House Deed vs Title: What’s the Difference?

House deed vs. title. The terms are often mistakenly interchanged or misunderstood in real estate. Perhaps the biggest myth is that the title to a home is an actual document stored in a drawer somewhere. So here’s a brief overview to keep the meanings straight when you buy or sell a home.

What’s the difference between deed vs title?

A deed is the physical document that passes those ownership rights from seller to buyer and is usually recorded with the courthouse or assessor’s office. The title is someone’s right to legal ownership and use of a property, including the right to sell it. You take title of a home when you purchase it and must clear title — in other words, prove ownership without any additional claims to (or “encumbrances” on) the property — before you can sell it.

Essentially, title and deed are both related to the important question of who truly owns a particular piece of real estate and has the rights to it. Let’s take a deeper look at what a house title is; the different types of deeds used in real estate; and related terms, including chain of title, title search, title insurance, and title abstract.