Realty Biz Consulting

Simply put, a deed is the document that transfers ownership of real estate. In the United States you cannot transfer real property without having something in writing and the most common instrument used to do this is a deed.. A real estate deed is broken up into several parts the most common of which are as follows:

The Premises opens the document with the basic details of the property and the parties exchanging the property. This is also known as the granting clause and names the Grantor (person selling) and Grantee (person receiving).

• The Redendum is the part of the deed in which the Grantor may retain something from the transferred property such as a life estate.
• The Conditions of the deed are the terms that must be completed in order for the deed to be valid. Normally it states “For good and valuable consideration received….”
• The warranty of the deed is where the Grantor warrants or promises to defend the title either in full or in part.
• The covenants are a series of promises made by the grantor to the grantee.
• The last part of the deed is the conclusion.

A deed grants a type of showing that you own the property or home that is described in the legal description on the deed. It can also mean that while someone else might be living on the land and have possession of it, you are the legal owner with the right to sell or convey the property To insure the world at large is aware of this your deed is normally recorded in the county clerk’s office where the property resides. However, a deed does NOT have to be physically recorded to be in full force and effect. So long as all of the proper requirements have been met to create the deed it is a valid legal document the moment it is transferred to the Grantee, whether that person ever chooses to record it with the court or not.

Here’s a brief rundown of the most common types of deeds:

A quitclaim deed transfers whatever ownership interest a person has in a property. It makes no guarantees about the extent of the person’s interest. Quitclaim deeds are commonly used by divorcing couples; one spouse signs all his or her rights in the couple’s real estate over to the other. This can be especially useful if it isn’t clear how much of an interest, if any, one spouse has in property that’s held in the others name. (However, a quitclaim deed doesn’t relieve the individual transferring ownership from the mortgage, if there is one.)

A warranty deed transfers ownership and explicitly promises the buyer that the Grantor has good and valid title to the property, meaning it is free of all liens or claims of ownership. The Grantor guarantees that he or she will compensate the buyer if that turns out to be wrong. The warranty deed may make other promises as well, to address particular problems with the transaction such as governmental easements or any remaining estate still on the property that prevents it from being transferred as a fee simple property.

A special warranty deed is not nearly as protective of the Grantee the general warranty deed. The grantor of a special warranty deed conveys the property with two warranties:

1. The grantor warrants that they have received title.
2. The grantor warrants, unless noted specifically in the deed, that the property was not encumbered during their period of ownership.

The grantor of the special warranty deed, in effect, only warrants the title against their own actions or omissions. They warrant nothing prior to their taking title. If specifically stated in the deed, other warranties can be conveyed. Special warranty deeds are frequently used by executors and trustees as well as large property developers selling through a corporation.

A grant deed transfers interest in a property from the Grantor to the Grantee for a set price. The grant deed does guarantee that the Grantor owns the property and states it is free of all liens and encumbrances, it does not provide a guarantee against defects of title. This means if a title search in the future where to determine that the property was wrongfully transferred at some point in the past and there is a “chain of title” problem, the Grantor of a grant deed is not responsible for this title defect. This deed is most commonly used in California and basically states that the property has not been sold to anyone else and is not encumbered by any liens placed on it by the current Grantor.

A tax deed is given to an individual who either purchases it directly at a tax deed auction from the county or forecloses on a tax lien certificate which was not redeemed. A tax deed acts similar to a quit claim deed in that it grants title to the owner but does not warrant against any other liens on the property.

When consummating your real estate investment transactions, always ask for a warranty deed since it gives you the most protection possible for the property. However, if the seller is unable to do this then I strongly recommend you hire a title company to do a “lien search” on the property to know for sure just what problems you may be buying. Most title companies will run this search for you for a flat fee of anywhere from $35 to $85 dollars. It is well worth it as this small payment could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars on a bad deal.

There are many vehicles investors can use in the current down market to purchase property at below market value and make a profit. One of the tried and true methods in every market is buying, fixing and selling foreclosed properties. While this may sound like an easy formula to follow, as with any investment, there is the possibility of loss. Going into foreclosure investing with a full knowledge of the pros and cons is your best way to avoid a bad investment. Here are a few pointers that will help you make sound decisions.

Pros of foreclosure investing.

Profitability. This is one of the biggest advantages of investing in foreclosures. You will normally buy a property at a highly discounted price compared to its current fair market value. This is because the bank or lender realizes that if the property does not sell at auction it is considered unsold inventory. They “the bank or lender” will be responsible for maintaining, repairing, marketing, and securing the property at their cost. Depending on how long it stays on the market this can be a considerable expense. Therefore, they would much rather sell the property at a discount at auction.

Advance notice of sale. Most foreclosure auctions are posted by the county at least six weeks in advance. This gives a potential investor time to research the property, check the title, and see if there are unpaid taxes or homeowner’s fees that will not be discharged by the foreclosure and possibly even check the property for damage. This will give you a good idea of what will be involved in making this property marketable again and will guide your bidding at the auction. Also if other bidders at the auction have not done their homework they are more likely to under or over bid for the property. An investor who thinks the property will need $25,000 worth of repairs from guessing will bid lower than you who has gone out and looked at the property and know it only needs $10,000 in repairs.

Online auctions. The biggest advantages of online auctions are their convenience. You do not have to physically attend the auction saving you time and travel expenses. You also have a larger selection of properties to choose from since you are not limited to your immediate geographical area. You can purchase foreclosures anywhere in the country. Also you are not distracted by other bidders when you bid online, and can work from the comfort of your own home or office and have all of your reference materials organized in front of you.

