Julia - thanks for your detailed explanation of the importance of thr
recording date for deeds. From a genealogical standpoint then, would you
venture a guees that - when the date of the recording of the deed is long
after the previous date - the property is about to be sold or transfered to
someone else even though no other recorded deed of sale exists?

Ed T of PGH
----------
>From: "Tony and Julie Howell" 
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: Re: Deed record information
>Date: Tue, Mar 20, 2001, 1:10 PM
>

>lee -   please allow me to offer what i know about recording documents; i
>worked for several years for a title company, and a number of years
>following that for a real estate lawyer.  there is a great significance to
>the "latter" date, the recording date.  in some cases it is even important
>to know the "clerk's number" on a recorded document.  recording a document
>makes it a matter of public record and establishes priority.  the making it
>public record isn't the more important thing; establishing priority is.
>should another person claim ownership to, say a piece of land that you own,
>you can prove that you owned it first by showing, not the date of the deed
>(as deeds can be forged), but the date the deed was recorded.  if your
>recording date is earlier than the other person's then your ownership has
>priority over his.  that is not to say that the other person can't try to
>sue to get ownership, and it could tie the property up if you tried to sell
>it with another person clai!
>ming ownership, but by recording the deed you have established yourself
>legally as the "owner of record."  so the "second date", the recording
>date, is actually more important in most cases than the date of the actual
>deed.  i mentioned the "clerk's number" earlier.  i don't know if recording
>a document works the same everywhere (currently), and i doubt that, in the
>early records a clerk's number was assigned to documents.  but, for example
>(in duval county, fl)  if two people had a deed dated the same day for the
>same piece of property (i have seen this happen when an unscrupoulous child
>sold his parents' home out from under them - he forged the deeds - to two
>separate people) and they took the deeds into the clerk's office to be
>recorded, the clerk (at least in duval county) gives each document a
>clerk's number before the document is actually recorded.  that number
>indicates the order that documents are brought into the clerk's office for
>recording.  in this particular cas!
>e both deeds were fraudulent and neither deed held up (the case went to
>court and the owners' son was convicted).  if the first "owner", for
>example, defaulted on some terms of ownership, the person holding the other
>deed might record his and he might have priority of ownership over the
>other deed.  when a title company performs a search of title records prior
>to the sale of property, and issues a title policy, they are saying (and
>accepting liability in case they are wrong) that they have searched the
>records on that piece of property and have found no claims against the
>property that have not been satisfied or discharged.
>
>title companies, banks and lawyers used to issue Satisfactions of Mortgage
>when a debt was paid, and would send the signed, witnessed and notarized
>(but unrecorded) document to the mortgagor.  it was up to the mortgagor to
>have the document recorded.  frequently no one explained this to the person
>and, though the debt had been paid off and discharged by the lender, the
>actual document had never been recorded.  most people thought that just
>having the signed document was all they needed to have and weren't even
>aware that a document needed to be recorded.  part of my job at the
>lawyer's office was to "clear clouds on titles" when a piece of property
>was being sold and the title search showed various documents that had never
>been recorded.  99% of those were satisfactions of mortgage.  not recording
>the document didn't mean that the debt hadn't been paid and discharged.
>but, while the public records showed the recorded mortgage, they did not
>show the recorded satisfaction of !
>that mortgage.  and property cannot be sold until all claims against it can
>be proved to be paid or otherwise satisfied (marketable title).
>
>the subject can get very detailed and involved, and i've probably told you
>more than you ever wanted to know.  i only hope that my explanation hasn't
>confused you.
>
>have a nice day,
>julie thames howell
>jax, fla
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: Lee Adair
>  To: [email protected]
>  Sent: Monday, March 19, 2001 6:29 AM
>  Subject:  Deed record information
>
>
>  Deed book records usually indicate the date the deed was signed
>  and the date it was recorded. Is there any significance to the latter
>  date? In SC in the late 1700's and early 1800's, there was
>  occasionally a large time interval (sometimes years) between the
>  two dates.
>  *************************************************
>   W. Lee Adair, Jr, Ph.D.
>   Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
>   University of South Florida
>   MDC 7
>   Tampa, FL  33612
>   TEL: (813)974-9599
>   FAX: (813)974-5798
>  *************************************************
>

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