When The Home Is Legally Yours

When is the home legally mine?

When it comes to buying a home, the home itself legally transfers to the owner at the point in time in which the clerk downtown in the County Assessors Office, takes the deed with the new owners name on it. This is called "recording" as they record the deed. They use the Official County stamp and at the moment they stamp that document, ownership has transferred.

When do I get the deed to a new home?

When it comes to buying your home, you don't actually get the deed to your home; you get a copy of the deed. The actual deed is recorded in the county assessor's office, which is a good thing. It's a note of public record, meaning that everyone knows that you are the rightful owner of that property.

How does my deed get recorded when purchasing real estate?

The recording of the deed is a fairly simple process that happens at your local country assessor's office. Once all the obligations and commitments have been met, the clerk is thereby empowered and authorized to go ahead and pull out that official seal and stamp it. At that moment, recording takes place on a “ship now” transfer.

What if I lose the deed to my home?

When it comes to buying a home, if you lose the deed to your home in reality you would have only lost a copy of the deed, not the actual deed. The actual deed is on record at your local county assessor's office and that's where you want it to be, because that shows to everyone in the community that you are the legal and rightful owner of the property. To answer the question, a simple call to a title insurance representative would result in you getting an additional copy of the deed.

When can I move into my new home?

When buying a home, the date you can move into your new house is agreed upon what's called possession. There is the close of escrow, there is also possession. This means, you can close on Monday but the agreement calls for you to take possession and move in on Thursday.

What if I discover defects in my new home that the seller should have disclosed?

OK, so you've moved into the property and you found a couple of material defects that concern you. First thing I would do is call your real estate agent. I certainly would consider that well within my job description. Although I do defer to the guidance and counsel of a real estate attorney on what the next steps might be, I would hope that there would be an amicable path of least resistance solution with the seller. That would be my first hope.