Land Trust

A deed of trust is a legal document that is the security for a real estate loan. The document itself is recorded with the county recorder or registrar of titles in the county where the real estate is located.

A Deed of Trust is essentially an agreement between a lender and a borrower to give the property to a neutral third party who will serve as a trustee. The trustee holds the property until the borrower pays off the debt.

The title deeds to a property with a mortgage are usually kept by the mortgage lender. They will only be given to you once the mortgage has been paid in full. But, you can request copies of the deeds at any time.

They serve different purposes and are signed by different parties. The warranty deed transfers the property's ownership from the current owner to the new buyer, while the deed of trust ensures the lender has interest in the property in the event a buyer defaults on the loan.

The following states use Deed of Trusts: Alaska, Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, and Virginia.

A real estate deed should be recorded in the office of the county recorder in the county where the property is located. The office of the county recorder may also be called the register of deeds, clerk of courts, office of the judge of probate, or recorder of deeds.

As you stated in your question, it is recorded among the land records, and your lender keeps the original. When you pay off the loan, the lender will return the deed of trust with the promissory note. This document is rather lengthy and quite legalistic.

Some owners are put off using solicitors duke to the deed of trust cost. Individuals can write out their own, and use someone else as a witness. However, this may have errors or not be a legally binding document. The investment of getting a deed of trust when buying a property is often worth it in the long term.

Whether you have a deed of trust or a mortgage, they both serve to assure that a loan is repaid, either to a lender or an individual person. A mortgage only involves two parties the borrower and the lender. A deed of trust adds an additional party, a trustee, who holds the home's title until the loan is repaid.