Maine general warranty deed

What a general warranty deed does in Maine

A general warranty deed transfers ownership and adds the full set of title covenants: the grantor promises they own the property, have the right to sell it, that it is free of undisclosed encumbrances, and that they will defend the title against any claim, including claims that arose long before they owned it. It is the standard instrument for an arm's-length sale between private parties.

When Maine property owners use a general warranty deed

• Sell a property directly to a buyer without an agent
• Transfer a property where the buyer expects full title protection
• Satisfy a purchase contract that calls for a warranty deed
• Convey property where a title company requires warranty covenants

What Maine requires on the deed

These are the execution and formatting rules registers of deeds enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.

How to complete and record it in Maine

1. 1Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Register of Deeds can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
2. 2Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
3. 3Complete the deedDeedly builds it with Maine's statutory language, the correct notary block, and the 3-inch first-page margin registers of deeds expect.
4. 4Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Do not sign in advance. The signature has to be made in the notary's presence.
5. 5Complete Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration (RETTD), filed electronicallyMaine requires this alongside the deed, including for exempt transfers. Your filing packet explains which boxes apply to your situation.
6. 6Record it with the Register of DeedsFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Most offices in this state also accept e-recording, which is usually same-day. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
7. 7Update insurance and tax recordsA change of ownership can affect your homeowner's policy, your homestead or senior exemption, and in some states the assessed value. Do this within a few weeks.

What it costs in Maine

Maine charges a real estate transfer tax of $2.20 per $500 of value, split equally between grantor and grantee ($1.10 each). It is customarily paid by the negotiated.

Exemptions that commonly apply to a transfer like this: deeds between spouses, parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild, gifts with no consideration, and deeds correcting a prior deed. You have to claim the exemption. The recorder won't apply it for you.

Where to record it in Maine

Maine deeds are recorded with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 16 counties in Maine.

Most Maine recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN, which is usually same-day. Check your county's website for the list it works with.

Recording offices we cover in Maine: Cumberland, York, Penobscot, Kennebec, Androscoggin, Oxford. See all Maine recording offices.

What a general warranty deed does NOT do

Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.

• The covenants only bind the grantor personally. If they have no assets, a covenant claim may be worth little.
• It does not replace title insurance or a title search. It gives you a claim after the fact, not clean title today.
• It does not avoid probate and cannot be revoked once delivered and recorded.
• Signing one when you don't actually know the property's history exposes you to real liability. Where that is a concern, a special warranty deed is the safer instrument.

Quirks of Maine law that catch people out

• Maine's transfer tax is split evenly between buyer and seller, $1.10 per $500 each, which is unusual.
• The Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration is filed electronically and the receipt goes to the register with the deed.
• Maine recognizes transfer-on-death deeds under its Probate Code (18-C M.R.S. § 6-401).
• Family transfers between spouses, parents and children, and grandparents and grandchildren are exempt from Maine's transfer tax.

How to hold title in Maine

When two or more people take title in Maine and the deed says nothing more, the law presumes a tenancy in common, which means no automatic survivorship. If you want the survivor to take the whole property, the words have to be on the deed. Forms of co-ownership available in Maine: joint tenancy with right of survivorship and tenancy in common.