Nevada Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed Form

What is a Nevada Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed Form?

A signed, written deed must memorialize a Nevada real estate transfer.¹ A Nevada grant, bargain, and sale deed form is a statutorily authorized form of deed that transfers real estate with warranty of title limited to the period while the current owner held the property.²

Grant, bargain, and sale deeds convey Nevada real estate with special warranties.³ The special warranties are two statutory covenants of title the real estate’s current owner—or grantor—makes to the new owner—or grantee.⁴ The current owner—when executing a grant, bargain, and sale deed—promises that:

1. The current owner has not conveyed the real estate—or any interest in the real estate—to anyone prior to the new owner; and
2. When the deed is signed, the real estate is “free from encumbrances done, made or suffered by the grantor, or any person claiming under the grantor.”⁵

Encumbrances are defects in the property’s title—including, for example, outstanding liens or mortgages, an unclear chain of title due to errors in a prior deed, or a third party’s adverse claim against the property.⁶ The current owner who executes a grant, bargain, and sale deed promises that no such defects arose while the current owner held title to the property.

A Nevada grant, bargain, and sale deed encompasses the two special warranties even if not expressly written in the deed.⁷ The current owner can limit the scope of the warranties—by excluding a disclosed lien, for example—or provide additional warranties through clear language in the deed.⁸

Nevada law specifically authorizes grant, bargain, and sale deeds, and they are the most popular deed form for transferring Nevada real estate. The parties to a Nevada deed can opt for a special warranty deed that is not a grant, bargain, and sale deed. A special warranty deed that does not rely on the grant- bargain-and-sale-deed statute must specifically include the covenants of title offered by the current owner.⁹

Other Names for a Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed Form

Grant, bargain, and sale deeds are a type of special warranty deed specifically authorized under the Nevada Revised Code.¹⁰

Other states use a variety of names for deeds that—like a grant, bargain, and sale deed—transfer real estate with limited warranty. Synonyms include limited warranty deed, grant deed, and covenant deed.¹¹ Special warranty deed is the favored term nationally.¹² Nevada courts use the term special warranty deed to describe the broad category of deeds that transfer real estate with limited warranty of title.¹³

How do Nevada Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed Forms Relate to Other Forms of Deeds?

Grant, bargain, and sale deeds allocate the risk of title defects between the current owner and the new owner. The current owner bears the risk of defects caused by events that occurred while the current owner held title. The new owner can sue the current owner for breach of warranty to recover losses caused by a defect rooted during the current owner’s ownership period.¹⁴ The new owner who accepts a grant, bargain, and sale deed assumes the risk of defects rooted earlier in the property’s chain of title.

Nevada recognizes two other deed forms—warranty deeds and quitclaim deeds—that assign all risk of title defects to one party or the other.

• Nevada General Warranty Deeds. A Nevada general warranty deed form—or just warranty deed—places all risk of title defects on the current owner. A warranty deed transfers real estate with complete warranty of title covering all defects—regardless of when a defect arose. Nevada law recognizes warranty deeds—though they are not specifically authorized by statute.¹⁵ Warranty deeds are instead based on common law and the parties’ right to make covenants relating to a property’s title.¹⁶ The parties to a Nevada warranty deed must therefore expressly include covenants of title within the text of the deed.¹⁷
• Nevada Quitclaim Deed Form. A Nevada quitclaim deed form places all risk of title defects on the new owner. A quitclaim deed operates like a release—transferring whatever interest the current owner holds in the real estate with no warranty or covenants as to the property’s title.¹⁸ The current owner makes no representations regarding the title’s validity or the absence of title defects. The new owner cannot sue the current owner for breach of warranty if unknown defects arise or the deed conveys an invalid title.

The parties to a Nevada deed can limit or extend the scope of the deed’s warranty through clear language in the deed.¹⁹ The current owner executing a warranty deed—for example—can exclude from the warranty a disclosed defect or an existing third-party claim against the property’s title.

The party or parties bearing the risk of title defects can mitigate risk exposure by purchasing title insurance—which indemnifies the covered party from financial loss resulting from unknown title defects.²⁰ A title insurance company accepts a single premium payment at closing and—in return—agrees to cover financial loss and legal fees resulting from unknown title problems. In Nevada, sellers customarily pay for title insurance protecting purchasers—though the parties to a real estate transaction can negotiate the obligation to pay for title insurance.²¹

Nevada Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed Forms and Other Nevada Deeds Related to Estate Planning

Nevada grant, bargain, and sale deeds typically transfer a property owner’s complete—or fee simple—interest in real estate. Nevada recognizes other, more specialized deed forms designed to transfer limited interests or for use in particular settings. Life estate deeds and deeds upon death are useful estate-planning tools that allow real estate to bypass probate.

A Nevada life estate deed creates an ownership interest in real estate that lasts for the lifetime of the interest holder—or life tenant.²² Ownership passes to another person—the remainderman—when the life tenant dies.²³ The life tenant’s right to sell or mortgage the real estate during life is limited because the remainderman holds a vested future interest. A life estate deed can also be a special warranty deed if the life tenant receives the real estate with limited warranty of title.

