Nevada Warranty Deed Form

What is a Nevada Warranty Deed Form?

A Nevada warranty deed form—also called general warranty deed—is a signed document for transferring title to Nevada real estate from the current owner (the grantor) to a new owner (the grantee).¹ The distinction between warranty deeds and other deed forms is that warranty deeds convey real estate with complete warranty of title.

Warranty of title is the current owner’s guaranty to the new owner that a deed transfers a valid ownership interest, free from undisclosed title defects. Title defects are problems with a property’s title that reduce its value or marketability.² Defects could include—for example—an unpaid tax lien or mortgage, a flawed chain of title arising from an error in an earlier deed, or a third-party claim on the property derived from a boundary dispute. A property owner signing a warranty deed guarantees that no such defects are present, and—if any arise—the owner will take responsibility for them.

Nevada warranty deeds are based on common law principles and the right of parties to a deed to include covenants regarding the title to the transferred real estate.³ Nevada law recognizes warranty deeds but does not specifically authorize them by statute.⁴

How Does Warranty or Covenants of Title Work in Nevada Deeds?

Warranty of title consists of a series of promises—called covenants of title—that the person signing a deed makes to the person accepting it.⁵ Common-law warranty deeds traditionally included six covenants of title

1. The current owner holds complete title to the real estate (covenant of seisin).
2. The current owner has the right and power to transfer title (covenant of right to convey).
3. The property is subject to no undisclosed liens or other title defects (covenant against encumbrances).
4. No other person will assert a superior title in the future (covenant of quiet enjoyment).
5. The current owner will defend the transferred title if a third party asserts a claim against the property (covenant of warranty).
6. The current owner will take any future actions necessary to preserve the new owner’s title (covenant of further assurances).⁶

Some states have adopted statutory short-form warranty deeds—typically a template or keyphrases that, when used, make a deed a warranty deed. Deeds that use a statutory form or keyphrase implicitly include some or all covenants of warranty.⁷

The Nevada Legislature has not adopted a statutory short-form for warranty deeds. A Nevada warranty deed’s covenants of warranty must be explicitly written in the deed.⁸ The parties to a Nevada warranty deed can adjust the warranty to the agreed transfer terms—such as by including some or all common-law covenants of title, limiting or modifying the scope of the warranty, or excluding disclosed items from the warranty.⁹

A Nevada warranty deed protects the new owner because—if a title defect within the warranty’s scope arises in the future—the prior owner who signed the warranty deed is liable for the defect. If necessary, the new owner can sue the prior owner to enforce a warranty deed’s covenants of title.¹⁰

Other Names for a Nevada Warranty Deed Form

Nevada statutes and Nevada courts use the name warranty deed for deeds with comprehensive covenants or warranty of title.¹¹ Warranty deed is a common term throughout the U.S., and some states call them general warranty deeds.¹² The name general warranty deed helps distinguish them from special warranty deeds and other deed forms with a less thorough warranty of title. Special warranty deeds are also called limited warranty deeds and covenant deeds—depending on the jurisdiction. Nevada’s equivalent of a special warranty deed is called a grant, bargain, and sale deed.

Some jurisdictions use statutory warranty deed synonymously with warranty deed. Statutory warranty deeds are deeds that provide a warranty arising under a particular state statute—often with short-form verbiage or a statutory deed template.¹³ Nevada warranty deeds are not based on an authorizing law or statutory deed form, so statutory warranty deed is not a correct name for Nevada warranty deeds.

How do Nevada Warranty Deed Forms Relate to Other Forms of Deeds?

Warranty deeds provide the most comprehensive warranty of title of Nevada’s deed forms. The current owner guarantees a good, defect-free title and agrees to bear the financial risk of unknown defects or other title problems. A buyer who receives title through a warranty deed can look to the seller for damages if a third party asserts a claim against the real estate.¹⁴ If a lienholder enforces a valid lien on the property—for example—the seller will be obligated to satisfy the lien—even if the lien predates the seller’s ownership of the property.

