[Life_is_Good]

Hi All, :)
I'm being told by a title company and a real esate agent that I don't have a clear warranty deed to a piece of Florida land as the Warranty Deed didn't have 2 witness signatures which seems to be required in Florida but not in my state, tn.
The deed was written up by a local attorney, notarized and then sent off and recorded at the county clerks office in Fl. In 1995. I, of course, have been paying the taxes ever since. The tax bill comes in my name.

Background:
I bought the land from a relative in 1995, the relative has since passed away (1998), and he had no estate at the time of his death and no heirs or relatives, other than myself and my parents and he dispersed all of his estate (not much of one) a few years prior to his death to the three of us and we took care of him until his death.

What I've already done:
There were several witnesses to the signing of the deed and I have since tracked them down through the original tn attorney and they have (thankfully) given me notarized statements stating that they in fact did witness the signing.


My question is:
Now that I can produce a notarized statement from these two witnesses, what do I need to do to get in compliance with the title company and clerks office to make this a valid warranty deed?

The clerks office is no help as they have stated that it's not their job to ensure a deed is legal, that they just record it..

Do I just need to send them a copy of the witness statement? Would that appease the title company, real estate agent so that I would be able to sell the property? Or do I need to hire an attorney?


Any help would be appreciated,
Life_Is_Good :)

[LisaB4657]

First try sending your notarized statements to the title company and ask them if they will now insure the title. If they say no then you will probably have to retain a real estate attorney and file a lawsuit to "quiet title". This is where a judge looks at all of your evidence and then determines if you have a valid claim. Assuming that the judge grants you a judgment, a title insurance company will then be able to insure your title.

[Life_is_Good]

Lisab4657,
Thank you so much for the quick reply!
I was hoping for a quick fix to the problem as the property in question is only worth about $25,000 and I really don't want a majority of any profits of the sale go to attorney fees... lol, not to mention I guess I would have to go through an attorney in Fla. So finding a good one from a distance will be a crap shoot. :)

Thanks,
Lile_is_Good

[LisaB4657]

You should think about contacting the attorney who prepared the original deed and ask them to pay for, or at least contribute to the cost. After all they made the original mistake. An attorney should never prepare a deed without researching the filing requirements first.

[Fr_Chuck]

Also remember this is a warranty deed, and one of the warranties is that the seller is responsible to do what ever is needed to insure the title is clear to you. One of the reasons for using a warranty deed when buying

[Life_is_Good]

Lisa-
Yes, I agree and I am in contact with the original attorney, so maybe that will help some too but honestly they made the original mistake so who knows what will happen this time.. but it is a starting point.
Fr Chuck -
Yes the seller is the responsible party, but he has passed and honestly he relied on a professional to handle the property sale :(

Again thanks to everyone for the prompt help and I'll make sure to give a future update (when all the dust settles, of course)

Life_is_Good

[ScottGem]

Just a couple of points here. Why did the Title company become involved? Usually a title search is only done when you are selling the property. The buyer engages a Title company to insure that the seller has clear title to the property.

So, if the title company is balking, you have to prove to them that there is no one else with a claim on the property and that you can convey a clear title. Sounds to me like you have sufficient proof to get them to issue a policy to the buyer.

However, if they refuse to accept the proof, then you may have to sue them.