quick claim deed

[DawnM]

So, the guy we are considering hiring to do our renovations said that the easement next to our property (supposed to be a road but never became one) is considered "abandoned" by the county and he suggested we see if we can do a quick claim deed on it and split it with the neighbor.   It would give us an additional 20' or so on that side, and run the entire length of our property length wise (not sure how long that is.)

He said we need to pay about $200 for a survey first.   

Has anyone here ever done a quick claim deed?   Give me any info you have.   

[scholastica]

I believe the term your contractor meant was “quitclaim”. I have never been through the process, but they’re not uncommon.

Edited February 8, 2021 by scholastica
Typo

[Scarlett]

49 minutes ago, DawnM said:

So, the guy we are considering hiring to do our renovations said that the easement next to our property (supposed to be a road but never became one) is considered "abandoned" by the county and he suggested we see if we can do a quick claim deed on it and split it with the neighbor.   It would give us an additional 20' or so on that side, and run the entire length of our property length wise (not sure how long that is.)

He said we need to pay about $200 for a survey first.   

Has anyone here ever done a quick claim deed?   Give me any info you have.   

Yes it is Quit Claim and they are common for any number of reasons.  That sounds like good news!

[DawnM]

Oh, well, guess I should use the proper terminology! 🤣

[plansrme]

Whoever owns the easement (the county, I presume?) would have to execute a quitclaim deed to you if I understand the facts. I gather that this is not currently your property? Or is it your property but with an easement over it? Either way, it sounds like the problem is going to be getting the county to agree to execute a quitclaim deed in your favor. That will cost more than a survey. A quitclaim is a deed from the owner of property or of an easement saying, "I am not providing any sort of guarantee that I own this property or this easement, but whatever I DO own, I hereby deed to Dawn."

[Scarlett]

46 minutes ago, plansrme said:

Whoever owns the easement (the county, I presume?) would have to execute a quitclaim deed to you if I understand the facts. I gather that this is not currently your property? Or is it your property but with an easement over it? Either way, it sounds like the problem is going to be getting the county to agree to execute a quitclaim deed in your favor. That will cost more than a survey. A quitclaim is a deed from the owner of property or of an easement saying, "I am not providing any sort of guarantee that I own this property or this easement, but whatever I DO own, I hereby deed to Dawn."

I am not sure it will cost a lot of money.  They are executed all of the time in divorce situations.  I did one when I sold out to my XH.  The red tape of dealing with the county might be laborious and time consuming but it really should not be expensive.  I think the survey has to be done first thought before she can even submit her request to the county.  

[Scarlett]

50 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Oh, well, guess I should use the proper terminology! 🤣

Many people say it incorrectly or even if they say it correctly it can sound like 'quick'.  

[Condessa]

I haven’t done one, but a prior owner of this house did, and got the entire abandoned road (not split with the back neighbor).

[plansrme]

34 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I am not sure it will cost a lot of money.  They are executed all of the time in divorce situations.  I did one when I sold out to my XH.  The red tape of dealing with the county might be laborious and time consuming but it really should not be expensive.  I think the survey has to be done first thought before she can even submit her request to the county.  

But in a divorce, everyone knows who owns what, and the person quitclaiming has an incentive to do so. Wading through the county bureaucracy to find someone who is willing and authorized to issue a quitclaim deed is not for the faint of heart, and I say this is someone who works with county governments on a near-daily basis. At the very least, a lawyer has to draw up the deed. In most states, the county can't just go give you something of value for no reason; it would violate what is commonly called a gratuities clause in a state constitution (the anti-gratuities statute or constitutional provision is what prevents the county from paving your driveway because you voted the right way). To avoid a violation of the gratuities clause, or just to make the deed effective, there is going to be a legal process. It is definitely not impossible, but if Dawn gets out of this for $200, I will eat this table.

[Corraleno]

Is the land actually on your deed, but the county has an easement on it, or does the county own it outright? When I lived in NM, our property line actually ran through the middle of the dirt road that we lived on. We weren't allowed to build on it it or do anything to impede others from using it, but it was legally our property. If that is your situation, then you would just be asking the county to abandon their right to put a road through, not to give or sell you the property.

Where I live now, our property backs up to a wide strip of land that was intended to be a road, but they never put it through. It's owned by the city, and if they ever decided to permanently abandon the idea of putting the road it, it would be a complicated and expensive process to get that surveyed and draw up sales contracts for those who wanted to purchase a portion of it.

Which of those situations you are in will make a big difference in terms of how expensive and time consuming this could be, and how likely you are to get what you want. 

[Scarlett]

53 minutes ago, plansrme said:

But in a divorce, everyone knows who owns what, and the person quitclaiming has an incentive to do so. Wading through the county bureaucracy to find someone who is willing and authorized to issue a quitclaim deed is not for the faint of heart, and I say this is someone who works with county governments on a near-daily basis. At the very least, a lawyer has to draw up the deed. In most states, the county can't just go give you something of value for no reason; it would violate what is commonly called a gratuities clause in a state constitution (the anti-gratuities statute or constitutional provision is what prevents the county from paving your driveway because you voted the right way). To avoid a violation of the gratuities clause, or just to make the deed effective, there is going to be a legal process. It is definitely not impossible, but if Dawn gets out of this for $200, I will eat this table.

Sorry I got a giggle out of you eating your table.  

I didn't mean it would be free....I just was thinking it should not be terribly expensive.  You definitely know more about it than me though.

[Scarlett]

25 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

Is the land actually on your deed, but the county has an easement on it, or does the county own it outright? When I lived in NM, our property line actually ran through the middle of the dirt road that we lived on. We weren't allowed to build on it it or do anything to impede others from using it, but it was legally our property. If that is your situation, then you would just be asking the county to abandon their right to put a road through, not to give or sell you the property.

Where I live now, our property backs up to a wide strip of land that was intended to be a road, but they never put it through. It's owned by the city, and if they ever decided to permanently abandon the idea of putting the road it, it would be a complicated and expensive process to get that surveyed and draw up sales contracts for those who wanted to purchase a portion of it.

Which of those situations you are in will make a big difference in terms of how expensive and time consuming this could be, and how likely you are to get what you want. 

I guess I was assuming it was an easement on her land that had been abandoned.  But yes I agree it really does depend.