Selling Vacant Lot in Florida - Quit Claim Deed or Clear Title??

Question

We have a vacant lot in North Port, FL and are looking to sell.  Have heard there are two options, Quit Claim Deed or clear the title and complete a traditional sale via contract.  Looking for advice as to the pros and cons of each method and the processes involved with each method.  Has anyone successfully sold vacant lots in Florida using the Quit Claim Deed method?  Looking for any help as we are new to these options.

Ian Stevenson · Answer

Hello Mike, Thank you for your informative response. We are not aware of any title problems, having come by the property via the tax deed process after our tax certificates were not redeemed by the property owner. Quit claim was put to us as an option for cash deals and a way of saving the costs of quiet title action, not a preferred option going by your response. We would love to hear your thoughts before we go any further. Property id is 0944-15-0220, the situs address is shown as Gainsboro St., North Port FL and looking from the street (on Google Maps or Google Earth), is the block to the right hand side of 5545 Gainsboro St. Our LLC, Notable TCS, is shown as the owner. We look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Ian & Judy-Jill Stevenson

Rick H. · Answer

I would think it would be equivalent to the difference between selling something and wanting to "un-own" it.

Mike Ferreira · Answer

I buy and sell lots in North Port. In fact, that is all I do.

I can tell you that I would NEVER buy a lot via a Quit Claim Deed just as I would never sell a lot via a Quit Claim Deed.

In my opinion, a quit claim is meaningless. All it means is that you relinquish any rights to a property. I could sign a quit claim deed to the Empire State Building. The only legitimate purpose for a quit claim as far as I am concerned is to remove one party from a property such as a divorcing couple, parent/child situation, etc.

What is wrong with your title that you feel there will be a problem with just using an ordinary General Warranty Deed? If there are serious issues that you just want to "dump" on someone else, then I suppose a quit claim would be the way to go, but I doubt you will find anyone foolish enough to pay much money. If there are minor problems that would require a quiet title action, then it all depends on the lot itself. Some lots in North Port in undeveloped areas would not be worth the expense of the process, while others definitely are.

If you would like to message me with the info on the lot, I would be happy to look it up and give you an opinion.