Delaware Warranty Deed

A warranty deed guarantees the seller holds clear title and will defend the buyer against claims to the property. A quitclaim deed makes no promises at all; it passes only whatever interest the seller actually has. In Delaware the distinction turns on the operative words: 25 Delaware Code Section 121(b) says grant and convey operate as a special warranty against the grantor and those claiming under the grantor, so a statutory deed using those words gives limited protection, while a quitclaim or release deed omits them and carries no covenants of title.

A true general warranty deed guarantees clear title against all claims, including defects that arose before the seller owned the property, and promises to defend the buyer. Delaware does not codify that form. Its statutory short-form deed instead uses grant and convey, which under 25 Delaware Code Section 121(b) operate as a special warranty against the grantor and everyone claiming under the grantor. For full general-warranty protection the deed must add an express covenant to warrant and defend title against all persons, because Delaware supplies only the special-warranty effect by statute.

Delaware does not use a separate grant deed. Its codified instrument is the statutory short-form deed of 25 Delaware Code Section 121(a), whose operative words grant and convey import a special warranty under Section 121(b). A general warranty deed is a valid and enforceable choice in Delaware, but you create it by adding an express warrant-and-defend covenant to that deed; the statute itself supplies only a special warranty, so most transfers here run on the grant-and-convey special-warranty form unless the parties negotiate a fuller warranty.

You record the signed, acknowledged deed in the recorder's office for the county (the Recorder of Deeds) where the property is located (25 Delaware Code Section 151). The grantor's signature must be acknowledged first (25 Delaware Code Section 122). A deed has priority from the time it is recorded, without respect to when it was signed and delivered, so a deed recorded first generally prevails, which is why you should record promptly (Section 153).

Delaware does not require an attorney to prepare or record a deed; an individual may prepare their own deed and record it. Because a deed transfers title and a mistake in the legal description, the warranty covenant, or how the grantee takes title can be expensive to fix, many people have the deed reviewed before recording. DocDraft prepares your Delaware deed from your facts, with attorney review available as an option before you record.

It must be acknowledged. Before a Delaware deed can be recorded, the grantor's signature has to be acknowledged, for example before a notary public, a judge, two justices of the peace for the county, or the Mayor of Wilmington (25 Delaware Code Section 122). Delaware does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed, so a proper acknowledgment is what allows the Recorder of Deeds to record it, even though the statutory form includes a witness line.

Usually yes when the property is sold. Delaware imposes a Realty Transfer Tax of 3 percent of the property's value, which drops to 2 1/2 percent where a county or municipality has enacted its own transfer tax, for a combined maximum of 4 percent (30 Delaware Code Section 5402). The deed must set forth the true, full and complete value of the property or be accompanied by an affidavit of value (Section 5409). First-time home buyers get a reduction on the buyer's portion, and transfers between spouses or between parent and child are commonly exempt.