Your home is sold, and the sales contract has been honored. It's time for the last steps for your property sale; the buyer antes up the money, and you transfer the title. Most buyers want warranty deeds because they guarantee you're giving them the clear title. Contracts and state property laws vary, though, so do some homework before you attempt this transaction.
Step 1
Use a state statutory warranty deed form from a local office supply store, title company, or attorney. Type the names and addresses of all owners of the property on the grantor line. The name and address of the new buyer goes on the grantee line. After the names, say how the buyers want to hold titles. For example, a buyer may want "Tenants in common" after his name.
Step 2
Type in the property's common address, legal description, and tax identification number. Type in the sales price, or the consideration, on a deed form.
Step 3
Rustle up a notary public and the number of witnesses required to watch you sign away your property. Put your John Hancock on the deed with the date. File it at the county's register of deeds office and pay the fees and any transfer taxes.
References
Warnings
- Don't give a buyer a deed until he pays up what he owes for your home. Keep an attorney on speed dial for legal questions about your specific deal.
Writer Bio
Maggie Lourdes is a full-time attorney in southeast Michigan. She teaches law at Cleary University in Ann Arbor and online for National University in San Diego. Her writing has been featured in "Realtor Magazine," the N.Y. State Bar's "Health Law Journal," "Oakland County Legal News," "Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal," "Eye Spy Magazine" and "Surplus Today" magazine.