QUIT CLAIM deed (please help a newbie)

[Shaun Lapsley]

Straight to the point
3bd 1bath SFH listed at 55k estimated value at 95k

If it seems too good to be true, It probably is ...

"Prior to seller receipt & approval of the full title package from foreclosure title to property will be conveyed by a quit claim deed"

My basic translation,  "Before the seller gets the 55k, the buyer will be stuck with the possibility of liens on the property, 2nd mortgage issues, tenants, and other trash to be taken out before any exit strategy will be possible."

As a newbie I want to do as much due diligence as possible.
This was a VA loan. VA loans can not be second mortgages.
I drove by the property, exterior is in good shape.
Through the window, clean and empty. I dont believe anyone is living there.

I have yet to contact the listing agent

- Am I able to ask the listing agent if the title is free and clear ?

[Steve McGovern]

Quick guide to Deeds in colloquial language-- NOT state specific:  

Warranty Deed:  "You own it all, baby!  ...well, except for these things over here that we all already know about.  Sure, I'll even warranty it."  

Quitclaim Deed**: "Look, whatever it is that I have, you own now,  unless I conveyed it out myself. Could be everything, or nothing at all, Have a nice day. Don't bother me again."  

Special Warranty Deed (Lies in between the above two):  "Listen,  I'll warranty it, but I'm only gonna warranty it for the things that happened to it while I owned it."  

Foreclosure/Trustee's Deed:  "Well, we were the lender... and we had to take the property back from the owner,  so yeah, we possess it...  but we only possess what we took for collateral, so it doesn't matter what he owned, what matters is what the legal description for the mortgage/deed of trust says...   cause that's all we have the right to."  

You're in NY, so here's a bonus -- Bargain & Sale Deed:  "Yup,  you own it.  Congrats.  Have a nice life, 'cause I'm outta here."  

** In most of Massachusetts, for example, a Quitclaim IS, in fact, the only Deed. You'll also never get more than this or a Special Warranty Deed  from a governmental/quazi governmental agency, so the Quitclaim isn't quite as bad as it seems, in most places.  

On the other hand, I've also seen Quitclaims used to describe leasehold interests that were being conveyed and not the Fee, at all.   This is rare, but I've seen it more than once, in my work. If You're getting a Quitclaim from a real company or individual AND that isn't the normal deed that's passed from party to party in the jurisdiction, then I would highly advise searching past that Deed for the basis of your title search. Go one or two owners back from that point, to assure that you understand what you actually own.