"How I lost $66,000 and you can too! "Special" vs. "Warranty"?

[Reginald S.]

Hello all. Today I came across a Youtube video that was titled "How I lost $66,000 and you can too if you don't watch this video." The guy in the video said that he had sold a house via a double-close and is now being sued by a title insurance company that tracked him down two years after the sale. The issue was an existing lien that wasn't discovered during the title search. He said that two attorneys examined the case and confirmed that the title company did have a legitimate case against him. He stated that it was two ways he could have avoided the lawsuit; one was if he would have assigned the deal. The other was if he used a "special deed" instead of a 'General warranty deed.' He said that investors should be selling their deals via a "special deed" to protect themselves from such a lawsuit. Up until I saw this video I had never heard of anyone using a "special deed" for protection before. Does anyone know if what this guy is saying is true? If so, what is the process for deed conversion? Is it as simple as changing the language in our purchase agreement to say "special deed" as opposed to "warranty deed?" 

[Steve Vaughan]

The types of deeds we grant at sale or acquire at purchase are extremely important. I'm selling a 3-family in my LLC and am only giving the buyer a special warranty deed. It only warrants title for the period of my ownership. It is common with businesses and entities. Most un-represented buyers won't know the difference probably.

I am not an attorney.  I would consult competent legal counsel in your state before going off of a youtube video, but in my opinion, the advice can't hurt!   

Hopefully someone like Uncle Bill may decide to chime in and grant us a quick class on the types of deeds?  Thanks in advance Mr. G!