Deed vs Title ,Explained

By
February 07, 2025

Sometimes real estate language can be confusing for buyers as well as sellers.

Title vs Deed, Explained

In today’s real estate market potential buyers and sellers can be confused on specific meanings of everyday language or words used by REALTORS. Two of these words are “Deed & Title”.

I have been asked. “Are they not the same thing?” This is a question we have heard several times in the past.

A title and deed are similar because they both involve property ownership, but they are very different as well in overall intent.

In real estate Title is not something tangible, it is a concept, meaning you own the right to something.

Having Title to a property means you have certain rights to that property.

-       Right of possession

-       Right of Control

-       Right of enjoyment

-       Right of disposition

-       Right of exclusion

A Title is simply the concept that is used to discuss ownership of a home or property.

The Deed on the other hand is the tangible document which proves the ownership of property. It spells out the description as well as location and other information pertaining to that property. Size, persons involved, time sold, etc.

Say for instance there was a dispute of ownership of a certain tract of land. The individual could say “this is my land, I bought and paid for it” without a deed there would be no way to prove this claim. The Deed is basically a receipt as well as a proof of ownership. It not only transfers the Title from the seller, which in Real Estate is known as the Grantor, to the buyer who is known as the Grantee, it also proves ownership.

The Grantee receives the title to the property and the deed at the closing of the home or property buying journey.

In short, the Title is used to say you own the property, the deed is the legal document proving you own the property.