Real Estate: Minding Your P’s and Q’s.

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | May 27, 2010

Proofread your descriptions with care.  Double check Block and Lot Numbers.  When in doubt, get approval in advance.  Because the Deed Registry Police are coming to a Department of Real Estate (pronounced Recorder of Deeds) Office near you.

Yes, beginning on June 1, 2010, you won’t be able to record a deed or mortgage (or anything else) without passing muster with the Deed Registry.  You’ll find them in the glass enclosure that used to contain the microfilm library.

And yes, if you happen to get behind the courier from one of the bigger outfits in town (you know the one’s, they have fifty or sixty transactions) then you are probably in for a long wait to get your one deed approved, followed by a longer wait to have it recorded.  Bring along a good book.

But, as they say on the infomercials, wait! There’s more!

If you manage to get past the inspection, only to discover an error after recording, don’t expect to mark up the document and re-record it.  That procedure was way too simple.  No, expect to have your clients re-sign, plus you must re-notarize, mark the document as corrective, attach a Statement of Value and, of course, attach a copy of the uncorrected document for the benefit of the Department of Revenue.

Oh, yes, by the way, you’ll be picking up the tab for extra recording fees with no extra pay.

So, as your Dad used to say: “Do it right the first time.”

CLT

Welcome

CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

Subscribe to our feed