A general warranty deed is a type of deed

Deed

A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...

 where the grantor

Conveyancing

In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien....

 (seller) guarantees that he or she holds clear title

Clear title

Clear title is the phrase used to state that the owner of real property owns it free and clear of encumbrances. In a more limited sense, it is used to state that, although the owner does not own clear title, it is nevertheless within the power of the owner to convey clear title. For example, a...

 to a piece of real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

 and has a right to sell it to the grantee (buyer). The guarantee is not limited to the time the grantor owned the property—it extends back to the property's origins. A General Warranty Deed includes six traditional forms of Covenants for Title. Those six traditional forms of covenants can be broken down into two categories: present covenants and future covenants.

• Present Covenants
  • Covenant of Seisin & Covenant of Right to Convey - Covenants that represent the seller's promise that he has title and possession and can validly grant or convey both
  • Covenant Against Encumbrances - Seller promises that there are no encumbrances, other than those that have been previously disclosed
• Future Covenants
  • Covenant of Warranty and Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment - Covenants that represent seller's promise to protect the buyer against anyone who comes along later and claims paramount title to the property
  • Covenant of Further Assurances - If seller omitted something required to pass valid title, seller promises to do whatever is necessary to pass title to buyer

Note - Not all states recognizes the Covenant of Further Assurances (e.g. Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

)

Most people hire someone to perform a title search

Title search

A title search is a process that is performed primarily to determine the answer to three questions:*Does the seller have a saleable interest in the property?...

 to determine if there are defects that must be resolved before they purchase real property. They can also purchase title insurance

Title insurance

Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance predominantly found in the United States which insures against financial loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage liens. Title insurance is principally a product developed and sold in the...

, which covers many types of losses that occur if problems are discovered later, but title insurance raises a number of other legal issues.