The Recording System

Persons Protected by the Recording System

What does title insurance protect?

• E.g. “No conveyance or other instrument is valid as against purchasers, etc. for consideration but from the time of recordation.”
• First to properly record within the chain of title wins.
• Only Louisiana and N. Carolina have race statutes applicable to conveyances; a few other states have race statutes for mortgages.

• E.g. “No conveyance, etc. is valid as against purchasers, etc. without notice, unless recorded”

• Unrecorded conveyance is invalid as against BFP w/o notice.

Types of Notice

(CAR)

• A grantee has this type of notice when the contents of any properly recorded and indexed document in the chain of title.
• Doesn't work if there's “wild deed” or "wild name".

An unrecorded name change.

A deed outside the chain of title.

Is a "wild name" a problem with a parcel index?

A legal doctrine whereby a person's misspelled identity is sufficient to correctly identify someone.

• Grantee has this type of notice if there are facts about the property or state of title that would suggest to a RP that further inquiry is merited.

• Physical condition of land may provide this as an unrecorded easement or servitude.

• “No conveyance, etc. is valid as against purchasers, etc. without notice, unless first recorded”
• Unrecorded conveyance is invalid as against
• BFP w/o notice who records first
• Actual, constructive and inquiry notice: same as above