Under a recording statute with no conveyance or mortgage good against subsequent purchasers unless recorded, who has priority when a creditor records a judgment lien after a land sales contract but before closing and the owner deeds to the purchaser and the purchaser records?

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Multiple Choice

Under a recording statute with no conveyance or mortgage good against subsequent purchasers unless recorded, who has priority when a creditor records a judgment lien after a land sales contract but before closing and the owner deeds to the purchaser and the purchaser records?

Explanation:
The key idea is how recording statutes interact with a land sale contract and the sequence of title transfer. Under a statute that provides no conveyance or mortgage is good against subsequent purchasers unless recorded, the protection focuses on recorded instruments that actually convey an interest in property. A judgment lien, while it encumbers the debtor’s property, is not a conveyance like a deed or mortgage. In this scenario, the creditor records a judgment lien after the land sales contract but before closing, and then the owner conveys title to the purchaser and the purchaser records. If the owner no longer owned the property at the time the contract was executed, there is nothing left in the owner’s hands to be encumbered by a lien once ownership has passed to the purchaser. The lien cannot attach to or be enforced against a house that is no longer owned by the debtor at the time of transfer because the lien’s effect is tied to the property the debtor actually owns. Once title has shifted to the purchaser and is properly recorded, the purchaser’s ownership is protected from that unrecorded or improperly prioritized interest, consistent with the recording statute’s aim to protect bona fide purchasers who record. Therefore, the creditor’s lien cannot be enforced against the house because the owner no longer owned the property when the contract was executed and title subsequently passed to the purchaser.

The key idea is how recording statutes interact with a land sale contract and the sequence of title transfer. Under a statute that provides no conveyance or mortgage is good against subsequent purchasers unless recorded, the protection focuses on recorded instruments that actually convey an interest in property. A judgment lien, while it encumbers the debtor’s property, is not a conveyance like a deed or mortgage.

In this scenario, the creditor records a judgment lien after the land sales contract but before closing, and then the owner conveys title to the purchaser and the purchaser records. If the owner no longer owned the property at the time the contract was executed, there is nothing left in the owner’s hands to be encumbered by a lien once ownership has passed to the purchaser. The lien cannot attach to or be enforced against a house that is no longer owned by the debtor at the time of transfer because the lien’s effect is tied to the property the debtor actually owns. Once title has shifted to the purchaser and is properly recorded, the purchaser’s ownership is protected from that unrecorded or improperly prioritized interest, consistent with the recording statute’s aim to protect bona fide purchasers who record.

Therefore, the creditor’s lien cannot be enforced against the house because the owner no longer owned the property when the contract was executed and title subsequently passed to the purchaser.

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