Types of deeds
There are a couple of different types of deeds (there are probably twenty different names for them).
Judicial Deed
The best is a judicial deed, where there has been a hearing and the court has directed the Treasure or the appropriate official to deliver a deed to the lien buyer. A judicial deed will usually give you a “marketable title”. What that means is that you can get a title insurance company to issue a title policy on the property.
Administrative Deed
The other type of deed is often referred to an “administrative deed”. IN the case of this type of deed you will have to file a “quiet title” action. This is not a major problem, since you have already done the work needed. In a quiet title you notify the parties in interest (sound familiar?) and tell them to appear if they want to claim the interest they have in the property. Since you have already notified these folks prior to applying for the deed, you should have no problem with a quiet title action.
What is important for you to know is what type of deed you are going to get. Again, your lawyer can tell you if a quiet title action is necessary. Please be aware that I have done a lot of transactions where I got a Treasurer’s deed and did not get quiet title and was able to sell the property using a quit claim deed. This will really depend on the sophistication of the buyer and whether they intend to resell the property in a short period of time or hold the property for a number of years.
The most important thing about going to deed is Notices. It is the notices that are going to determine if you have an easy hearing on getting deed or a difficult one.
Please make sure you have done your notices correctly. Depending on the jurisdiction, you may have to go to court and testify. In some jurisdictions, your attorney can do everything and you won’t have to appear.
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