will not want to take on open-ended and unlimited risk. They will likely not even offer you a policy on a quitclaim deed because anything can happen. There is no one from whom the title insurance company can recover financially because the seller is not making any warranties.

Even in a related-party transaction, there is always the possibility that the person transferring the property may not own it free and clear of any defects. However, given the circumstances in which quitclaim deeds are used, it is not as much of a problem in these types of transactions. Even when you know the person transferring the property to you, there is always a risk that they may not fully own it. Given the nature of property and titles, they may not even know that they do not own the entire property.

Even if a quitclaim deed seems simple, and there may be no potential interests related to the transaction, you should still hire an attorney to help you with the deed. The Seattle quitclaim deed lawyers at Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess can assist you with all aspects of the real estate transaction process to ensure that your legal rights are protected. We can help you determine when a quitclaim deed may be necessary or acceptable. Then, we can draft the documents on your behalf or review the documents you have been given as part of the transaction. It may be that a warranty deed is better for your transaction process, and we will not hesitate to tell you that. If a quitclaim deed may work, we can work to protect your interests to the fullest extent possible.

When you are involved in any type of real estate transaction, regardless of whether money is changing hands, you need the help of an experienced real estate attorney. Property transfers are often not straightforward. In many cases, you simply need advice about how to proceed with your situation. Our lawyers will help you consider options for how to transfer property in an efficient manner that still protects your legal rights. We can negotiate with the other party when there are any legal issues related to the transfer.

With the help of our Seattle real estate attorneys at Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess, you can have peace of mind knowing that your quitclaim deed matters are in capable hands. Our lawyers have been working with Seattle area clients on business law and real estate issues, and our attorneys have over 100 years of experience. Call us today to see how we can help you. Our real estate lawyers take the time to listen to you and learn your aims. Then, we can undertake a proactive review of your situation to determine your best options. Our attorney will thoroughly review the documents and any potential issues you need to be aware of before providing you with practical legal advice. 

To speak with a Seattle quitclaim deed lawyer, you can message us through our website, or call us today at 206-621-1110. Our lawyers will work with you on a comprehensive approach to all of your real estate issues.

Dickson Frohlich Phillips Burgess – Seattle Office

2101 4th Ave #700
Seattle, WA 98121

P: (206) 621-1110