Quit Claim Deed: What It Does, and the Mortgage Trap It Hides
A quit claim deed transfers whatever ownership interest the grantor has in a property, with no warranty that the title is clean. The trap most people miss: it changes who is on title, but it does NOT remove anyone from the mortgage. If a loan is involved, talk to us before you sign one.
A quit claim deed does not take anyone off the mortgage
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding around quit claim deeds, so we lead with it. A quit claim deed moves ownership on the title (the deed). It does nothing to the mortgage (the loan note you signed with the lender). Those are two separate legal documents with two separate sets of names, and a deed cannot rewrite a loan contract the lender is a party to.
What that means in plain terms: if you sign your interest in the home over to someone with a quit claim deed but your name is still on the loan, you are still 100% legally liable for that debt. You can be sued for it, the missed payments can wreck your credit, and the lender can foreclose even though you no longer own the house. Being off the deed does not get you off the hook.
To actually remove a borrower from the obligation, the remaining owner typically has to refinance the loan into their own name, or pursue a formal loan assumption or release with the lender. The refinance pays off the old note and replaces it with a new one in the staying party’s name only - that is what finally ends the departing person’s liability. We do this every week; talk to us before the quit claim, not after.
What a quit claim deed actually is
A quit claim deed is a legal instrument that transfers whatever ownership interest the grantor (the person giving) currently holds in a property to the grantee (the person receiving). The key word is “whatever.” It conveys the grantor’s interest as-is, and it carries no warranty of clear title. The grantor is not promising they own the property free and clear, not promising there are no liens, and not promising the title is even valid. If their interest turns out to be partial, clouded, or nothing at all, that is exactly what the grantee receives, with no legal recourse against the grantor.
That is what separates it from a warranty deed, the deed used in a normal arm’s-length home sale. A general warranty deed guarantees the grantor holds clear title and has the right to sell, and it makes the grantor liable if a title claim surfaces later. Because a quit claim deed makes no such promises, no smart buyer in a real purchase would accept one. Quit claim deeds are built for transfers between people who already trust each other and are not exchanging money for the home.
Quit claim deed
Transfers only the interest the grantor happens to have, with zero warranty of title. Fast and cheap, but the grantee accepts all title risk. Used between trusted parties, not in a sale.
Warranty deed
Guarantees the grantor holds clear, marketable title and defends it against future claims. The standard deed in a true home purchase, almost always paired with title insurance and a lender.
We untangle title-and-loan questions before you sign anything.
Common reasons people use a quit claim deed
Because it is quick and makes no warranties, the quit claim deed shows up in situations where ownership is moving between parties who already know and trust each other, usually with no purchase price changing hands.
Divorce
One spouse quit claims their interest to the other as part of the settlement. It is the fastest, cheapest way to clear a name off the deed - but remember it does not touch the loan, which is where most divorce mistakes happen.
Adding or removing a spouse
Couples add a new spouse to the title after marriage, or remove a name, with a quit claim deed. Clean on title; the mortgage still needs its own fix if a loan is in play.
Transfers between family
Parents to children, between siblings, or to grandchildren. A common estate and gifting move because no warranty of title is needed among family who already know the property history.
Into a trust or LLC
Moving a home into a living trust for estate planning, or into an LLC to hold an investment property, is routinely done by quit claim deed from the owner to the entity they control.
Fixing a title or name issue
Correcting a misspelled name, a missing spouse, a clerical error, or clearing a possible clouded interest. The quit claim cleans up the record without warranting anything new.
Co-owner buyouts
When one co-owner of an inherited or jointly bought property is bought out, a quit claim deed conveys their share - again, with the loan handled separately if there is a mortgage on it.
Title vs mortgage, and the due-on-sale clause
It is worth repeating the core distinction because it drives every real decision here. Title is ownership, recorded by the deed. The mortgage is the debt, governed by the note and security instrument you signed with the lender. A quit claim deed only ever touches the first one.
There is a second issue most people never hear about until it is a problem: the due-on-sale clause. Nearly every mortgage contains one, and it gives the lender the right to demand the full loan balance immediately if the property is transferred without the lender’s consent. Transferring a mortgaged home by quit claim deed can, in theory, trip that clause.
In practice, a federal law called the Garn-St Germain Act protects many common transfers from acceleration - including a transfer to a spouse or child, a transfer resulting from a divorce or legal separation, and a transfer into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary and occupant. Those are safe harbors, not blanket permission, and the protections have conditions. A transfer to an LLC or an unrelated party usually is NOT protected. This is precisely the kind of thing you want a lender and an attorney to confirm for your exact situation before you record a deed on a financed property.
South Carolina is an attorney state, and the deed has rules
In South Carolina, real estate transfers are an attorney-supervised process - the state requires a licensed attorney to oversee the closing and the legal work behind a transfer of real property. A quit claim deed here also has formal execution requirements: it must be signed by the grantor and witnessed by two witnesses, then notarized, and finally recorded at the county Register of Deeds (or Clerk of Court) where the property sits. An unrecorded deed leaves the public record showing the old owner and invites exactly the title disputes a deed is meant to prevent.
South Carolina charges a deed recording fee on most transfers, but several quit-claim scenarios are exempt - notably transfers between spouses, transfers to a former spouse incident to a divorce within the statutory window, and certain transfers between family members and to entities the grantor controls. The rules are specific, which is one more reason the deed itself belongs with a South Carolina attorney.
Signed and witnessed
SC requires the grantor’s signature plus two witnesses and notarization for a valid quit claim deed.
Recorded with the county
The deed must be recorded at the county Register of Deeds where the property is located to update the public ownership record.
Attorney supervised
SC is an attorney-closing state. Have a licensed SC real estate attorney prepare and record the deed itself.
If a mortgage is involved, do it in this order
1. Talk to us first
Before any deed is signed, let us look at the loan. We tell you whether the staying party can qualify to refinance and what the due-on-sale exposure is, so the deed does not get recorded into a trap.
Start with a pre-approval →2. Refinance to release the borrower
The remaining owner refinances the loan into their own name. This pays off the old note and is what actually removes the departing person from the debt - the deed alone never does.
See refinance options →3. Sign and record the deed
With financing settled, a licensed SC attorney prepares the quit claim deed, has it witnessed and notarized, and records it at the county. Title and loan now match.
Attorney handles this stepOptional: tap equity in the move
A buyout sometimes needs cash to pay the departing party. A cash-out refinance or a home equity loan can fund it as part of the same plan.
Explore equity options →Talk to us before you sign a quit claim deed
Home Loans Inc: Jason Sharon, Mortgage Broker
2557 Ashley Phosphate Rd, North Charleston, SC 29418
843.LOW.RATE · Text us · jason@homeloansinc.com
A veteran-owned broker who sees this daily
Home Loans Inc is a veteran-owned mortgage brokerage founded by Jason Sharon, a Navy veteran and former nuclear engineer who has spent 8+ years originating loans across South Carolina. Quit-claim-and-mortgage questions land on our desk constantly, usually from people in the middle of a divorce or a family transfer who assumed the deed would settle everything. It does not, and catching that early is the whole point of this page.
We hold NMLS #1281448 (company NMLS #1728740), carry a BBB A+ accreditation, and have earned a 5.0 rating across 430+ Google reviews. When a loan is part of your deed question, we will tell you the financing reality straight - and we will tell you plainly when the next call needs to be to a South Carolina attorney instead of to us.
Quit claim deeds and your mortgage, frequently asked
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