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What Is Property Title?

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What Is Property Title?

Generally, title is a legal term that designates ownership. You can have property title, land title, a job title, and more. When it comes to real estate, property title is the legal ownership of a home or other form of property. If you own the property title, you have control over the legal rights to the home.

An individual or a business can own the title to a piece of property. More than one individual can also own title, such as a married couple or two people in a business partnership. If you hear someone reference “real property title,” this refers to both the physical piece of real estate property as well as the usage and ownership rights therein.

If you buy a piece of property, that title gets transferred to you. Title can also change if a titleholder passes away, or if two joint titleholders get a divorce. There are several different types of holding property title, which include the following:

  • Sole ownership

  • Community property

  • Tenancy in common

  • Joint tenancy

  • Tenants by entirety


What Is a Deed?

A deed is a physical legal document that transfers title from one person or entity to another. This legal document is recorded on public record in your city, town, or country on public record. When a piece of property is sold, the person who is selling the property must sign it over on the deed. A deed is also sometimes called a vehicle of the property interest transfer.


Property Title vs Deed

The easiest way to think about property title vs deed is that property title is a concept, while a deed is a physical document. The property title simply refers to the idea of who owns property, while the deed is the document that facilitates that transfer. One easy way to remember the difference between a title and a deed is by their first letters. Title starts with the letter T, and title is a term used to describe property ownership. Title and term both start with the letter T.
A deed is a document that expresses this transfer of ownership. Deed and document both start with the letter D. The next time you are confused about title vs deed, remember this simple mnemonic device!

Conclusion

Property title is the legal term for ownership of a piece of property. Many people confuse this term with the term deed, which is the physical document that facilitates the ownership of the property.

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