Deeds

• A deed is a legal instrument that evidences a transfer of land. Deeds set forth information about the property being transferred, the parties to the transfer and any conditions of the transfer.
  
  

Warranties of Title

• Most types of deed contain certain warranties, or legally enforceable promises, by the party transferring the property (the "grantor") regarding the grantor's title to the property. "Title" is a legal term referring to the quality of the grantor's ownership interest.
  
  

Quitclaim

• A quitclaim deed makes no promises about the grantor's ownership of the property. It only states that whatever interest the grantor holds, he is transferring that interest to another party (the "grantee") and the grantor is thus released from liability for title problems.
  
  

Title Defects

• Because a quitclaim deed does not promise that the grantor has good title, if the grantee should find out that another party has a claim to the property, the grantee has no legal remedy against the grantor for the flawed title unless the grantor committed actual fraud in the transfer.
  
  

Notice

• Although a quitclaim deed doesn't automatically mean that the property has title problems, a few jurisdictions hold that a quitclaim deed gives a buyer notice of possible title issues.