Deed Date: Signed or Recorded?

[Don Clark]

I just had an AMC reviewer demand multiple fanatical stips, so my blood is a little hot, and I know this is redundant to many here, but kindly indulge me.

One stip was to "correct" the last transfer date for the subject. It was a familial vesting transfer signed 7/28/10 and recorded 8/2/10. From what I've gleaned from other threads here and appraisal instructors, a deed becomes legal upon recording (though some debate that), so I default to the recording date. This reviewer requested I change it to the signing date of the deed, which was a whopping 5 days earlier and of no impact to market value, but a skunk by any other name...

I'm starting to appreciate that the UAD only requires the month a comparable sale has closed escrow, so this type of nit-picking is avoided in the Sales Comparison Analysis. Yes, the UAD fruits are rare, but they must be suckled where we find them...

I am not a lawyer. But, I taught basic real estate law for Broker candidates for several years. A deed is an instrument that conveys title to an individual or individuals. It only needs to be signed by the Grantor to be valid. It conveys ownership or other title benefits that the Grantor had.

In some states there are so called "race" laws. Not based on etnicity but the fact that whomever has a claim of title is first to record. There is no law requiring recording a deed. But, recording a deed gives "notice" to all third parties, or, if you will, to the world as to the claim that the Grantee has that first recorded the document. That is called "constructive notice" as opposed to actual notice.

There is a very old Supreme Court case from the 1800's that affects a huge parcel of land in Texas. I do not remember the names in the case. But, a farmer sold a huge tract of land to another farmer. That farmer received a deed but did not record it. The Grantor farmer died. His son, not knowing of the sale, 25 years later sold the same tract to the U.S. Government. The Government promptly recorded the deed. On hearing this, the farmer who had purchased the land 25 years previously, and had a deed to it, albeit not recorded, sued the government. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court where the court held that the U.S. Government was the owner as the original grantee farmer had failed to record and thereby failed to give notice.

That tract of land is where today you will find Lackland Air Force Base.

Look it up.

 

[Webbed Feet]

This is a fascinating thread, because the areas operate so differently.

A buyer doesn't become the owner here until the deed is recorded. While there are probably many reasons for this, one big one is that, homeowners insurance will not go into effect until then.

You don't suppose that might be because there is a tax on the sale price in Ohio do you?

 

[ctapraser]

I am not a lawyer. But, I taught basic real estate law for Broker candidates for several years. A deed is an instrument that conveys title to an individual or individuals. It only needs to be signed by the Grantor to be valid. It conveys ownership or other title benefits that the Grantor had.

In some states there are so called "race" laws. Not based on etnicity but the fact that whomever has a claim of title is first to record. There is no law requiring recording a deed. But, recording a deed gives "notice" to all third parties, or, if you will, to the world as to the claim that the Grantee has that first recorded the document. That is called "constructive notice" as opposed to actual notice.

There is a very old Supreme Court case from the 1800's that affects a huge parcel of land in Texas. I do not remember the names in the case. But, a farmer sold a huge tract of land to another farmer. That farmer received a deed but did not record it. The Grantor farmer died. His son, not knowing of the sale, 25 years later sold the same tract to the U.S. Government. The Government promptly recorded the deed. On hearing this, the farmer who had purchased the land 25 years previously, and had a deed to it, albeit not recorded, sued the government. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court where the court held that the U.S. Government was the owner as the original grantee farmer had failed to record and thereby failed to give notice.

That tract of land is where today you will find Lackland Air Force Base.

Look it up.

Thats how the Oaklahoma Sooners got their name.:icon_idea:

 

[gregb]

Deed Recording Acts



Before recording acts were instituted, the common law rule for recording deeds was “first in time, first in right.” This means that if a subsequent purchaser did not have notice of a prior conveyance and records his interest, he will prevail over any prior unrecorded interest.
However, most states have recording acts which create rules for situations such as these. It is important to recognize that recording acts do not require that a deed be recorded for a conveyance to be legally valid. The deed is valid against the grantor upon delivery with or without recording.
There are three type recording acts:

1. Race statutes – The person who records first prevails
2. Notice statutes – A subsequent purchaser prevails over an earlier purchaser only if the subsequent purchaser did not have notice of the earlier conveyance. Further, the notice statute protects any purchaser without notice against unrecorded interests even if the purchaser does not record first.
3. Race-Notice statutes – A subsequent purchaser prevails over prior unrecorded interests only if she:

• Had no notice of the prior conveyance at the time she acquired her interest and
• Records before the prior instrument is recorded

Race-notice is the majority rule which is in effect in 25 states and the District of Columbia.

 

[Stone]

You don't suppose that might be because there is a tax on the sale price in Ohio do you?

There is a tax on the price in WI but the owner is the owner once it is signed not hen it is recorded. I don't think the two go together.

 

[Katie Cosner]

You don't suppose that might be because there is a tax on the sale price in Ohio do you?

There is not exactly correct. There is a recording fee, which has nothing to do with the price of the home - paid to a title company. And there is a transfer tax, and it varies by area, it's somewhere between (about) $2-5.00 per $1,000 of the sales price - paid to the county. These are all due at closing, when docs are signed, not when recorded.