Mistake in Deed

[LedFoot]

I'm in Washington state. I closed on a home 10/31/01. A mistake was made on the Statutary Warranty Deed signing not only the property I was intending on purchasing over to me, but also the adjacent vacant lot. The docs were recorded at the county courthouse and as far as they are concerned, I am the owner of the property. I have already paid the taxes on the property. Today I received a letter from the title insurance company acknowledging the mistake, and asking me to send them my deed so that the mistake can be corrected. They have offered to refund the taxes that I have paid. What kind of legal rights do I have to this property? Should I send them my deed and give the property back? If I don't give it back, could I be sued for the property, or is that what title insurance is for? Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

 

[melissae]

Yes, you should send them the Deed back for correction. If you will notice in your property survey the only property described should be that which you intended to purchase.

The owners of the adjacent lot can sue both you and the title company for this mistake. The title company made you aware that they were responsible for the mistake and are trying to correct it, if you fail to comply with thier request they can take steps to correct the problem without you. The property is not lawfully yours as you did not have a contract signed and acknowledged by the owner. If the title company proceeds without your cooperation to rectify the situation and you still fail to respond to their requests you may find yourself liable solely.

Also, address the fact that when they reimburse the taxes you have paid you want them to send you a copy of the tax collectors record verifying that the property is in the name of the rightful owner so you can be assured that in the future you do not receive a tax lein for property you do not own.

 

[LedFoot]

Actually, the owner did sign the lot over to me on the deed. The lot is owned by the same person that I bought my property from. The deed clearly describes both lots, and the owner signed them over to me. However, my purchase agreement only describes the property which I intended on purchasing. Still not my property? Thanks for your input. Have you had experience with this kind of situation before?

 

[LedFoot]

Also, I not spoken to the title company, and the letter I received was not certified. Therefore, as far as the title company knows, I still have not been made aware of the situation.

 

[HomeGuru]

Also, I not spoken to the title company, and the letter I received was not certified. Therefore, as far as the title company knows, I still have not been made aware of the situation.

**A: stop playing games and get the matter resolved. Or change your user name to Ledbottom.

 

[melissae]

You may think you have a case since the owner signed it over, by mistake, I would think that you would want to do what is morally right in this case. You have freely admitted that you did not intend to purchase this property and that the purchase agreement only describes the property you intended to buy. This document can be used by the Title Company as proof that there was never an intent on the sellers part of conveying this property to you. You may fight them but in the end without an offer and acceptance or acknowledge contract stating that the owner intended to convey the lot to you also, the owner and Title Company will prevail. Talk to an attorney or an impartial Title Company if you don't believe me. Remember that title insurance works for the owner, and since the owner of the property did not sell this lot to you, his Title Company will pursue his rights, the same as it would work for you on the property you purchased if someone were trying to cheat you out of what you own. My advice to you would be to send the Deed back and get the corrections made before the Title Company or property owner decide that you are uncooperative and resolve the matter in another way.

Yes, I do have experience in this. I manage a Real Estate Title Co. and have been in legal research for 10 + years. I have seen this happen before and fortunately the parties were honest enough not to want to keep what wasn't lawfully theirs. We do have remedies for such situations however if we find un-cooperative parties.

By the way, have you received your final commitment on your policy? If not you should really do some hard thinking about this situation before you decide that you don't want to get the corrections made.

 

[LedFoot]

Thanks for the advice. I'll send in the deed. I knew the morrally right answer all along. However, I would hate to just give the property back and find out later that I did not have to, and the title insurance would have paid the owner for the mistake. I'm not sure what you mean by "have you received your final commitment on your policy?". Do you think that I need to let my mortgage holder what is going on? I'm not sure if my loan blanketed both properties.
Again I appreciate the input!
And HomeGuru, I realize that I deserve the shot, but that wasn't even funny.

 

[HomeGuru]

Do not send the deed.
Instead tell them to make the correction deed and cut you the check for the taxes. Then when all is ready, you will go to their office to pick up your check, bring in your deed and sign the new deed. The new deed must be notarized anyway. Be sure to review your title insurance policy to make sure it covers the right property.

