Deeds and Recording
A deed is the written document, or electronic record, that transfers title to land.
11. Deeds and Recording
A deed is a written document or electronic record that is legally recognized to symbolize title ownership in land. Recording provides notice to future purchasers that title to property has been transferred.
- The basic requirements for a valid deed under the Statute of Frauds include identification of the grantor and grantee, a present intent to convey, the signature of the grantor, and a legal description of the property.
- A deed transferring real property does not require the price of the property to appear on the deed.
- A buyer of real property can no longer enforce the terms of the contract for sale once the deed for the property is executed and delivered.
- Delivery of a deed occurs when the grantor manifests by words or conduct that they intend title to transfer immediately and irrevocably.
- Delivery may be made to an agent of the grantee, such as the grantee’s attorney.
- Recording the conveyance is not necessary to secure the grantee’s rights against the grantor. Transfer of title occurs when the deed is delivered.
- Recording provides notice of the transfer to all subsequent purchasers. If a grantee does not record the deed, then they may lose title to subsequent bona fide purchasers.
Two separate machines: a deed's validity and delivery pass title, while recording does not. Title passes on delivery, recorded or not; recording only gives notice to later purchasers and protects against losing the land to a subsequent bona fide purchaser.
A deed is the written document, or electronic record, that transfers title to land. Two separate things are at work in this concept, and the exam lives in the gap between them: what makes a deed valid and effective to pass title, and what recording does. Keep them apart and this concept is straightforward.
Start with validity. Under the Statute of Frauds, a valid deed needs four things, and notice that the price is not among them: it does not have to appear on the deed.
- 1Identification of the grantor and grantee.
- 2A present intent to convey.
- 3The grantor's signature.
- 4A legal description of the property.
Then the deed has to be delivered. Delivery is not about physically handing over paper; it occurs when the grantor manifests, by words or conduct, an intent that title transfer immediately and irrevocably. Delivery can be made to an agent of the grantee, such as the grantee's attorney, and it still counts. Once a valid deed is executed and delivered, title passes, and a connected rule kicks in: the buyer can no longer sue on the terms of the contract for sale, because the deed supersedes the contract.
Now recording, which is a different machine entirely. Recording is not required to transfer title and is not required to secure the grantee's rights against the grantor. Title passes on delivery, recorded or not, so as between the grantor and grantee, an unrecorded deed is perfectly good. What recording does is provide notice of the transfer to all subsequent purchasers, and here is the consequence: if a grantee does not record, she may lose title to a subsequent bona fide purchaser, someone who later buys the same land for value without notice of the earlier unrecorded deed. The recording rules do not protect the original grantee against her own grantor; they protect later good-faith buyers against hidden, unrecorded conveyances, and they reward the grantee who records by putting the world on notice.
The most reliable trap is to suggest that recording is necessary to make the deed effective. It is not; it is a notice device that determines priority against later purchasers.
"Delivery transfers, recording protects."
Title passes when a valid deed is delivered, recorded or not; recording is never required to transfer title or to bind the grantor.
What recording does is give notice to later purchasers, and the unrecorded grantee can lose to a subsequent bona fide purchaser.
A valid deed needs four things, grantor and grantee identified, present intent to convey, the grantor's signature, a legal description, and the price is not one of them.
Delivery is intent that title pass immediately and irrevocably (words or conduct), and can go to the grantee's agent.
After delivery, the deed supersedes the contract, so the buyer can't sue on the sale contract anymore.
A seller signs a deed conveying a parcel to a buyer. The deed identifies both parties, describes the land by a proper legal description, states the seller's present intent to convey, and is signed by the seller; it does not state the purchase price. The seller hands the deed to the buyer's attorney with words making clear that title is to pass right now. The buyer, busy and trusting, never records the deed.
Before the buyer records, the seller deeds the same parcel to a later purchaser who pays value and has no notice of the first deed and promptly records. Because the buyer failed to record, he may lose title to that subsequent bona fide purchaser, which is exactly the risk recording is designed to address.
An option says recording is necessary to transfer title or that an unrecorded deed passes no title.
Title transfers on delivery; recording is not necessary to secure the grantee's rights against the grantor, and an unrecorded deed is valid between the parties.An option says the deed is invalid because it omits the purchase price, or requires consideration to be stated.
A deed does not require the price of the property to appear on it.An option says delivery requires handing the deed to the grantee personally, so delivery to the grantee's attorney fails.
Delivery turns on the grantor's manifested intent that title pass immediately and may be made to an agent of the grantee.An option lets the buyer sue on the sale contract after the deed has been delivered.
Once the deed is executed and delivered, the buyer can no longer enforce the terms of the contract for sale.a grantor signs and hands over a deed, and the question turns on whether title passed, whether a missing term spoils the deed, or what happens because the grantee never recorded.
The instant you see a deed problem, separate the two machines.
validity and delivery: is the deed signed, with the parties identified, a present intent to convey, and a legal description (price not required), and did the grantor manifest intent that title pass immediately, even through the grantee's agent?
If so, title passed.
recording: title passes on delivery regardless of recording, but an unrecorded deed exposes the grantee to losing title to a later bona fide purchaser.
Watch for the trap that recording is required to make the deed effective, it is not, and for a post-delivery attempt to sue on the sale contract, which the deed has superseded.
A seller executed and delivered a valid deed conveying a parcel to a buyer, who took the deed and moved onto the land. The buyer never recorded the deed. Some time later a dispute arose, and the seller argued that because the buyer had not recorded, no title had ever passed to the buyer. The buyer maintained that he owned the parcel.
Did title pass to the buyer despite his failure to record?
A grantor prepared a deed conveying her lot to a grantee. The deed named both the grantor and the grantee, stated the grantor's present intent to convey, contained a complete legal description of the lot, and was signed by the grantor. The deed did not state the purchase price the parties had agreed on. After the conveyance, the grantee questioned whether the deed was valid, given that the price was missing.
Is the deed valid despite the absence of the purchase price?
A grantor signed a valid deed conveying a parcel to a grantee. The grantor handed the deed to the grantee's attorney, telling the attorney with clear words that he intended title to pass to the grantee immediately and for good. The grantor later changed his mind and claimed that no delivery had occurred because he never placed the deed into the grantee's own hands.
Was the deed effectively delivered?
A buyer and a seller closed a sale of land, and the seller executed and delivered the deed to the buyer. After the deed was delivered, the buyer discovered that one of the promises the seller had made in the written contract for sale had not been honored, and the buyer wished to sue the seller to enforce that contract term.
May the buyer still enforce the terms of the contract for sale against the seller?
A grantor delivered a valid deed to a first grantee, who did not record it. Later, the same grantor conveyed the same parcel to a second grantee, who paid value for the land and had no notice of the earlier deed, and who promptly recorded. A dispute over ownership followed between the two grantees.
What is the consequence of the first grantee's failure to record the deed?