Tax deed experts please help!

[Exavier Martinez]

Can some one please explain the difference between a quit claim deed And a quiet title action in regards to tax deed auctions? Why would I need a quit claim deed and/or quiet title action? Do you usually need both when buying at tax deed auctions? What happens if you dont win the lawsuit with the quiet title action lawsuit? In what instances could you lose the property after the auction is over? 

[Matt Devincenzo]

You're in two separate 'buckets'...one is understanding documents, the other is process.

Deeds; there are various types and they convey differing levels of control or rights. Simply put a deed is just a piece of paper that 'does' something related to land (super simplified). So a trust deed conveys the interest in a property related to a loan, a quit claim is one person (me for example) 'quitting' my claim to another person (you for example). So if I QC my rights in the Brooklyn bridge to you, you now own whatever right I had in the Brooklyn bridge...which is none. So you have obtained nothing. But if I QC my right to my personal home to you, you are now the owner of that home BUT you inherit any encumbrances I have on the property too. 

Quiet title: you are literally quieting or silencing something that is on the property. In the case of a tax sale the issue is that there is a period of time after the sale where someone could challenge the sale being done improperly. A QT is simply a lawsuit where the court evaluates and confirms the correct process was followed. 

Ok so why are you asking about these two very specific items? Because a Tax deed sale property has issues with selling to another party and being able to obtain title insurance. So if I am selling you a property I bought at tax sale, I'll sell to you using a QC because I can't warranty the transaction...

The other is you want to clear title, so how can you do that? Using a QC or QT. If you can track down the prior owner and obtain a QC from them, that clears the issue related to the tax deed process and you can now obtain title insurance. The other option is filing the QT the court confirms everything and again you can now use that process to allow a title policy to be written.