The main types of property deeds, ranked from most to least protection for the person receiving the property, are general warranty deeds, special warranty deeds, grant deeds, bargain and sale deeds, and quitclaim deeds. Separate categories cover transfer on death deeds, which pass property outside probate, and judicial or trustee’s deeds, which are issued through a court or trust proceeding. The difference between them is not what gets transferred (each one moves ownership) but how much the grantor promises about the title that comes with it.
General Warranty Deed
A general warranty deed offers the strongest protection a buyer can get. The grantor makes six legal promises, called covenants, that reach back through the property’s entire history, not just the grantor’s own period of ownership.
Three are present covenants, either true or broken the moment the deed is delivered:
- Covenant of seisin: the grantor actually owns the rights the deed claims to convey.
- Right to convey: the grantor has the legal authority to transfer the property. Someone might own property but lack the right to sell it, for example if a court order restricts the transfer.
- Covenant against encumbrances: the property is free from undisclosed liens, easements, or other burdens that would reduce its value.
Three are future covenants that can be breached later:
- Quiet enjoyment: no one with a superior legal claim will interfere with the grantee’s possession.
- Warranty: the grantor will defend the grantee’s title in court if someone challenges it.
- Further assurances: the grantor will take whatever additional steps are needed to fix title problems, such as signing a corrective deed.
Because these covenants cover the whole chain of title, a general warranty grantor is on the hook even for defects created by someone who owned the property fifty years ago. That extensive liability is exactly why the general warranty deed is the standard instrument in residential home sales. Buyers want maximum security, and sellers who have lived in a single-family home for a few years are usually willing to stand behind the title.
If a covenant turns out to be false, the grantee can sue for damages. Recovery for a total breach is typically measured by the purchase price the buyer paid, not current market value. If only part of the title fails, damages are generally proportional to the fraction of value lost. The grantee can also recover legal costs and attorney fees spent defending the title, though courts do not compensate for improvements the buyer made or for natural appreciation. In some situations a buyer who catches the defect early simply purchases the outstanding interest and recovers that cost from the grantor.
Special Warranty Deed
A special warranty deed narrows the grantor’s promises to the period during which the grantor owned the property. The grantor guarantees that they personally did not create any title defects or undisclosed encumbrances, but makes no promises about what previous owners may have done. A lien that predates the grantor’s ownership gives the grantee no claim against the grantor under the deed.
That capped exposure is why special warranty deeds dominate commercial real estate, where corporate sellers want to limit liability on their way out. Fiduciaries such as estate executors and trustees prefer them for the same reason: they have no personal knowledge of the property’s long history and should not be answerable for problems they could not have known about. Buyers who accept a special warranty deed typically offset the narrower protection by buying a stronger title insurance policy.
Grant Deed
Grant deeds sit in the middle of the protection spectrum and are common in several western states. A grant deed carries two implied covenants that operate by law whether or not the deed spells them out: that the grantor has not already conveyed the same property to someone else, and that the grantor has not burdened the property with undisclosed encumbrances during their ownership.
Those two promises resemble part of what a special warranty deed covers, but a grant deed does not include the defensive obligations of a general warranty deed. The grantor is not promising to go to court and defend the title. In grant deed jurisdictions, buyers lean heavily on title insurance companies to do the historical research and absorb the risk, which is what keeps closings moving quickly in high-volume markets.
Bargain and Sale Deed
A bargain and sale deed implies that the grantor holds title to the property but makes no warranties against encumbrances and no promise to defend the title. That puts it a step above a quitclaim deed, which does not even imply ownership, and well below any warranty deed.
These deeds appear most often in foreclosure sales, tax lien auctions, and estate liquidations. A bank that acquired a property through foreclosure, or a county that seized it for unpaid taxes, typically has no firsthand knowledge of the title history and no interest in guaranteeing it. The bargain and sale deed lets the entity convey whatever interest it obtained through the legal proceeding without taking on ongoing liability. Buyers at these sales should plan on title insurance, because they are absorbing the risk of any defect the seller did not know about.
Quitclaim Deed
A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor currently holds, which might be full ownership, a partial interest, or nothing at all. The deed makes no promises about whether the grantor actually owns anything or whether the title is clean. If the grantor turns out to hold no interest, the grantee gets nothing and has no recourse.
That sounds reckless, and it would be in an arm’s-length sale between strangers. Quitclaim deeds are built for a different job: moving property into a living trust, adding or removing a spouse’s name after marriage or divorce, or clearing up minor title defects such as a misspelled name in a prior deed. The parties already know what is being transferred, so the absence of warranties is not a problem. Recording requires a notarized signature and payment of the local recording fee.
