Grantor

Key Takeaways

• The grantor is the party who transfers an interest in real property, which in an ordinary sale is the seller.
• In Washington every deed must be in writing, signed by the party bound by it, and acknowledged before a person authorized to take acknowledgments (RCW 64.04.020). The party bound is the grantor.
• A grantor can convey no greater interest than the grantor owns.
• Under Washington's statutory warranty deed form, the grantor promises the property was free from encumbrances and will defend the title against all persons who may lawfully claim it (RCW 64.04.030).

What It Means

The grantor is the party who gives up an interest in real property when that interest is transferred. In an ordinary sale the grantor is the seller, but the label follows the role in the transfer rather than the sale itself: a parent adding a child to title, a lender releasing a lien, and an estate distributing property are all grantors. The person receiving the interest is the Grantee.

The grantor is the party whose signature makes a Deed work. A deed is the grantor's act, and the grantee does not have to sign it for the transfer to be effective. That is why the grantor's name has to match the name on the prior recorded document, letter for letter, and why a misspelling or an unlisted spouse turns into a title problem years later.

The grantor also controls how much is being promised. A grantor who signs a Warranty Deed promises the grantee that the title is good and agrees to defend it. A grantor who signs a quitclaim deed promises nothing and passes along only whatever interest the grantor happened to own, which may be none.

How It Works in Washington

In Washington, the grantor's obligations start with form. RCW 64.04.010 requires that every conveyance of real estate, or any interest in it, and every contract creating or evidencing an encumbrance on real estate be by deed. RCW 64.04.020 sets the requisites of the deed itself: it must be in writing, signed by the party bound by it, and acknowledged before a person authorized to take acknowledgments. The party bound is the grantor, so the grantor signs and the grantor appears before the notary. See Acknowledgment for what that step requires.

What the grantor promises depends on the deed form. RCW 64.04.030 supplies Washington's statutory warranty deed. A grantor who uses the operative words 'conveys and warrants' makes three covenants without writing any of them out: that the grantor was lawfully seized of an indefeasible estate in fee simple with good right and full power to convey, that the property was then free from all encumbrances, and that the grantor will defend the grantee's quiet and peaceable possession against all persons who may lawfully claim the property. Those covenants bind the grantor's heirs and personal representatives with the same effect as if they had been written out in full.

Example

Renata Ortiz owns a house in Spokane and sells it to Dev Mahajan for $465,000. At closing Renata signs a statutory warranty deed naming herself as grantor and Dev as grantee, and she signs it in front of a notary. The escrow officer records the deed with the Spokane County Auditor that afternoon.

A year later Dev goes to refinance, and this time the lender's title search turns up a $12,400 judgment lien that had been entered against Renata before the sale and was missed the first time around. Because Renata signed as grantor on a statutory warranty deed, the problem is hers. She promised the property was free from all encumbrances and promised to defend the title. Dev pays the $12,400 to clear the lien so his refinance can close, then recovers that $12,400 from Renata under her covenants. Had Renata signed a quitclaim deed instead, she would have made no such promise, and the $12,400 would have stayed Dev's problem.

Common Mistakes and Exam Traps

• Grantor and grantee sound alike and are the most commonly swapped pair on the exam. The grantor gives the interest up; the -ee ending marks the party who receives, the same way it does in lessee and mortgagee.
• The grantor signs the deed. An answer choice that requires both the grantor's and the grantee's signatures to make a deed effective is wrong.
• A grantor is not always a seller. A lender releasing a deed of trust, an executor distributing an estate, and an owner adding a spouse to title are all grantors, and none of them is selling anything.
• The deed form controls what the grantor promises. Signing as grantor on a quitclaim deed is not a representation that the grantor owns anything at all.