But there is a lot of confusion over which type of deed best conveys ownership and which deeds are appropriately used in different sales situations. So this week, let’s examine three of the deeds most commonly used in Georgia and discover what they actually mean.

At its most basic definition, a deed is a document that grants a right or a privilege. In real estate, that most often means that a seller is granting the right of ownership to the buyer.

The type of deed to be used in a particular closing is usually specified in the purchase and sale agreement between the buyer and the seller. The contract used by Georgia Realtors states that a seller will "convey good and marketable title to the subject property by general warranty deed" subject only to standard zoning, utility and subdivision easements and restrictions.

Because most sellers use this contract form, the general warranty deed is the most commonly used deed in Georgia.

Real estate deeds can be classified by the degree of warranties or guarantees they may carry and the General Warranty Deed carries the highest level of warranty.

In a typical general warranty deed, the grantor (seller) states that he owns the property being conveyed, and that no one else has any claim to the property.

But most important, the grantor then promises to forever defend the rights of ownership being conveyed to the buyer against any and all future claims arising from past ownership, and that is a very tall order.

Most sellers are not aware that they have made a promise into perpetuity when they sign a warranty deed, but that is exactly what they have done.

And in the unlikely event that the buyer experienced a challenge to his ownership based on an event occurring prior to his purchase, he could seek relief by bringing an action against the prior owner under the terms of that warranty deed.

In common language, the grantor in a general warranty deeds says "I own this property exclusively, and I am selling it to you, and I will guarantee forever that no one else has any valid claim in it at this moment."

In reality, most buyers prefer to place their confidence in title insurance policies and in the accuracy of their attorney’s title examination.

But in today’s world of real estate sales, if a seller refuses to sign the typical general warranty deed due to the promises it contains, the prudent buyer should find out why. There is likely some reason that the seller does not want to make promises regarding ownership.

The second most often used instrument of transfer seen in Georgia is the Limited Warranty Deed, and this document is almost identical to the more common general warranty deed above.

The single difference is that the seller limits his guarantee of ownership in some way, most often restricting it to his own term of ownership.

So in a typical limited warranty deed, a seller might be saying "I own this property exclusively, and I am selling it to you, and I guarantee forever that no one else has any valid claim in the property that they obtained during my period of ownership."

A limited warranty deed is often called a "special warranty deed," and is more often used in commercial real estate transactions.

Another frequently seen deed is a quit claim deed, sometimes mistakenly called a "quick claim" deed. This conveyance makes no warranty to the buyer whatsoever.

In common language, the grantor in a quit claim deed says "I don’t know if I have ownership in this property or not, but if I do, I am selling it to you."

It is important to note that if the seller is, in fact, the owner of the property at the time the quit claim deed is signed, that document conveys full and complete ownership just as general warranty deed would. The only difference is that the seller makes no claim or promise of ownership.

Quit claim deeds are most often used to clear up irregularities in ownership of a piece of property. For example, let’s say a husband and a wife owned their home together for many years, then transferred ownership into the wife’s name alone for estate planning purposes.

Then later, if the wife decided to sell the house and the husband was still alive, it would not be unusual for the buyer’s attorney to seek a quit claim deed from the husband, resolving permanently any future claim he or his heirs might contemplate against the property.

The bottom line here is that any of the above deeds can be used to transfer ownership. But a smart buyer will always talk with their closing attorney about both the type of deed being used, and about any problems revealed during the title examination.

In addition, no buyer of real estate in Georgia should ever conclude a purchase transaction until they have obtained owners title insurance. And that will be our topic for next week.