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or of his attorney is known to the title company. Where a title policy is to be given, the title company will wish to attend itself to the recording of the deed, so that it may have first-hand knowledge of the fact that it has been recorded.

A survey may or may not be required. As a rule, in a title involving city property or property in a town, a survey is advisable and in many cases a necessity. In the case of country land it is not ordinarily a matter of so much importance. The survey cost is not often high, however, and it is more satisfactory in every case to have a survey where it is practical to secure one, and the expense of doing so is not disproportionate to the amount involved. The title company will make a survey, if requested so to do, and will make a slight additional charge for this service. If it does not make a survey, its title policy will usually contain the provision that the title is insured "subject to any state of facts which an accurate survey may show." If it does make the survey, this limitation on its guarantee will not be included and, if the survey prove inaccurate, it will reimburse the owner for any damage occasioned to him by the discrepancy in the title. As already pointed out, a survey will enable the property to be described by metes and

bounds, rather than by a more general description, and will hence add to the accuracy of the description in the deed.

Where property has been held for a long time by one owner, especially in the more rural districts, the purchaser will probably find that the description contained in the old deeds is quite inadequate. The legendary description in the country title, where the boundary ran "to the nail in the cedar post, which formerly stood on the boundary of the land of John Smith," is famous. It is not much more vague than many descriptions which are met with in old deeds, which refer to vanished landmarks or to the names of adjoining owners who have long since passed away. Where the deed held by the seller is vague in its description, a new description in the deed given to the purchaser is a matter of importance. If the description can be safely and adequately made up without a survey, the survey expense may be dispensed with. Where this cannot be done, however, a survey should be ordered and the description should follow the survey, thus making the boundaries clear and definite.

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CHAPTER VI

THE CLOSING OF TITLE

HERE are various forms of deeds rec

ognized by the law. Some of these merely convey whatever right the seller may have in the property. Other deeds contain a warranty by the seller that he is the true holder of the title and has good right to convey the property and will protect the purchaser against any defects in the title. This is the form of deed commonly known as the full covenant and warranty deed. It is the form which, wherever possible, the purchaser should insist upon receiving.

A full covenant and warranty deed gives to the purchaser the clear right to proceed against the seller in the event of defects in the title, and the right to hold the seller responsible for any damages occasioned the purchaser by reason of these defects. Where the seller is a dummy or a corporation of no financial responsibility, this protection will be of small advantage. Where, however, the seller is an individual, or a cor

poration with resources and a reputation for responsible business dealings, the additional protection given by the full covenant and warranty deed is a substantial one.

In some cases the seller will not warrant the title. Executors and trustees, in giving deeds, cannot or will not, ordinarily, warrant the title of the land conveyed. In addition to this, they are required by law in many jurisdictions to recite in the deed the full consideration given for the property. In most cases, the deed will recite merely a nominal consideration, as "One hundred dollars and other good and valuable considerations." One of the purposes of reciting a nominal consideration has been the desire of the purchaser not to make the price paid for the property a matter of record, either because he prefers not to make public his private affairs or because, in the case of a future resale by him of the land, he is in a better position to resell if the amount which he paid in the first instance is not public property. Under the present Federal requirements, however, for tax stamps on deeds, the amount of the consideration can be figured without great difficulty, and thus the advantage of the recital of a nominal consideration has been largely done away with.

Forms of deeds vary in different jurisdic

tions, and the advice of competent legal counsel is necessary on this as on the other details of the title closing. All deeds must, before they can be recorded, be acknowledged by the grantor before a notary public or other official authorized to take acknowledgments. Nearly every state has a different form of acknowledgment. Unless the proper form is used, the recording officer will refuse to place the deed on record. When the deed is drawn, care should be exercised to see that the form of acknowledgment used is the form which is in force in the state where the deed is to be recorded. This will be the state where the property is situated. If Jones, living in New York, is giving to Smith a deed to New Jersey property, the acknowledgment should follow the New Jersey form. To be entirely safe it is well, in such a case, so to phrase the acknowledgment that it complies with both the New York and the New Jersey requirements. Here again proper legal advice is highly desirable.

As soon as the deed has been executed and delivered it should be recorded. It is not safe to hold a deed without recording it. If this be done and the seller gives a deed conveying the same property to another innocent purchaser, who has no knowledge of the prior deed, and the

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