 

[melissae]

Actually Homeguru is right, it would be better if they send you the correction deed, but you still need to send or take the old incorrect deed back for disposal, you could keep it but it may cause confusion at some time if someone other than yourself were to sell your property (such as in the case of death) it will be filed in the clerks office but will have a correction deed attached to it. I was going under the assumption that perhaps your Title Company was not local and the possibility of simply going to their office may not have been an option. There are alot of companies like mine that travel the state researching and closing mortgages who do not have local offices. Still make sure that you get a copy of the tax assessors and collectors records on the lot making sure that you are not liable for taxes on it. And yes, this time definitely make sure that all legal descriptions match to a T. If your title company happens to be like mine and you can't just take the deed in, have them write you a check covering notary fees and postage also.

If at all possible do it the way Homeguru suggests, if not at least I have given you another option.

As far as the mortgage holder goes, you can almost guarantee that they already know. Call your loan officer anyway to make sure the legal description of the lot did not show up on the mortgage also. If your title company closed your loan then that means you had a secondary market loan and most likely the Title Company prepared both documents. They really should have caught this mistake before it got to the closing table.

What I meant by final policy. Has your Title Company sent you a Binder stamped final policy or did you get a copy at closing that said Title Committment? Frankly I have never seen a mistake like this get by the Finals Department. I was thinking that may have been where the error on your purchase was caught. The company that underwrites our policies only issues Final Policies after all recordings have been made and all contingencies are met.

Sorry Homeguru, I bow to you. You are the attorney here I am just the lowly researcher/closing agent. Forgive me please??????????????

 

[HomeGuru]

Actually Homeguru is right, it would be better if they send you the correction deed, but you still need to send or take the old incorrect deed back for disposal, you could keep it but it may cause confusion at some time if someone other than yourself were to sell your property (such as in the case of death) it will be filed in the clerks office but will have a correction deed attached to it. I was going under the assumption that perhaps your Title Company was not local and the possibility of simply going to their office may not have been an option. There are alot of companies like mine that travel the state researching and closing mortgages who do not have local offices. Still make sure that you get a copy of the tax assessors and collectors records on the lot making sure that you are not liable for taxes on it. And yes, this time definitely make sure that all legal descriptions match to a T. If your title company happens to be like mine and you can't just take the deed in, have them write you a check covering notary fees and postage also.

If at all possible do it the way Homeguru suggests, if not at least I have given you another option.

As far as the mortgage holder goes, you can almost guarantee that they already know. Call your loan officer anyway to make sure the legal description of the lot did not show up on the mortgage also. If your title company closed your loan then that means you had a secondary market loan and most likely the Title Company prepared both documents. They really should have caught this mistake before it got to the closing table.

What I meant by final policy. Has your Title Company sent you a Binder stamped final policy or did you get a copy at closing that said Title Committment? Frankly I have never seen a mistake like this get by the Finals Department. I was thinking that may have been where the error on your purchase was caught. The company that underwrites our policies only issues Final Policies after all recordings have been made and all contingencies are met.

Sorry Homeguru, I bow to you. You are the attorney here I am just the lowly researcher/closing agent. Forgive me please??????????????

**A: no problem. We need people like you on these boards that are industry experts. In fact, we could use your expertise on a matter concerning the recordation of a fully executed quit claim deed after the grantor has passed away.
If you are willing to help out and be a part of this national research team, please let me know.
Thanks.

 

[melissae]

Homeguru

I am always open to new opportunities. I checked your e-mail through the forum and found it not accessible, mine isn't either. I really don't want to post mine for everyone to see and I am sure you don't either so how do we make connection?

 

[HomeGuru]

Re: Homeguru

I am always open to new opportunities. I checked your e-mail through the forum and found it not accessible, mine isn't either. I really don't want to post mine for everyone to see and I am sure you don't either so how do we make connection?

**A: you will soon be recieving an email from Mary.