Quit Claim/Quick Claim deeds

[John Humphries]

Hello all. I suppose this falls under the umbrella of "legal issues" but moderators pleas move this thread to the appropriate forum if there is a more relavent one. I'm looking at a four acre tract of land near my house. Seller is out of state. Found it on craigslist. We've been talking for a few weeks and finally reached a deal that we are both happy with. However, he just asked if we could do a quick claim/quit claim (same thing, different terminology as far as i know) transfer to avoid higher closing costs. I've heard of scams involving this type of sale, and I know it has the least amount of protection for me, the buyer, than just about any other kind of sale. Is there a way to protect myself from this, or should I insist upon a different type of deal structure? Anyone ever gone through this? Thanks

[Tyler Sterns]

Buying a property with a quit claim deed from a stranger on Craigslist is a terrible idea. A quitclaim deed means that he is conveying you whatever he has, if he has nothing you would be conveyed nothing, and you would have no recourse.