deed

Beginner 🏠 Real Estate

Definition

The official legal document that proves you actually own that property you're paying a mortgage on, featuring enough archaic language to make Shakespeare jealous. This formal instrument transfers title from one party to another and gets recorded with the county, because if it's not written down in triplicate, did it really happen? It's essentially a receipt, but for houses and with more 'heretofore's.

Example Usage

After closing, I received the deed to my house, which I immediately put in a safe place that was so safe I can't find it anymore.

Source: Legal and real estate terminology

Related Terms