Deed vs. Title

General Real Estate Investing
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Deed vs. Title

Charlie Gruber
Rental Property Investor · Golden, CO · Member since 2015 · 65 posts · 11 votes

I’ve been looking into difference between Title and a Deed and below are a few notes. Please let me know if something look incorrect or if left out important details. Thanks.

A deed is actual piece of paper that records a single event about a property such as transfer of ownership. The deed is recorded as public record. A property can have many deeds that have been recorded against it over time but only the most current shows current ownership.

A title is the entire history of a property. It is not an actual document but more of a “concept” or history of a property showing all deeds, judgements, leans etc. recorded against property. The title is not recorded as part of public record.

An analogy I came up with is a title is like a job resume and a deed is like a single job instance on your resume. Just like how a resume is a summary of your entire work history a title is summary of property history over time. In addition, just like how a past job represents an event in your history a deed represents an event is history of property.

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  • Rich Baer
    Real Estate Investment Attorney · Kingsville, MD · Member since 2016 · 643 posts · 408 votes
    9y

    @Charlie Gruber

    You got it Charlie. Paragraphs 2 and 3 are correct. It's not a hard concept. But if the analogy helps that is great.

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  • Jeff B.
    Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    Beg to differ.  IMO the names have specific usage and intent.

    A deed is a paper with a Grantor & a Grantee;  a transfer of rights. 

    • A Quit Claim passes the rights of the Grantor to the Grantee, whatever they may be.
    • A Grant Deed (or Warnant) passes unconditional ownership (aka title) and can be insured by a title company.

    Both documents 'need to be filed' at the County Recorder's office.

    Other papers can also be filed against / for a property (eg Liens), but these are not deeds.  They are known defects against the title.  

    With outstanding Liens, a title company will not file a Grant Deed until the liens are cleared.

    A mortgage is always tied to the Deed to which it pertains.

    When a Mortgage is payed off, there's a Reconveyance filed to show the satisfaction of the debt. 

    At COE the prior mortgage is paid and the reconveyence filed.  When the number and names of the mortgage holders match the numbers and names of the reconveyances, the property is free and clear.  

    For your analogy,  the title history is only visible in the County Recorder's records - - that's where a title search is performed.

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  • Ned CareyPro Member
    Moderator
    Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    9y

    Title can be used in more than one way. The way you described it and @Rich Baer confirmed is often called the "Chain of Title". That is they way Rich uses it because he does "Title Searches"

    @Jeff B. gave you a different answer because he is using title in a little different way; title meaning ownership. 

    If you are "In Title' you own the property. If you do  "title search" you are looking into the history of the title passed from one person to the next. I am sure there is a specific definition of title but it is commonly used ether way.

    I think you get the important part. Title; is a concept, a right, or ownership. The Deed is the paper evidence of that ownership.

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