Title

• A title is a piece of paper that you get when you register property such as a car, a boat, a recreational vehicle, motorcycle or a mobile home. These items are all taxable property, but they also can be easily moved. The title gives the name of the owner and the address where the property is usually found. The title may also state if there is a lien on the property if the owner has not yet finished paying for it. Once the property is completely paid for, a new title will be issued without information on a lien. Each year, you will receive a bill for personal property taxes on anything you have titled. In Virginia, you make these payments twice a year; once in June and once in December.
  
  

Where to File Titles

• In order to file a title, you must visit your local Department of Motor Vehicles Office. Bring all the information you have on the vehicle. You will need the title from the previous owner as well as an application to file for a new title. You will need the odometer reading of the vehicle as well. The exception to this is a mobile home in which you live. It is considered a vehicle because it has a hitch and can be moved. If you want to claim your mobile home as real estate because you actually own the land on which it is sitting, you must surrender your title to the DMV and then register it as real estate for which you will then have a deed.
  
  

Deed

• A deed is what you receive when you own a piece of land, with or without a home on it. Mortgages and property tax liens also are included in the category of deeds. Oftentimes when you sign papers for a mortgage, the lawyer will do all of the paperwork to file for the deed. If you have an outstanding mortgage, your property taxes on it will be included in your mortgage payment. However, if you own your real estate outright, the bill will come straight to you once a year, normally in December.
  
  

Where to File Deeds

• Deeds are filed with the Clerk of Circuit Court in the county in which you live in Virginia, or where the county where the property is located. Call your local office to see exactly what information you need, what applications you need to fill out, and if you can download them from a website and what the hours of the office are. This will expedite the process if you need to file a deed for yourself.