What are deeds and recording?
A deed is the signed document that transfers ownership of real estate from a seller (the grantor) to a buyer (the grantee). In the United States, title generally passes when a valid deed is signed and delivered. Recording means filing that deed in the public land records, usually at a county recorder, register of deeds or clerk's office. Recording is not what transfers ownership, but it gives notice to the world and protects the buyer against later claims.
Property law is mostly state law, so each state sets its own rules on deed formalities, recording and priority. That variety is one more example of American federalism, and it means a closing in Texas can look different from one in New York.
- Transfers ownership
- Signed and delivered deed
- Public record
- County recorder or register of deeds
- Priority rules
- State recording acts
- Buyer protection
- Title search and title insurance
Not every deed promises the same thing. A quitclaim deed transfers only whatever interest the seller has, with no promise that it's good.
Common types of deeds
- General warranty deed: The seller promises that title is good and agrees to defend the buyer against claims from anyone, even claims arising before the seller owned the property.
- Special warranty deed: The seller promises only that nothing went wrong with title during the seller's own ownership.
- Quitclaim deed: The seller transfers whatever interest they have, if any, with no warranties. It is often used between family members, in divorces or to clear up a defect in the records.
Recording acts: who wins a double sale?
If a seller sells the same property to two buyers, state recording acts decide who prevails. Most states use either a notice or a race-notice rule, split roughly evenly between the two.
- Race: Whoever records first wins, even if they knew of the earlier sale. Only a few states, such as North Carolina and Louisiana, follow this rule.
- Notice: A later buyer who paid value without notice of the earlier sale wins, even without recording first.
- Race-notice: A later buyer wins only if they had no notice of the earlier sale and also recorded first.
Title searches and title insurance
Before closing, a title company or attorney runs a title search through the records to trace the chain of title and find mortgages, liens, judgments and easements. Because the records can still miss problems such as forged deeds or unknown heirs, most buyers and nearly all lenders buy title insurance. A lender's policy protects the mortgage lender, while an owner's policy, paid once at closing, protects the buyer for as long as they own the property. When ownership is disputed, a court can settle it in a quiet title action. A few states, including Massachusetts, Minnesota and Hawaii, also have a Torrens system in which a court-issued certificate of title is itself the proof of ownership.
How Korea compares
Korea uses a national registry run by the courts. Under Article 186 of the Civil Code, a buyer becomes owner only when the transfer is registered, not when the price is paid. The register is divided into a title section, a section on ownership and a section on other rights such as mortgages and leases. Unlike a Torrens certificate, a Korean registration has no public faith: it is presumed accurate, but a buyer who relied on a registration made with forged papers generally loses the property.
Korean papers on Korea's Real Property Registration System: Joint Filing, Provisional Registration, Registration Certificates, and the Problem of No Public Faith in the Register and Strengthening Lease Rights in Korea: Registered Leases Under Civil Code Article 621, Tenant Priority Under the Housing Lease Protection Act, and Lease Registration Reform cover the registry system and how tenants gain rights against new owners. Cases on provisional registration and mortgages appear in Presumptive Effect of Provisional Registration, Time of Acquiring Ownership upon Final Registration, and the Fate of a Mortgage Created After Provisional Registration and Mortgage Registration and Tenant Priority in Korean Foreclosure Auctions: Small Tenant Protection and Senior Mortgages.
| United States | Korea | |
|---|---|---|
| Who keeps records | County offices | Court registry offices |
| When ownership passes | Delivery of the deed | Registration |
| Reliance on the record | Recording acts protect good-faith buyers | No public faith in the register |
| Risk management | Title search and title insurance | Checking the register and building records |
Cash Note
청년문화예술패스 하반기 추가 발급 — 2006·2007년생 최대 20만 원, 11월 30일까지
41 readers so far
Make Korean friends & friends from around the world learning Korean
Chat easily with people from many countries who love Korea.
Beauty UP
대학생 가성비 기초 루틴 — 꼭 필요한 3단계만 남기기
116 readers so far
Psych UP
나의 돈 성향 테스트｜저축 다람쥐? 오늘만 사는 플렉서?
2 people have taken it so far
Criticism and debate
Critics of the U.S. system say that relying on private title insurance adds cost to every home sale and that county records vary widely in quality. Supporters answer that insurance spreads the risk of hidden defects better than a government guarantee would. Deed fraud, in which someone forges a deed to a property they don't own, has led many counties to offer free alerts when a document is recorded in an owner's name. In Korea, the debate centers on whether to give the register public faith and how to protect tenants after a wave of lease deposit fraud.
Sign up for your county's property fraud alert if it offers one. It tells you when someone records a document against your home.
- Does a deed have to be recorded to be valid?
- In most states a deed is valid between the seller and buyer once signed and delivered, but recording is needed to protect the buyer against later purchasers and creditors.
- What is the difference between a warranty deed and a quitclaim deed?
- A warranty deed includes the seller's promises that title is good, while a quitclaim deed transfers only whatever interest the seller has, with no promises.
- Do I need owner's title insurance?
- It is usually optional, but it is a one-time cost that covers title defects missed by the search, such as forgery or unknown heirs, for as long as you own the property.
References and official sources
- What is title insurance? Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Deed. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute
- Recording statutes. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute
- 부동산등기법. 국가법령정보센터