Real Property Ownership, Titles, Deeds, and Recording
Ownership questions test estates, forms of co-ownership, deeds, title, recording, liens, easements, and homestead. The broker must recognize what a deed actually conveys and what recording does and does not do.
Core rules
- Estates include fee simple, life estate, and leasehold. Co-ownership includes tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entirety, which Florida recognizes for married couples.
- A general warranty deed contains the broadest seller warranties; a special warranty deed limits them; a quitclaim deed conveys only whatever interest the grantor has and contains no warranty of title.
- Florida is a race-notice recording state. A subsequent purchaser for value without notice is protected if that purchaser records first.
- Easements, liens, mortgages, restrictive covenants, and taxes are encumbrances that can affect marketable title.
- Florida homestead protects qualifying residential property from forced sale, subject to exceptions such as taxes and mortgages.
Worked example
A seller gives a buyer a quitclaim deed. After closing, the buyer discovers a prior recorded mortgage lien. The quitclaim deed conveyed only the seller's interest and gave no warranty against the lien. Recording the quitclaim deed did not erase the earlier recorded mortgage. The reasoning: recording protects priority; it does not cure defects or extinguish prior recorded interests.
Traps
Do not assume a quitclaim deed clears title. Do not think recording validates a forged deed. Do not overlook easements and liens as encumbrances. Do not assume homestead protects against tax or mortgage liens.