A deed, as most definitions of this word will tell you, is a document which grants a right to another person. The deed document thus is an important one in matters of home buying and home selling. The deed in this case of course is drafted by the seller and grants the right of ownership to the buyer.
What is a Bargain and Sale Deed?
If you know what a general warranty deed is, then explaining the bargain and sale deed becomes a lot simpler. The general warranty deed protects the buyer from any problems regarding the title over the property which may arise in the future. The deed grants the buyer of the property unencumbered and quiet enjoyment of the property sold to him.
The bargain and sale deed on the other hand offers no such promises. The general warranty deed is supposed to protect the buyer from any problems arising in the future (otherwise known as a bad title to land) and sees the seller defend the buyer and deflect all the lawsuits that may arise in the future, whether the cause of the bad title was the fault of the immediate seller or of those before him. The deed without covenants can be viewed to be a lot more feasible and reasonable sort of deed because, let's face it, that bit about the guarantees extending back to the property's origins is a bit unrealistic. Who knows what the users before the current seller did with it anyway. Most people understand that a seller and the purchase of property for sale can get a bit hamstrung and sticky with the covenants that go with the general warranty deed and hence the bargain and sale deed is a lot more popular.
Protection From the Deed
The bargain and sale deed only specifies the right of ownership and associated rights to modify, resale, and all the other rights that come with ownership of property. The only things missing are the covenants which are part of a general warranty deed.
Now how does that protect the buyer from a bad title? Well, it doesn't unless he and the seller choose to sign a bargain and sale deed with covenants which only protect the buyer from the bad title as may be created by the seller, while no guarantee is given about what the previous owners did with it. The deed is hence seen as a more realistic sort of deed for older properties as the seller takes no guarantees for what passed before he came along. And the buyer too can understand that once the property is sold, the seller wants nothing to do with it, let alone run around setting right the bad title that his forerunners may have given it.
It is easier for the seller to a grant bargain and sale deed as he can simply wash his hands off the property once and for all. This may put a buyer in a position of disadvantage, should any problem come knocking, but then there really is nothing else that he can do about it anyway.
