Closings glossary
Grantor and grantee
The two sides of a conveyance: the grantor gives the interest and the grantee takes it. Both names index the instrument in the public record.
What is the difference between a grantor and a grantee?
Quick Answer
The full definition
The two sides of a conveyance: the grantor gives the interest and the grantee takes it. Both names index the instrument in the public record.
Which related terms should you know?
These are the terms that come up alongside grantor and grantee in the same file.
- Deed
- The instrument that conveys real property. Signature, acknowledgment and delivery make it effective between the parties, while recording is what protects it against later purchasers.
- Recording
- Filing an instrument with the register or county clerk so it becomes part of the public record. Recording establishes priority against later purchasers and lenders.
- ACRIS
- New York City's public index of recorded property documents for Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, easements and many liens are recorded here, which makes it the starting point for confirming ownership in those four boroughs. Staten Island instruments are indexed by the Richmond County Clerk, not here, though a Staten Island transfer tax return is still filed through ACRIS.
- Chain of title
- The sequence of recorded conveyances of a property, from an earlier known owner to the present one. Gaps and defective links in the chain are what a title search is designed to find.
- Title search
- The records examination behind a title report, covering the chain of title, encumbrances and court filings against the owners. It precedes the commitment.
Where does grantor and grantee come up in a New York City closing?
An ACRIS grantor and grantee search under a Queens seller's name turns up a 2019 mortgage that never appeared on the address search.
What else should you read before closing?
Questions this raises
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