When you buy or sell real estate in the United States, you typically go through a process of researching the property and the seller. This process is called a title search. This process reveals what mortgages or liens are on the property and the seller, whether the seller is the right person to own the property, and more. Any mortgages or liens that are uncovered by the title search are then resolved through a contract between the seller and buyer before the sale is finalized.
In contrast, a quitclaim deed is a way for a seller to transfer ownership of a property without making any promises about who owns the property. In other words, there is no title search involved when transferring ownership with a quitclaim deed. Naturally, there are risks involved. On the other hand, a quitclaim deed is a way to transfer ownership of real estate much faster and for less money than a traditional real estate sale. So, when would you use a quitclaim deed to transfer real estate? Typically, a quitclaim deed is used when you want to change the name of a property between family members (parent-child, husband and wife, relatives), or when you want to transfer property to a trust.
