Originally Posted by
KnowLaw
Precisely, shikamaru. Tree Farmer was correct in his evaluation of this deal: he got attorned (i.e. screwed)!
In fact the whole Section 9 (b) i, ii, and iii is a dead giveaway that this contract maintains the statutory status of the contract. Title insurance is only recommended in such contracts in lieu of an abstract of title. Whenever you agree to such a contractual stipulation, you operate within the statutory realm.
Also, the fact that a Warranty Deed was issued is also a dead giveaway as this is only evidence of "title under color of law," but not yet title in fact. If you can trace the land back to a land patent, you're in much better shape with regard to being able to claim an "allodial" nature of ownership. Better yet would have been to obtain a Grant Deed from the seller, forego the involvement of the attorney, and not record that instrument with any statutory authority (i.e. the county or the state) but only "notice" them (i.e. the county assessor) of the change in ownership as recordation is now seen as "registration" of property with the statutory authority. When you record a deed these days you've just entered into a contract with the county and the state, which operates as a "kind of" parens patriae in commerce to maintain the commercial viability of the property within their "legal" system of governance. You are, however, under no obligation to avail yourself of the state's services in matters such as this, is my understanding of the matter.
There are ways to correct this. When I have more free time (months away at this point, as I am buried in work that takes priority over any project that would entail a detailed explanation of law in matters such as this) I will return with my findings based on my practical experience and open a thread to explain what I have learned and accomplished and how others can go about following suit. I have recently taken the property I own out of the statutory realm and provided notice of such to the appropriate county officials.
This is not that difficult to understand or to accomplish once you have access to a reading of the law that you can rely upon as an ultimate authority. I've spent the better part of the last two years studying this and have all the legal citations (or at least a great many of them) to back it up.