Nevada warranty deeds typically use vesting words like grants or conveys to indicate that the current owner is transferring title to the new owner. Nevada’s other deed forms use vesting language associated with those forms. Quitclaim deeds—for example—typically state that the current owner quitclaims and releases the property to the new owner.

Nevada warranty deeds—by their nature—are more detailed than Nevada’s other deed forms. A Nevada warranty deed’s covenants of title must be expressly included in the deed.¹⁵ A Nevada deed that sets forth no warranty or covenants of title from the current owner is not a warranty deed.

Nevada Warranty Deed Form vs. Nevada Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed Form

Nevada grant, bargain, and sale deeds are Nevada’s most commonly used deed form. The Nevada Legislature authorizes grant, bargain, and sale deeds by statute and has adopted short-form language for creating them.¹⁶ Any Nevada deed that states that the current owner “grants, bargains, and sells” real estate to a new owner is a grant, bargain, and sale deed and implicitly includes two covenants of title.

1. The current owner has not conveyed any interest in the real estate to any other person before the new owner.
2. No liens or other defects arising while the current owner owned the real estate affect the title as of the date of the deed.¹⁷

Grant, bargain, and sale deeds provide less thorough covenants of title than a warranty deed. The current owner guarantees a defect-free title—but only as to defects arising from events that occurred while the current owner held title. The new owner can sue for damages derived from defects within the scope of the warranty but bears the risk of other problems with the property’s title.¹⁸

Nevada General Warranty Deed Form vs. Nevada Quitclaim Deed

A Nevada quitclaim deed form is a streamlined deed that places all risk of unknown title problems on the new owner. A quitclaim deed conveys whatever ownership interest the current owner holds with no covenants or warranty of title.¹⁹ The current owner makes no promises regarding the transferred title’s status and does not guarantee that the deed conveys a valid interest. The new owner cannot pursue the prior owner for a claim under the deed if another person later asserts a superior claim or a lienholder forecloses on the property.

The person executing a Nevada quitclaim deed typically quitclaims and releases the real estate to the new owner. Quitclaim deeds function as a release of the signer’s interest to the new owner and are occasionally called release deeds for that reason.²⁰

Nevada Warranty Deed Form vs. Other Types of Nevada Deeds

Warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, and grant-bargain-and-sale deeds effectuate a present transfer of an owner’s complete interest in real estate—unless a deed expressly limits the interest.²¹ Nevada law recognizes other deed forms designed to transfer lesser interests or convey property in the future. Life estate deeds and deeds upon death, in particular, can be useful in estate planning.

A Nevada life estate deed creates an ownership interest—called a life estate—that lasts until the death of the person who receives the interest.²² Another person receives a remainder interest and takes title when the life estate ends. Nevada deeds upon death—the equivalent of transfer on death deeds in other states—name a beneficiary to take title to property when the current owner dies.²³

Both life estate deeds and deeds upon death allow real estate to transfer outside of probate.²⁴ A life estate deed limits the current owner’s rights in the property during life. A deed upon death does not.²⁵

Common Uses of Nevada Warranty Deed Forms

Warranty deeds are the principle deed form used to convey single-family residential properties in most states. Homebuyers and mortgage lenders undertaking a significant financial transaction must know with certainty that a newly purchased home has a clear title. A warranty deed gives a homebuyer legal recourse against the seller if unknown problems with the property’s title decrease its value or marketability in the future.²⁶ If a seller conveys an altogether invalid title, a buyer who receives a warranty deed can bring a breach of warranty action to recover the purchase price.

Grant, bargain, and sale deeds based on the authorizing statute are the predominant deed form for most Nevada real estate sales.²⁷ Nevada warranty deeds are relatively less common and—because covenants must be expressly written in a deed—are usually more complex by comparison.

Warranty deeds are nonetheless useful for Nevada real estate transactions—offering buyers a complete guaranty of good, marketable title. A warranty deed can incorporate customized covenants of title negotiated between a buyer and seller—allowing adaptation to complex transactions. A purchase of valuable mineral interests—for example—might involve a comprehensive warranty of the title to the mineral interests that exempts other aspects of the real estate.