A Nevada deed upon death—also called transfer on death deed, TOD deed, or beneficiary deed—names a beneficiary who receives title to real estate when the current owner dies. The owner retains all rights in the property—and the beneficiary receives no vested interest—during the owner’s life.²⁴ A Nevada deed upon death does not restrict the owner’s right to sell or mortgage the property during life. Deeds upon death follow a specific statutory form and transfer property subject to all encumbrances.²⁵ A deed upon death cannot also be a special warranty deed.

Common Uses of Nevada Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed Forms

Grant, bargain, and sale deeds are the instrument most commonly used to transfer purchased Nevada real estate. Commercial properties, unimproved land, and multi-family residential structures—for instance—can all be conveyed by grant, bargain, and sale deed.

Grant, bargain, and sale deeds—and other special warranty deeds—offer advantages to both parties to a real estate sale. A deed’s special covenants assure the buyer that the seller believes the deed conveys good title. The seller avoids extended exposure to unknown risks outside the seller’s control.

Lenders financing real estate purchases may insist on the more comprehensive warranty provided by a general warranty deed. Lenders almost always require a title examination and title insurance policy before extending a loan. A title insurance policy protects a lender from the risk of financing the purchase of a property with an unmarketable or defective title.²⁶ A lender may accept a grant, bargain, and sale deed if a title examination shows clear title and insurance covers the lender’s risk.

A fiduciary can use a grant, bargain, and sale deed or another special warranty deed to transfer Nevada real estate on the formal title holder’s behalf. Any of the following fiduciaries might wish to provide a warranty to a purchaser but lack sufficient authority or knowledge to execute a general warranty deed:

• A trustee executing a deed for a trust;²⁷
• A corporate officer or director executing a deed for a corporation;²⁸
• A member or manager of a limited liability company executing a deed for an LLC;²⁹ or
• A personal representative or executor executing a deed for a deceased person’s estate.³⁰

How to Create a Nevada Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed

Nevada does not provide statutory deed templates like some states but has adopted short-form language for grant, bargain, and sale deeds. A deed declaring that the current owner grants, bargains, and sells the real estate to the new owner is deemed a grant, bargain, and sale deed.³¹

Nevada grant, bargain, and sale deeds include two implied covenants:

• That the current owner has not previously transferred the property; and
• That the property’s title is free of defects arising while the current owner held title.³²

An individual grant, bargain, and sale deed can limit the scope of the implied covenants through clear language in the deed.³³ Grant, bargain, and sale deeds—like other Nevada deeds—convey the current owner’s entire interest in the real estate unless a deed explicitly transfers a lesser interest.³⁴

Nevada law generally authorizes deeds to include covenants of title of the parties’ choosing—subject to a few prohibited covenants.³⁵ A Nevada property owner can therefore create a special warranty deed without the statutory grant-bargain-and-sale-deed language. Covenants of title within a Nevada deed other than a grant, bargain, and sale deed must be expressly written into the deed.³⁶.

All Nevada deeds—including grant, bargain, and sale deeds—must satisfy Nevada’s requirements for formatting, content, and execution of deeds. Formatting requirements govern—for example—a deed’s font, margins, and the paper on which it is printed.³⁷

A Nevada deed must contain information such as:

• The parties’ names;³⁸
• A legal description and parcel number for the transferred real estate;³⁹ and
• The new owner’s address and an address for tax statements.⁴⁰

Nevada deeds must conform to the unique aspects of Nevada law, and grant, bargain, and sale must be carefully drafted to include the warranty of title agreed by the parties. A deed that is carelessly prepared or designed for another state can result in rejection by the county recorder, a failed conveyance, future title problems, or risk of liability.

1. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.105.
2. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170.
3. See Hanneman  v. Downer, 871 P.2d 279 (Nev. 1994).
4. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(1).
5. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(1)(a) and (b).
6. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 681A.080; see also Nev. Div. of Insurance, Consumer’s Guide to Title Insurance.
7. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(1).
8. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(1); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.100.
9. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.100 (generally authorizing covenants regarding title to real estate).
10. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170.
11. See, e.g., Ohio Rev. Code § 5302.07; Cal. Civ. Code § 1092.
12. See, e.g., Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-30-113(1)(b); Oreg. Rev. Stat. § 93.855; 25 Del. C. § 121(b).
13. See, e.g., Adaven Mgmt. v. Mountain Falls Acquisition, 191 P.3d 1189 (Nev. 2008).
14. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(2).
15. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.312(3)(c).
16. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.100.
17. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
18. Admin. Code § 375.100.
19. JV Props., LLC v. SMR7, LLC, No. 620-35 (unpublished) (Nev. Sup. Ct. 2014).
20. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 681A.080.
21. See Nev. Div. of Insurance, Consumer’s Guide to Title Insurance.
22. Nev. Admin. Code § 375.090.
23. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.365(2).
24. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.677(1).
25. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.695; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.691.
26. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 681A.080.
27. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 163.270; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 163.410.
28. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 78.135.
29. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.311(1).
30. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 143.405.
31. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(1).
32. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.170(1)(a) and (b).
33. See JV Props., LLC v. SMR7, LLC, No. 620-35 (unpublished) (Nev. Sup. Ct. 2014).
34. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.070(2).
35. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.100 (abolishing lineal and collateral warranties and permitting covenants relating to real estate).
36. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
37. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 247.110(3).
38. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 247.150.
39. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.312(4 – 6); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.312(1)(b).
40. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.312(1)(a); Nev. Rev. Stat. § 111.312(3).