New Mexico Quitclaim Deed

Started by SteveW9 • 2 replies • 1189 views

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SteveW9 (New Mexico)
Posts: 37

Posted:

A couple of years ago, a bankruptcy court gave our HOA a quitclaim deed to our streets. Our HOA does not want to file the deed. Why? Because the HOA does not want to be responsible for maintenance of these streets. They do not want to be liable for these streets. I say that when the HOA authorized X number of dollars to patch the streets; when the HOA did the patching themselves, they became owner of the streets and therefore accepted liability. What is your opinion?

I also heard that a quitclaim deed is generally insufficient to acquire title insurance. Is that a true statement?

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Steve,

I see that your post has not yet received a response. I am not a lawyer, I do not work in the legal profession and I do not work in the insurance industry. My understanding of quitclaim deeds only comes from the research I've done.

From my research, a quitclaim deed is transferring one individual/s (grantor) claim to ownership to another (grantee). However, unlike a warranty deed, which confirms that the grantor owns the title to the property, the quitclaim deed does not confirm the grantor's ownership interest in the property but simply states that if they do have an ownership claim, they agree to quit that claim. This type of deed is typically used when transferring property between family members.

Since title insurance insures against financial loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity of mortgage liens the decision to issue such a policy, I would suspect, would be left up to the insurance company.

Here is where I obtained my understanding:

Quitclaim deed from wikipedia

What is a Quitclaim Deed? from Realtor.com

MatthewW4 (Arizona)
Posts: 500

Posted:

Steve,

Who is the present recorded owner of the street? Is it the person who declared bankruptcy?

You wrote that the HOA did not want to record the deed "Because the HOA does not want to be responsible for maintenance of these streets." Has the HOA stated just who they think is responsible? Has that other party accepted responsibility? Since there is a deed to the streets, it does not sound like they have been accepted by any the city or county.

Has your board of directors ever consulted an attorney regarding this matter?

Presumably, each lot owner has an easement to use the streets. There is some common law that holds that those who use an easement are legally responsible for its maintenance.

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