Real-Estate deed question....

Factual Questions
#1

I’ve been renting a condo that is owned by my mother. We’ve decided to purchase said condo. Mom’s going to hold the mortgage.

Her real-estate friend gave us the paperwork we’d need. He gave us a quit-claim deed, a mortgage deed, and a promissory note.

He instructed us not to fill out the terms on the mortgage deed (which seemed odd to me but what the hell do I know)

When we got down to the courhouse to file the papers they wouldn’t take the mortgage deed unless the terms were filled out. They said we could still file the quit-claim deed and that we could file the mortgage deed later but that the condo wouldn’t come up as ours in a title search until we do that so we wouldn’t be able to sell it without the mortgage deed.

And the condo association wants a copy of the warranty deed for the condo assn. membership to be transferred.

Three different deeds that do three different things but do we need all three?

I’m a bit confused and mom’s real-estate friend didn’t really give us all of the information we needed.

So, I’ve got the quit-claim deed with our names on it do I own the condo or is it not really a done deal until we do more paperwork?

#2

Pay a few $$ to a competent Florida Real Estate Lawyer now or you’ll pay a lot more after your Mother passes on and your trying to clear the title. Any advice we give you would be wrong in 49 of the 50 states.

#3

You need to see a lawyer licensed in your state, who can explain what you need.

#4

Thanks. That was my feeling. I’ve purchased property in the past. There’s a reason these things are done in a lawyer’s office.

My mother does know a real-estate attorney so we may just have to cough up the $$ to get him to make the paperwork all spiffy.

#5

A lawyer, knowledgeable in matters of real estate is invaluable in acas like this.
A couple of huundred buck should cover the bases coming and going.

#6

It’s more than just making the paperwork look nice.

Ideally, you’d have have someone looking out for you that isn’t your mother’s attorney. He or she would be making sure that you get good title, among other things. For example, there might be liens that your mother doesn’t know about.

There are also tax issues to consider.

#7

The advice to consult an attorney is generally sound. But you can (and probably should) do some of your own investigating.

You should check the Registry of Deeds to see what liens and easements apply. Attorneys are supposed to do this and often do, but sometimes are sloppy in this duty (I know of several such cases). It’s reasonably easy and interesting to do this.

The deed your attorney will draw up will almost certainly closely follow the deed your mother now holds. You should certainly get a copy of this, and should closely question any differences you notice between old and new deeds.

#8

velvetjones , I can’t give you legal advice, but I formerly held a title insurance license in the state of FL (until I relocated), and still have some current ties there. What part of the state are you in?

In FL, either a real estate attorney or a title company can help you with what you are trying to do. This is one of those cases where paying a little bit now for good help is totally worth it and could save you a big mess later.

The Quit Claim Deed would transfer ownership, but if a search was not done, there could be liens out there that you are unaware of (as Random) mentioned). Also, your mother would need to deed out the way she held title…are you certain the Quit Claim was even executed properly? If not, there could be some doubt as to whether or not ownership has indeed transferred to you.

Your condo association should accept the Quit Claim deed as proof of ownership. In a sale between unrelated parties, a Warranty Deed is customarily used, but a Quit Claim is not uncommon in situations such as yours. Ask the Management Company what they will need, but I don’t see how they can require you to transfer title a certain way. (I’ll stop before I digress into a discussion of what the different types of deeds mean, and I have everyone yawning).

And just to try and help clear a couple of small things up for you: The mortgage does not transfer ownership…it pledges the property as collateral. The note (which does not get recorded) is your written promise to pay back the loan, lest the collateral be foreclosed upon.

Making sure that you have a firm claim of ownership and clear title can get complicated, and requires that you have help from the proper professionals. Just as you shouldn’t seek medical advice from a message board, I wouldn’t recommend that you seek real estate advice either.

I still do title work in my new state of residence, and I hate to tell you how many messes I clean up every day…most of them caused by people drawing their own deeds and trying to handle things themselves.

As I said before…can’t offer you any legal advice, but would be glad to answer general questions and help point you to someone who can help if you’re in an area where I have contacts. Email is in profile if you like :slight_smile:

#9

Thanks Cherry2000 we’ve got an appointment with a real-estate lawyer on Thursday.

I feel like so far we haven’t done anything wrong just that it’s not quite a done deal yet.