How to fix an error on your home deed: Even if the home deed error seems minimal, spend time to correct the error quickly.
Q: My deed contains an error. Instead of one of the property lines being described as running “south westerly 146 feet,” it reads “south easterly 146 feet.”
For purposes of selling or passing on the property to heirs without a problem at a later date, is this defect significant enough to warrant requesting the attorney who prepared the deed to correct the error–with a new deed or by some other means–to remove an issue in the future?
A: Heck, yes! And, if that is truly a mistake on the deed, we’re glad you caught the error. We believe you should go back to the attorney and get the deed corrected because there are a few things that must be correct on a deed to avoid complications down the line: the names of the owners, the names of the buyers, the tax parcel identification number, the address and the legal description.
Before we go into details, we do want you to make sure that the “error” you think is there is truly an error. If you have a survey of your property, the survey should have a matching legal description to the deed and your title insurance policy, if you got one when you purchased the home. If all three legal descriptions match, we would question whether you have an error in the legal description.
Assuming you’ve already done this, or somehow verified the information, we’re guessing you’ve determined definitively that the error exits. How could this have happened? It may have been because the survey showed the “south westerly” direction and your deed showed the “south easterly” direction of the property.
If the survey legal description is short and rather simple, you should track it on the survey: find the starting point for the legal description and follow the legal description as if you were following directions. If the directions follow correctly on the survey, we’d guess you’re right and the deed is wrong.
While the address is important, the legal description is even more so. When it comes to a single family home, many homes are located in subdivisions. When a seller conveys title to a buyer, the seller’s deed might contain a reference to say Lot 30 in such and such subdivision. If the reference to the lot is wrong, the buyer would not receive title to the right property. The same is true in condo buildings, where parking is sold separately. If there is a mistake in the parking space number listed on the deed, the buyer will technically be sold the wrong parking spot, something that happened to one of Sam’s clients recently and which caused a problem when it came time to sell.
Likewise, when a property is not subdivided, the legal description may be referred to as a metes and bounds description. That description, if the property were a rectangular parcel, would start at a specific point, then describe the distance to the next point with certain coordinates, then again to a third point by distance and coordinates and finally one last distance with more coordinates. If the legal description is proper, it makes the rectangle (or whatever shape of the property) and the legal description closes properly. Your question if plotted out in a survey would not depict your property, or, for that matter any property as the legal description would fail to close.
That’s why you should have the issue corrected. In some instances, the correction can be made on the original recorded document and that document can be re-recorded with the correct information and an indication that the document was re-recorded to correct a scrivener’s error. Now, if you purchased the property and obtained title insurance, you may be able to go back to the title company that insured your purchase and have them or the settlement agent correct the issue.
This is another reason why it’s so important to review all the documents before you sign them at the closing. Mistakes can creep into the process – Ilyce once caught a refinance loan agreement with the wrong interest rate on it – and it’s a lot less hassle to correct the documents at the closing than afterward.
Thanks for your question.
Dad and I traded property due to his health. When they did the deed, they put in his home care lady as part owner of the new property. Both have died over 10 years ago. I acted as my dad, power of attorney. I had eye problems, making it difficult to read anything (cataracts). Furthermore, I left it up to the real estate agent to put my dad’s name on the deed. Only his name as I was in his Will as owner of all he had. Now the law is allowing persons age 65 and old to get out of paying the yearly property tax. I am 69, but the deed prevents me to act I went through probate court, but that was just 2 years ago. So I am not eligible for the 10 years of owning and living at this property. I contacted the real estate that put in the wrong mane, he said since she was my sister it would not matter, however. She is not my sister, she is no blood relative of mine at all and came from Sweden. She could not be part owner, being his home care anyway by law. I need to change the deed. Can you help?