Example of a New Mexico Warranty Deed

In the state of New Mexico, a warranty deed is a legal document that conveys the sale of real estate from the seller (grantor) to the buyer (grantee). A general warranty deed guarantees that the real property has a clean title, and that the current owner has a legal right to sell it.

A specialty warranty deed promises only that there are no title defects during the time the grantor has owned the property. Warranty deeds and other types of deeds can be downloaded from local government websites in New Mexico.

Grantors and grantees can be individuals or businesses. A general warranty deed is a legal document that warrants (promises) that the grantor is selling real property with a clean title. In other words, the seller owns the property free and clear with no outstanding judgments, mortgages, liens or other encumbrances against it.

A warranty deed must be notarized and filed with the city or county records office of its location and delivered to the grantee at closing. All deed transfers of New Mexico property also require a Real Property Transfer Declaration Affidavit, detailing the sales transaction.

A warranty deed contains specific details about the property, including:

• Address and legal description

of the property. Amount of consideration (value) of the property. Parcel number. Date of transaction. Full names and addresses of the grantor and grantee. Marital status. Grantor’s vesting, or how they hold title. Grantor and grantee's signatures. Signature of the notary public.

Under a special or limited warranty deed, the grantor promises only that the property has no title defects during the time they have owned it. This deed gives the grantee less protection than a full or general warranty deed but more than a quitclaim deed.

A special warranty deed will contain much of the same information that a general warranty deed does. However, New Mexico is a nondisclosure state, so some information, such as the amount of consideration given for the property, is withheld from the public.

New Mexico also uses quitclaim deeds that transfer real property ownership from the grantor to the grantee without any warranty or guarantee that the property title is free of claims or liens. Quitclaim deeds are used primarily in non-sale transactions and often between spouses or other family members.

A deed of trust may also be used and is much like a mortgage where the title is transferred to a trustee (often a title company or trust) that holds the property as security for the borrower's loan. If the borrower defaults on the loan, the trust has the right to sell the property at a foreclosure sale auction to pay off the loan. If payment of the loan is made in full, the borrower receives the title.

A property owner can also use a grant deed to transfer ownership, which promises that title has not been transferred before and has no encumbrances, other than those already stated in the deed.