Deeds that transfer real estate without consideration or that do not affect the property’s control are rarely warranty deeds. An owner executing a deed to create a joint tenancy or transfer real estate to a revocable trust is usually better served by a quitclaim deed.²⁸

Buyers, sellers, and lenders can mitigate risk bourn under a deed by purchasing title insurance—a contract under which an insurer accepts the risk of unknown title defects.²⁹ The title insurer accepts a lump-sum premium at closing in exchange for covering any financial loss and legal fees resulting from a title defect that was in existence but unknown when the policy was issued.

A seller signing a warranty deed and a purchaser accepting it both benefit from a title insurance policy. The purchaser receives financial protection against unknown problems like liens or a third-party suit alleging superior title. The seller reduces the risk of being sued for breach of warranty if an unknown defect emerges. Mortgage lenders typically require a title insurance policy as a prerequisite for a loan.

How to Create a Nevada Warranty Deed

Nevada has not adopted a statutory form for warranty deeds. Nevada law does not assume or imply that any deed other than a grant, bargain, and sale deed includes covenants of warranty. A person creating a Nevada warranty deed must therefore include the intended covenants of warranty expressly within the body of the deed.³⁰

Nevada warranty deeds typically state that the current owner grants the real estate to the new owner. A deed must indicate that the current owner warrants the title to the transferred property or similarly declare the current owner’s intent to guaranty the property’s title. Covenants of title must be precisely worded to avoid confusion over the warranty’s application, nature, and scope. A warranty deed that excludes any existing conditions from the warranty should specifically identify the exclusions.

Nevada law assumes that a warranty deed transfers the current owner’s entire interest in the real estate—though a deed may expressly limit the transferred interest.³¹ A Nevada warranty deed likewise conveys any after-acquired interest that vests in the current owner and any water rights associated with the property—unless expressly reserved or limited.³²

Warranty deeds—like other Nevada deed forms—must satisfy all requirements the Nevada Legislature has adopted for deeds. Nevada statutes establish—among other things—standards for formatting, text and font size, and paper quality.³³ Deeds must also include all necessary information—such as party names, addresses, and a legal description of the property.³⁴

A warranty deed transferring Nevada real estate must comply with Nevada law. Warranty deeds designed for other states are often derived from those states’ statutory short-form warranty deeds. Using another state’s form for a Nevada transaction can result in a defective conveyance or an unrecordable deed.

1. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.105.
2. See Nev. Rev. Stat. §681A.080.
3. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.100 (abolishing lineal and collateral warranties and permitting covenants relating to real estate).
4. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.312(3)(c).
5. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
6. See Holmes Development, LLC v. Cook, 2002 UT 38 (2002).
7. See, e.g., Colo. Rev. Stat. §38-30-113 (a deed in which the current owner “sells and conveys” real estate and “warrants the title” includes five covenants of title even if no covenants are expressly written into the deed).
8. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
9. See Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.100.
10. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
11. See, e.g., Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.312(3)(c); Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
12. See, e.g., Ohio Rev. Code §5302.05; 21 Pa. Stat. §5.
13. See, e.g., Colo. Rev. Stat. §38-30-113(1)(a).
14. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
15. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
16. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.170.
17. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.170(1)(a) and (b).
18. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.170(2).
19. Nev. Admin. Code §375.100.
20. Nev. Admin. Code §375.100.
21. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.070(2).
22. Nev. Admin. Code §375.090.
23. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.671.
24. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.721.
25. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.677(1).
26. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
27. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.170.
28. See Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.064; Nev. Rev. Stat. §375.090.
29. See Nev. Rev. Stat. §681A.080.
30. See Thomas v. Palmer, 248 P. 887 (Nev. 1926).
31. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.070(2).
32. Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.160; Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.167.
33. Nev. Rev. Stat. §247.110(3).
34. Nev. Rev. Stat. §247.150; Nev. Rev. Stat. §111.312(1 – 6).