Question

Does a notarized but unrecorded quit claim deed affect the chain of title?

Answer 1

this would depend on which state you live in. some states the first person to file has the claim. some are whoever has the deed signed to them on the earliest date. regardless your friend is in violation of the law and can not sell property he no longer has interest in.the property transferred the day the deed was sign filed or not.

Answer 2

How were they able to sell the property if they did not own it. The selling party or parties has to have a Deed of Trust in their name or names. If they did not record the quit claim at the time it happened, it obviously was a factor when it came time to sell the property. It was probably submitted to the title company before the sale closed to satisfy that requirement, For Title insurance and a clean title to close escrow and the buyers to get a mortgage (if needed).I am sorry your friend is out of luck and there is no need to get a lawyer in that situation. But...if it was a private transaction as i think your describing, if it was quit claimed again to the new owners,and they are now in possession (i hope) of the property. Have your friend run a title search of the property, or go to the county recorders to find out who actually owns the property. If the quit claims were not recorded, i would tell your friend, if in fact he turns out to be the real owner according to county records, to sell the property out from under the current,so called owners. It was their mistake and let them fight each other over it.

Answer 3

The quit claim deed has no effect on the chain of title if it is not recorded. If the quit claim is not recorded before the second party records their deed then the sale should be ok. However I strongly recommend that your friend tells their attorney all about this situation.. . To add more info: the earlier quit claim deed has no effect on the chain of title because all states have recording statutes. In some states the second purchaser will not receive good title if they had notice that there had been a previous sale. But if the first person does not record the quit claim deed, and the second person had no notice of a prior deed and paid for the property (referred to as a "bona fide purchaser") then they receive clean title.