Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
One purpose of searching the chain of title to property is to determine if
there have been conveyances out of a parcel of land which could change the
boundaries of the property being surveyed.
If a deed is recorded but is not recorded in the chain of title, or if a deed is not
recorded, the deed is called a “wild deed” and in most jurisdictions the deed will
be treated as though it were not recorded. As an example, consider the following.
“Anthony” conveys Hidden Meadow to “Barbara” who fails to record the deed.
Later Barbara conveys Hidden Meadow to “Claudette” who records the deed. If you
attempted to trace Claudette's chain of title backwards you would not be able to do
so because the deed from Anthony to Barbara was not recorded. The recorded deed
from Barbara to Claudette would tell you that Barbara was the grantor but a search of
the grantee index for Barbara as grantee would fail because the deed from Anthony
to Barbara was not recorded. The deed from Anthony to Barbara would be a wild
deed. A similar result would occur if a deed was recorded but improperly indexed.
In some jurisdictions, when a property owner dies and leaves property to an
heir, title to the property passes immediately upon the death of the owner. Title
to the property changes but there is no deed on record to evidence the transfer. In
such cases it is necessary to search probate records.
9.10 Constructive Notice and the Recording System
Under the law, people are charged with notice of a prior conveyance as long as
there is a deed on record, in the chain of title, describing the transfer. This is some-
times called
Constructive Notice
because a person may not have actual notice.
For example, the person may not have bothered to check the recorder's office so
they would not have actual notice. However, whether or not the person bothered
to look up the deed is immaterial. The fact that the deed was on record means the
person, indeed everyone in the world, has notice. So, either a person has actual
notice or they are presumed to have notice. In either case the result is the same,
constructive notice means that the law considers everyone to have notice, whether
they actually have it or not. Think about it. Wouldn't the value of the recording
system be substantially impaired if people could simply claim they didn't know
about a recorded conveyance, and as a result they should not be held accountable?
Sometimes people forget or don't bother to record a deed. Suppose you pur-
chase a vacant parcel of land and forget to record the deed. In many states, if the
grantor subsequently conveys the same property to some innocent third party (a
grantee who was not told and did not know that you already purchased the prop-
erty), and the grantee records the deed before you record your deed, you will
lose the property. The grantee would be protected by the recording system. She
is presumed to be on constructive notice that there are no conveyances on record
