A Comprehensive Guide to Deeds in Real Estate in Novi, MI
The main types of deeds in real estate in Novi, MI are the general warranty deed, the covenant deed (a special or limited warranty deed), and the quitclaim deed, plus fiduciary and Lady Bird deeds for estates. Buyers want a warranty deed for the most title protection.
Expect a covenant deed in foreclosures and bank sales, and a quitclaim deed for family transfers. We are MARK Z Real Estate Experts, the Metro Detroit team led by Mark Zawaideh at eXp Realty, and we help Novi buyers and sellers understand the deed in their sale.
What a deed is in Michigan real estate
Before any of that matters, let's pin down the document itself. A deed is a written legal document that transfers ownership of real property from the grantor (usually the seller) to the grantee (usually the buyer).
Title is the ownership rights. And the deed is how title moves to a new owner.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Deed | The written document that transfers ownership |
| Title | The ownership rights to the property |
| Grantor | The person transferring the property, usually the seller |
| Grantee | The person receiving the property, usually the buyer |
| Register of Deeds | The county office where deeds are recorded (Oakland County for Novi) |
Michigan requires the grantor to sign the deed before a notary, and the deed goes on record with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property sits. When a property has two or more owners, all of them must sign.
That public record protects the grantee's interest.
Ask your title company for a draft of the deed before you close. A misspelled name or wrong legal description is far easier to fix early.
The different types of deeds used in Michigan
Once the names check out, we look at the deed type printed at the top. Michigan sources name three main types for sales: warranty, covenant, and quitclaim.
| Deed type | Best fit | Tradeoff | Buyer protection |
|---|---|---|---|
| General warranty deed | A standard home sale | Seller carries long-term title responsibility | Highest |
| Covenant deed (special or limited warranty) | Foreclosures, bank sales, sellers who never lived there | Covers only the grantor's ownership period | Medium |
| Quitclaim deed | Family transfers, divorce, fixing title issues | No guarantees at all | Lowest |
| Fiduciary or personal representative deed | Estates, trusts, court-ordered sales | The grantor acts in a representative capacity | Limited |
| Lady Bird deed (enhanced life estate) | Estate planning | A planning tool, not a sale deed | Not applicable |
General warranty deed: the most protection for a buyer
Most standard home sales start at the top of that table.
A general warranty deed provides the strongest protection a buyer can get.
The seller agrees to defend the title against any person who later claims an interest in it. Michigan sources list six covenants inside that promise.
| Covenant | What the grantor promises |
|---|---|
| Covenant of seisin | The grantor legally owns the property |
| Right to convey | The grantor has the right to transfer it |
| Against encumbrances | No undisclosed liens or encumbrances |
| Quiet enjoyment | The grantee can use the property without interference |
| Warranty | The grantor will defend the grantee against claims |
| Further assurances | The grantor will help resolve ownership issues that arise |
The seller takes on long-term responsibility for the title, one reason sellers buy title insurance at closing.
Covenant deed: protection limited to the seller's ownership
Not every seller can stand behind six promises. Those sellers use a covenant deed.
It guarantees only the grantor's own ownership period, or only the covenants written into the deed. Older issues from before they took ownership are not the grantor's problem.
It is common in foreclosures, bank-owned sales, and for a grantor who never lived in the property. If you buy a Novi home with a covenant deed, we lean hard on the title search and an owner's title insurance policy, since the deed will not cover older claims.
Quitclaim deed: a transfer with no guarantees
Strip away even those limited promises and you're left with a quitclaim deed, which transfers whatever interest the grantor has, with no guarantees about the quality of the title. If a lien exists, it stays with the property.
Quitclaim deeds are common for family transfers, divorce, or correcting a title problem.
If the grantor holds no ownership interest, the grantee receives nothing.
Talk to an attorney before using one in a divorce or family transfer.
Fiduciary and Lady Bird deeds in estate planning
Family transfers often surface again later in life, once an estate or trust is involved. A fiduciary deed comes from a person who holds title in a representative capacity, such as the trustee of a trust or the personal representative of an estate.
The buyer usually gets less than a full warranty.
A Lady Bird deed, also called an enhanced life estate deed, is a popular Michigan estate planning tool. The owner keeps full control during life and names who receives the property at death, without probate.
Take planning questions to an estate planning attorney.
How owners hold title on the deed
You face the same question of who gets a home after a death on an ordinary purchase deed, in the line stating how owners hold title.
| Form of ownership | How it works | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Tenants in common | Each owner holds a share that can pass to heirs | Shares can differ |
| Joint tenants with right of survivorship | Equal, undivided interests; a deceased owner's share passes to the others | Avoids probate for that share |
| Tenants by the entirety | Available only to married couples | Survivor's interest protected from the deceased spouse's creditors |
Decide this before closing, with an attorney if unsure.
Title searches and title insurance
Before closing, while you settle that ownership question, the title company runs a title search of the public record for liens and claims.
A title is clean when there are no liens or encumbrances attached to it.
If you finance a home, your lender will require a lender's title insurance policy. A separate owner's policy protects your ownership rights against fraudulent claims or mistakes in earlier sales.
How MARK Z Real Estate Experts helps with deeds in Novi
Lining up the deed, ownership, and title work is much of what we do for clients. MARK Z Real Estate Experts is a Metro Detroit real estate team led by Mark Zawaideh and brokered by eXp Realty.
We are real estate agents, not attorneys or tax advisors, and we help you know which deed your sale will use, what it means for your protection, and when to bring in a title company or a Michigan real estate attorney.
Our team has sold 6,029 homes across Novi and Metro Detroit, with more than $1 billion in sales and 1,075 five-star Google reviews. The Wall Street Journal and RealTrends ranked us a Top 10 team worldwide.
Buying or selling in Novi? Call us at (248) 890-7077 for a straight answer about the deed in your deal.