Do home sales have to be recorded with the county or city?

[DCal430]

Depending on your state laws do home sales have to be recorded with the county or city. When I purchased my home a few months ago we could not complete the sale until the country could record it. Is this an actual legal requirement or just something the bank wants done?

 

[weadjust]

race to the courthouse

n. slang for the rule that the first deed, deed of trust, mortgage, lien or judgment which is recorded with the County Recorder will have priority and prevail over later recordings no matter when the documents were dated.

 

[a123456]

Depending on your state laws do home sales have to be recorded with the county or city. When I purchased my home a few months ago we could not complete the sale until the country could record it. Is this an actual legal requirement or just something the bank wants done?

A grant deed doesn't have to be recorded to be valid, but a bank probably won't go for it. The seller could in theory sell the property again and if the 2nd buyer recorded the deed before the first buyer, the first buyer would be out of luck. So the bank wouldn't be very happy.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

The sale ain't done until the deed is recorded...

 

[boomhower]

County is where deeds are tracked and registered. You'll likely have to pay a separate sales tax.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Depending on your state laws do home sales have to be recorded with the county or city. When I purchased my home a few months ago we could not complete the sale until the country could record it. Is this an actual legal requirement or just something the bank wants done?

You don't own the house til the sale is recorded.

 

[Taughnter]

Depending on your state laws do home sales have to be recorded with the county or city. When I purchased my home a few months ago we could not complete the sale until the country could record it. Is this an actual legal requirement or just something the bank wants done?

Technically speaking, you record your deed to put the world on notice that you are the owner of said property. Your lender AND title company will certainly require it, and even if they don't, this is protecting your rights. The actual purchase is legally and complete prior to the recording, but the recording is what protects you and the bank.

If you don't record a deed, the party you purchased from could always sell the property to a third party. If there is no record of the prior sale, that third party is a good faith purchaser and will most likely be entitled to the property, whereas your recourse will likely be a lawsuit against the seller.

Cliffs:
A sale is "complete" when the title is conveyed (i.e. at the closing).
If the deed is NOT recorded, a good faith/bona fide purchaser for value/consideration without knowledge (of the prior transaction) may void the prior deed.