Nevada Deeds
Jonathan Craig Reed
View lawyer's profile
Named Top Lawyers in Las Vegas by
Greenspan Media Group/Vegas, Inc.
Prices for Doing Nevada Deed and Types of Deeds:
Part One: Prices
We are often asked by out of state trust attorneys to draft a deed of Nevada property to an out of state trust. We are glad to do so for all counties in Nevada on these terms:
1. We will draft the deed, send it to out of state counsel for the client's notarized signature, and then when it is mailed back to us record it and mail it back to either the client or the referring law firm.
2. If there is no real estate transfer tax due, our fee is $200 for the first deed and $120 for each additional deed (from the same grantors to the same trust) and this fee includes the recording of fee of about $18-20. Transfers into or out of a trust are currently exempt from a real estate transfer tax, but we need a copy of the trust, or preferably a copy of the Certificate of Trust, to avoid the transfer tax. This also assumes that there is not a $25 non-conforming fee charged. This fee can be avoided if the deed is completely blank (no parts of signatures or notary seals) with respect to the one inch margin all around the deed and with respect to a three inch square on the upper right corner of the first page of the deed and providing the deed is printed on standard thickness white paper in black ink. Often clients sign a deed with a large signature that invades the one inch margin and often notaries place their seal within the one inch margin. When either happens, there is the $25 non-conforming "gotcha fee." In addition, to avoid the $25 non-conforming fee, the deed must be on standard thickness white paper of the type you would buy for a copy machine. Fancy, thick, or off white paper that some lawyers consider "classy" will incur the $25 non-conforming fee. Text must be in black. A full list of requirement is set out in N.R.S. 247.110 and N.R.S. 247.305 authorizes the $25 non-conforming fee.
3. If the deed is for anything other than a timeshare, we will check the legal description against online data bases and insure accuracy of the legal description. If the deed is for a timeshare there are no public records to check and we rely on the client or forwarding law firm for an accurate legal description. Some timeshare companies will verify the current legal description with a simple phone call; some are very difficult and time consuming to deal with. Timeshare legal descriptions can and occasionally do change over time so that copying a legal description off the purchase deed does not always give one the correct legal description.
4. Timeshare companies charge their own title transfer fees. We have noted a range of $50 to $399. If we do a timeshare deed, our services end when we send the client or out of state law firm a copy of the deed tranferring title recorded by the appropriate County Recorder.
5. The forwarding law firm and client sign a letter confirming that Reed & Mansfield has no responsibility for reviewing the trust.
We need the following information to draft and record a deed:
1. The names of the grantors and grantees as well as other names they may have used on other legal documents
2. The deed needs an address for the County Assessor to send annual tax bills to. For timeshares, this is usually the timeshare company which prefers to pay the tax and pass it along to the customer with the annual maintenance fee. For all other deeds we need an address for the annual tax bill.
3. The filing coversheet which becomes part of the public record asks for the addresses of one grantor and one grantee.
4. Many clients are happy to have their residential addresses included in the deed and cover sheet. Advantages are:
A. The residential address is usually the best address for receiving the annual tax bill, and
B. Arguably an address on the deed minimizes the chance of an imposter giving a deed to the property.
However, some clients may prefer not to make their residential address a matter of public record. Other clients feel that with all of material on the internet and all of the various commercial search services available residential addresses are not realistically secret anymore.
In any event, I need to know what addresses to supply for the requirements in paragraphs 2 and 3.
Finally, unless the transfer will be exempt from the real estate transfer tax--the most common exemptions are transfer into or out of a trust w/o consideration or transfer between husband and wife or between parent and child--we will need proof of the purchase price to be able to calculate the real estate transfer tax. Nevada's Real Estate Transfer Tax and the exemptions to are discussed at our webpage: Nevada Real Estate Transfer Tax
If the deed is in Clark County (which includes Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, North Las Vegas and Mesquite, among other cities) the County Recorder instantly records the deed and hands it back. Ditto for Nye County whose largest city is Pahrump, an hour's drive away from Las Vegas. However, Washoe County which includes Reno, takes several weeks to mail back proof of a recorded deed.
Part Two: Types of Nevada Deeds
There are four common choices when writing a deed.
The first choice, if there is more than one owner is whether the deed should be "joint tenants" or "tenants in common." If one joint tenant dies, the surviving joint tenant(s) automatically become the owner(s) of the property, including the dead joint tenant's share. If two or more people own property as tenants in common, if one tenant in common dies, the share of the dead tenant in common must go thru probate. Incidentally, tenants in common do not have to own equal shares. (Actually, if one joint tenant dies, the surviving joint tenant(s) should file an "Affidavit of death" with death certificate attached with the County Recorder stating the joint tenant died. This shows that title is now with the surviving joint tenant(s).
The second choice, is whether the grantor of the deed gives a quitclaim deed or a warranty deed. A quitclaim deed simply gives whatever interest the owner or donor has to the purchaser or donee. A warranty deed states that the owner gives good title and the owner can be liable for not giving good title.
The third choice is whether one or more individuals own the property or the property is owned by a trust or corporation. Property is typically transferred to a trust so that upon the death of the trust writer the property will pass without probate to the intended heir(s).
The fourth choice is whether the deed transfers a current interest or only transfers an interest upon the death of the grantor(s). N.R.S. 111.655 and the following sections are Nevada's Real Property Transfer on Death Uniform Act which is basically a transfer on death deed. This deed must be recorded prior to the death of the grantor and can be revoked at any time prior to the grantor(s)' death. It can be used to avoid probate.
Contact Information:
Reed & Mansfield
6655 W. Sahara Ave., Suite B-200
Las Vegas, NV 89146
phone: 702-343-0494
regular business hours: 9am-5pm (Pacific Coast time) M-F
most days: We will also take your call between
7am-9pm including weekends and holidays
Web Pages and Informational Text (c) Copywright 2011,2012, 2013 Jonathan C. Reed