Deeds
Deeds are documents which help to prove the ownership of a piece of property. Typically, when ownership of a property is being transferred from one person to another, as, for example, in the case of a property sale, a deed will be drawn up, recording the transaction and the change in ownership. Although laws vary from one country to another, it is often a legal requirement that, following such a transaction, the new property owner take the deed and lodge a copy of it with a government property register agency, where records of property ownership will be kept.
Deeds sometimes contain further details such as the exact boundaries of the property or responsibilities which the property owner must fulfil, such as granting certain access rights, for example. Because of their importance, deeds are usually kept somewhere safe, such as a locked vault at a solicitor’s office. If the property was purchased with a mortgage, it is common for the financial institution which granted the mortgage to retain the property’s deeds as security until the mortgage has been repaid in full.
There are many forms of deed in existence. Some examples are grant deeds and quitclaim deeds. All deeds do essentially the same thing, however, legally establish the ownership of a property.
