Deed Covenants (& Estoppel by Deed)

There are mostly three types of deeds to know well for Property questions: general warranty deeds, special warranty deeds, and quitclaim deeds. The first two of these deeds contain covenants and it's important to know how each of these deeds differ as they relate to the covenants they contain. 

General Warranty Deed: You can assume that a grantor conveying a general warranty deed to a grantee covenants (promises) the following: 

Covenant of Seisin: This simply promises that the grantor has the estate he/she is purporting to convey. The grantor must have both title and possession to covenant as such. 

Covenant of Right to Convey: The grantor covenants that he/she has the authority to make this grant. Here, possession is not required; only title is. 

Covenant Against Encumbrances: The grantor covenants against the existence of physical or title encumbrances (for example, an undisclosed mortgage).

Covenant for Quiet Enjoyment: The grantor covenants that the grantee will not be disturbed in possession by a third party's lawful claim of title. 

Covenant of Warranty: The grantor agrees to defend against reasonable claims of title by a third party and to compensate the grantee for any loss sustained by the claim of superior title. 

Covenant of Further Assurances: The grantor promises to perform acts reasonably necessary to perfect title conveyed. 

Special Warranty Deed: Special warranty deeds are far more limited than the general warranty deeds  The covenants in a special warranty deed are are follows:

1: That the grantor has not has conveyed the same estate to anyone other than the grantee.

2: That the estate is free from encumbrances made by the grantor.

Quitclaim Deed: This is the simplest one: A quitclaim deed releases whatever interest the grantor has. No covenants are included or implied. 

Estoppel by Deed:

A quick word on a concept called "estoppel by deed," since it shows up with some regularity on the test. Assume that the grantor purports to convey an estate that the grantor does not in fact own. If the grantor later acquires ownership of that estate, such ownership will go directly to the grantee whom the grantor earlier essentially defrauded by attempting to convey what the grantor did not then own. Most courts do hold that the grantee's rights only lie against the grantor, however. In other words, if the grantor after later acquiring ownership transfers that title to a bona fide purchaser for value ("BFP"), the BFP will generally prevail over the original grantee.