A deed is documentation of a transfer of a real property interest. In Texas real property includes both the surface land, and the minerals (E.g., oil gas, coal, limestone). The surface and minerals can be severed, resulting in two lines of title, one for the surface, and one for the minerals.
The requirements of a valid deed are:
- It must be in writing.
- Describe the property with particularity.
- Identify the grantor and grantee.
- Signed by the grantor, with a notary acknowledgment.
- Filed with the county real estate records where the property is located.
The description of the property must state the legal description, or where the legal description can be found. Putting just the street address (my house at 4211 Willow, Center, Texas) is insufficient. Property can be described by metes and bounds, or as a tract in a subdivision with reference where in the county records the subdivision plat is filed, such as “Lot 14, Block 42 in the Andover Addition, a Subdivision in Liberty County, Texas, recorded in Volume 385 Page 207 of the Liberty County, Texas real property records.” Another valid description could be “All that property of record of Tom Smith recorded in the real property records of Fort Bend County, Texas.” This description is valid because by looking up the name Tom Smith in the real property records of Fort Bend County, one can determine all of Tom Smith’s real property that is subject to the transfer.
A grantor can put restrictions in a grant of real property. For example, it can say it grants the property, but the grantor reserves the minerals. Or it can say that the grant is ‘subject to’ all encumbrances that are of record in the county real estate records. This could include other persons who have an interest, such as co-tenants, reservations of mineral rights, deeds of trust, liens, and easements. With such ‘subject to’ language in a deed, it is the grantees responsibility to search the county records for such burdens on the title. Usually, this research is done by a title company.
After the property is described, and the restrictions recited, the grantor may or may not put warranty language in the deed. A warranty deed is a statement that the Grantor warrants that he/she/it (a corporation is an ‘it’) has good title to what is being conveyed. A special warranty deed is a statement by the grantor that during the time the grantor owned the property, nothing occurred that would cause title problems (E.g., mortgage, judgment lien, tax lien), but makes no guarantee as to what someone may have done prior to the grantor’s ownership. A quitclaim deed is a deed without any warranty. The grantor says, I give you whatever interest I might have in ‘Blackacre’, and I am not telling you what I may or may not have. Imagine you pay for a box labeled ‘Blackacre’, but you don’t know what is in the box, or if there is nothing in the box. Why would anyone accept a quitclaim deed? If a husband and wife own a house, and there is a divorce settlement where one party is awarded the home, a quitclaim deed might be appropriate, because both husband and wife, prior to the transfer, are familiar with the status of the property. In any case, if someone will only offer you a quitclaim deed on a deal, you MUST do a title search prior to signing or handing over any cash.
If you are involved in a real estate or oil and gas deal, buying, selling, or leasing, contact the Law Office of Elliott Klein, PLLC for a review and consultation, prior to signing anything or handing over money.