Real Estate Services

A deed is a legal document that transfers a person’s interest in real estate. It can be transferred to another person or to an entity, such as a Living Trust or a Corporation.

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Deeds in their most basic form contain:

• A description of the real estate involved

• The names of the respective parties

• The signature of the person transferring the real estate

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Common Deed Transfers

• Grant Deed – Transfers ownership and implies certain promises — that the title hasn’t already been transferred to someone else or been encumbered, except as set out in the Deed.

• Interspousal Transfer Deed – Transfers ownership between spouses, either to add a spouse to title, or to remove a spouse [because of divorce] from title.” This deed contains language that will prevent transfer tax and reassessment of the property tax.

• Quitclaim Deed – Transfers whatever ownership interest a person may have in a property. This type of deed makes no guarantees about the extent of the person’s interest, and it is disfavored by title insurers.

• Trust Transfer Deed – Funding, the process of transferring assets, including any real estate that you own, into a Living Trust, is an indispensable part of establishing a Revocable Living Trust. This Deed is a special Grant Deed that transfers an owner’s interest in real property to his or her Living Trust. This Deed will also remove property from your Trust–many banks require your home to be removed from your Trust in order to do a refinance. Guideway can help remove your property from the Trust, then place it back in after the Refi is complete.

• Revocable Transfer on Death Deed (TOD Deed) – Effective January 1, 2016, Jerry Brown signed into California law a new way for real property to be transferred upon a person’s death to avoid probate. The TOD Deed allows a person to leave real property to a designated person or persons, such as a family member, friend, lifelong partner or other loved one, without having to set up a Living Trust. Note that this deed is not available for purchase on our website. 

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Our Flat Fee Includes Filing

Deeds must be filed with the county recorder in the county in which the property is located—this, along with Notary in our office, is included in our flat fee.

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The state of California now assesses a tax of $75 per real estate instrument when the person receiving the property is not an owner-occupier. This tax is in addition to our fee for preparing and recording your deed. If this tax applies to any of your deeds, we will collect it at the time of signing.