Sam Calvert and real estate

Now you know a lawyer who loves real estate!

How can we help you? Perhaps you need a purchase agreement drawn up to sell your home to a purchaser who sought you out. Perhaps you are going to lend money to one of your children, but wish to make it businesslike and protect your investment. Or perhaps you are going to purchase a lot and need to know that there are no judgments or liens against the seller. Sam Calvert would be glad to work with you on these matters and virtually any other real estate related transaction.

Purchase Agreements: an agreement to buy or sell land

Title opinion: an attorneys review of an abstract of title and statement as to ownership, liens against the land, etc.

Contract for deed: buying land on an installment basis

Basic background information

In Minnesota we have two types of land recording.

One is “Torrens” or Registered Property. In this type of recording system, one brings a lawsuit to determine who the owners of the property are. The Court then issues a Decree of Registration. The Registrar of Titles then issues a “Certificate of Title”, which is rather like a car title. By checking the current Certificate of Title at the Registrar’s office, one can see almost everything that would affect the land -- the names of the owners, mortgages against the property, covenants, easements, etc.

The other type of recording system is what we call “abstract property". In this system the County Recorder microfilms or images the documents as they come in from the public. The documents are then indexed by the County Recorder. An abstract company then reviews all of the records pertaining to a particular piece of land, and then types up an “abstract”. The abstract is a chronological listing of transactions affecting the property dating from the time the US government took the land from the Native Americans and gave it or sold it to a railroad company, farmer, or other person. It is necessary to “examine” the abstract to follow the chain of "title from the government to the present time. Sam then types up a “title opinion” in which he states the owners of the land, the encumbrances against it, etc.

To transfer land in either kind of system, the seller signs a document called a deed. A “warranty deed” tells the buyer that the seller claims to have clear title. A “quitclaim deed” tells the buyer that whatever interest the seller has, the buyer gets, but the seller does not guarantee anything about the condition of title. The seller’s signature must be notarized and the document then is filed with the Registrar of Titles or the County Recorder, as appropriate. The basic filing fee for a deed is $3.30 per $1000 of price paid for the land, which tax is payable to the County Treasurer, and $19.50 for the document itself. A “contract for deed” is an agreement, signed by both the buyer and the seller, in which the seller agrees to provide a deed to the buyer when the buyer finishes paying the purchase price. If there is a well on the property, a “well certificate” must be furnished and a filing fee of $30 paid; if there is a septic system, most counties have a point-of-sale inspection and fee, and a form must be filed to document this.

Minnesota is a “race-notice” state, which means that, generally, the first person to record his or her document trumps any later filed documents. That is why it is important to file your deeds, mortgages, etc.! And it’s also why you may need a title opinion if you are purchasing land.