Executing a warranty deed and recording it effectively transfers ownership. Now whether you did the deed correctly is another question.
If you want to put a new first mortgage on the property at this point, the lender will require title insurance. The title company will check the title, and any problems will come to light at this time.
The purpose of a “closing” is to transfer title and disburse money. This would typically be handled by a title company or an attorney. Doesn’t look like you did this, but the property ownership was transferred nevertheless. So who cares whether we call it a “closing” or not??
The main concern here, and the reason people use title companies and attorneys to begin with, is whether you did this all correctly. You can have a title company check the title to see for a relatively small fee. They will have to do this anyway to write title insurance for the purpose of a new mortgage.
I purchased my house about 3 years ago from a local church on a contract for deed. The deal was for two years. We used a contract printed up on the church computer. At the time I was not too concerned because I simply needed a place to live. I filled the contract at the court house as a mortgage. When the mortgage or contract was paid off, I used a blank warranty deed and printed one out on my computer, they then took this deed to the bank and signed and notorized it. The next day I took the deed to the court house and filed it. I live in a small town and totaly trust the people I was dealing with. The way I understand it is if both parties agree, the contract and deed is all that is needed to transfer ownership.
My questions are:
Did we have to have a closing.
What is a closing.
Will this hurt me if I want to get a 1st mortgage?
Thanks for any opinions and I relize this is no substitute for an attorney.
As Piper indicates, when you get a mortgage you will be required to provide the lender with a mortgagee’s title insurance policy which should disclose any title defects. This is good time for you to also obtain an OWNER’S title insurance policy for yourself at little additional cost.