Cons of foreclosure investing.

Auction fever. I have seen this happen to thirty year seasoned investors. They spend a great deal of time researching and strategizing a property coming up at auction. They determine the costs involved in carrying it, repairing, etc. and set the maximum amount they’re willing to bid. Then the auction starts, and another investor has their eye on that same property. The bidding starts to go up and suddenly it becomes personal. You just HAVE to own that property. You bid more than you should and end up in a not so good circumstance.

Wasted research time. More often than not all of the properties that are listed for sale on a certain date do not actually end up on the auction block. Properties can be pulled at the last minute by a bankruptcy filing by the homeowner, redemption or any other problem the lender may have with transferring title at that time. This means if you spent hours researching the history of this property in anticipation of bidding that time is wasted.

Large investment buy-in. In order to bid at most auctions today you need to open an escrow account with the clerk of the court and make a large deposit into the account to secure your bids. This varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but can be upwards of $50,000. This is a large sum of money to leave in escrow just to be able to bid. This is capital you cannot use for other investments or earn interest on. Also most winning foreclosure bids must be paid in full within 24 hours of the end of the auction. This means you need to have all of your financing in place before you bid and ready to be released immediately after.

Clean title. Another concern to keep in mind when buying foreclosures is getting a clean title. The courts will give you either a sheriff’s deed or certificate of title proving you purchased the property at the foreclosure auction but this does not guarantee the title is clear of all defects. You will want to run a full title search on the property and possibly make a motion to the court to “quiet title” if there are any inconsistencies

How to invest in real estate. This question has as many different answers as “how to build a better mousetrap.” If you look online or watch late night television you will find thousands of people pitching their “proven methods” of how to make millions of dollars in real estate. So who do you believe? How do you know when a method is a scam or trick or if it can really provide value?

To discuss in detail the nature of how to get involved in real estate investing would encompass an entire book. In fact there are whole series of books written about it. I put together an ebook myself on how the foreclosure process works. To summarize though you can start out investing in either low cost rentals, single family homes, short sales, foreclosure’s, tax lien certificates, For Sale By Owners (FSBO) or any combinations. However, no matter which way you choose to enter the real estate investing market there are some basic things you are going to need.

The most important asset to any successful real estate investor is his team. Despite what other people may tell you in some late night infomercial, you can not do this alone. Especially if you are new to real estate investing and just starting out. The learning curve is significant and you will quickly find yourself overwhelmed. You need to surround yourself with people who are experienced in the industry and know what your business model is and how to make it work.

One of the first components of your team should be a knowledgable realtor. Someone who is familiar with real estate investing, creative finance and has a thorough knowledge of the market you plan on investing in. Along those lines, one of the first mistakes novice investors make is not choosing a market.

I recently spoke with an investor in Florida about her business model. She wanted my help in getting her deals closed faster. I asked her where she generated her leads from. She said she had a successful online marketing system. I asked her where she currently had deals in the works. She told me Georgia, Michigan and Texas. She was a single investor, no team to work with, and had no contacts in any of those states. None of her deals were even in the state of Florida where she resided. Needless to say she was constantly calling me asking if I knew of a title company in Georgia or worse, wanting to send documents to these states for her sellers to sign that were not even legally binding in those states. Our relationship did not last long. None of her deals closed. I kept advising her to stay local but she had read “going nationwide” was the only way to make huge profits and would not budge.

Moral of the story. When you are first starting out, stay close to home. Pick a town or development within a 30-45 minute drive of where you live. Drive up and down every street of that town and “farm” it. Learn everything you can. See what realtors have signs up. Talk to local store owners to get a feel for the neighborhood. What types of people live there? What does the average house sell for? Are there a lot of empty houses in the neighborhood right now? Learn your market inside and out. Then pick a realtor you feel comfortable working that market with who knows it as well or better than you do! Become your own expert.

Another critical member of your team is going to be the title company or title attorney you use to close your transactions. They must be knowledgable in how real estate investing works. Be willing to work with you on deals that may not be your standard “get a loan and close” scenario. And they must be willing to work with your buyers and sellers in a professional manner. Nothing will kill your deal faster then signing a contract for a property. Telling the seller to contact your title company. The seller calls them and gets some 18 year old kid on the phone who has no idea how things work and treats them as if their call is taking time away from their internet surfing. Your seller will immediately call you and say, “If you want to buy this property then you can NOT use that title company.” Now you either have to walk away from the property, or deal with a title company who you don’t know, doesn’t know anything about you or how you work, and may have an underwriter with a completely different set of guidelines then what you are used to working within.

The last mandatory member of your team is a real estate attorney. No matter how careful you are or how you conduct yourself, you are always going to run into people who do not carry themselves as you do. Basically, they are underhanded people trying to cheat you in some way. Having a reputable real estate attorney on retainer is vital to protecting yourself. A $500 retainer paid to an attorney could save you $10,000 in a lost deal.

My last piece of advice would be do not try to be all things for all situations. Find a niche that works for you whether it’s rentals, lease options, short sales, whatever. Put a system in place that makes you money. Then just repeat that system a hundred times. Do not try to reinvent the wheel. Just stick with what works. Repetition of a successful real estate investing plan is the ultimate key to success in this business, regardless of what you are buying or selling.