One practical catch worth planning around: a quitclaim deed in the chain of title can create problems when the property is later sold or refinanced. Title insurance underwriters treat quitclaims as warning signs because they carry no warranty that the grantor had anything to convey. An insurer may require extra investigation, demand a more expensive policy, or decline to issue coverage without further documentation that the quitclaim grantor had legitimate ownership. If you receive property by quitclaim and expect to sell or borrow against it later, buying an owner’s title insurance policy at the time of transfer can save significant trouble.
Transfer on Death Deed
A transfer on death deed lets a property owner name a beneficiary who automatically receives the property at the owner’s death, outside probate. The deed must be signed, notarized, and recorded during the owner’s lifetime. The beneficiary has no rights while the owner is alive, so the owner can sell, mortgage, or rent the property without the beneficiary’s consent. More than half the states now authorize some version of this instrument, many following the framework of the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act.
Revocation is straightforward but must happen before death. The common methods are recording a formal revocation document with the same county office that holds the original deed, or recording a new transfer on death deed naming a different beneficiary, which supersedes the earlier one. Selling or giving away the property during life also nullifies the deed, because the owner no longer holds the interest at death.
One mistake catches people repeatedly: a will cannot override a transfer on death deed. If your will leaves the house to your daughter but your recorded transfer on death deed names your son, your son gets the house. The deed controls. Any revocation has to be recorded before the owner’s death to take effect.
Judicial Deeds, Executor’s Deeds, and Trustee’s Deeds
Some transfers happen through a court order or a trust, and they use their own deed forms. Sheriff’s deeds typically follow a foreclosure auction. Executor’s deeds move property out of a deceased person’s estate. Trustee’s deeds transfer property held in trust to a third-party buyer or to a trust beneficiary. These deeds carry whatever authority the court order or trust document provides, but they generally do not include the broad warranties of a general warranty deed. The recipient’s protection comes from the underlying legal proceeding, not from covenants running with the deed.
How to Choose Between Deed Types
The decision usually comes down to the relationship between the parties and how the risk of a title defect is being allocated.
In a traditional residential sale between strangers, a general warranty deed is standard. The buyer has no way to assess the property’s history personally, so the seller’s broad promises (backed by title insurance) are the mechanism for shifting that risk.
In commercial deals, estate sales, and transfers by trustees, a special warranty deed is normal. The seller limits exposure to its own period of ownership, and the buyer closes the gap with a stronger title insurance policy.
In jurisdictions that use grant deeds, the grant deed does the day-to-day work of residential sales, with title insurance carrying most of the historical risk.
For property acquired through foreclosure, tax sale, or estate liquidation, a bargain and sale deed matches the seller’s limited knowledge of the title. Buyers should price in title insurance from the start.
For moves within a family, into a trust, or to clean up a paperwork error, a quitclaim deed is the right tool precisely because warranties are unnecessary and the parties know what they are moving.
For passing a home to a chosen beneficiary without probate, a transfer on death deed does the job in states that authorize it, and it preserves favorable tax treatment that a lifetime gift would lose.
Mortgage and Tax Issues That Ride Along
Transferring a deed does not transfer the mortgage. If the property carries a loan, the original borrower typically remains personally liable even after someone else’s name is on the title. Most residential mortgages also contain a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand full repayment when the property changes hands.
Federal law carves out specific exceptions. Under the Garn-St. Germain Act, a lender cannot enforce a due-on-sale clause on a residential property with fewer than five units for several common transfers:1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
- A transfer to a relative following the borrower’s death.
- A transfer where a spouse or child of the borrower becomes an owner.
- A transfer to a spouse under a divorce decree or separation agreement.
- A transfer into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary and continues living in the property.
- A transfer by operation of law when a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety dies.
Outside those categories, transferring a deed on mortgaged property without the lender’s consent can trigger acceleration of the full loan balance. Confirm the transfer qualifies for a federal exemption before recording anything.
Taxes also move with the deed, and the choice of instrument matters. Property that passes at death receives a stepped-up cost basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death,2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent which can erase decades of appreciation for capital gains purposes. Property given during the owner’s lifetime instead carries over the donor’s original basis.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust A transfer on death deed preserves the stepped-up basis because the transfer happens at death; a quitclaim deed used to gift the property during life does not.
Transferring property by deed for less than fair market value during life also counts as a gift for federal tax purposes. If the value exceeds the annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient for 2026), the donor must file IRS Form 709.4Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Filing does not automatically produce a tax bill, because the excess is applied against the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, but skipping the filing causes penalties and complications when the estate is settled.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709 For a primary residence, up to $250,000 of capital gain ($500,000 for married couples filing jointly) can be excluded from income if you owned and lived in the home for at least two of the five years before the sale.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 701, Sale of Your Home
The deed itself does not change these tax rules, but the timing and structure of the transfer it accomplishes certainly can, which is why the deed choice and the tax plan should be made together rather than in sequence.