The land is a unique type of property that is subjected to specific laws and regulations. Therefore, ownership of land that may be transferred might be different from the transferring of regular property. First of all, there are restrictions that apply to land use. As such, there are restrictive covenants, which state that the owner agrees to use or not to use the land in particular ways.
Secondly, the restriction called zoning is a governmental order that prohibits certain ways of using private property in order to ensure even growth of the area and the well-being of the citizens. Variance can be received by the owner as permission to use the property in the prohibited ways prohibited by zoning.
All these restrictions should be kept in mind when considering land ownership transfer. Then, the papers, including the possible mortgage and current deed, should be gathered. The owner should choose the type of deed available.
These may include the grant deed, warranty deed, quitclaim deed, and gift deed. Among these options, the most commonly used ones are quitclaims and grant deeds. A grant deed is used for purchasing situations, while a quitclaim deed is used in non-sale situations, for example, when a family member wants to transfer land ownership to another family member.
Then the deed should be prepared with the attorney and witnessed by a public notary. The final step of the process would be to record the land ownership deed and the County Recorder’s Office. Hence, this is the process of land ownership transfer.