Legal advice on closing papers and deed transfer

Law & Legal
1

Hello,

Dear Members,

I have 10 acres of farm land In Ward County. I hit a bump in my life now and I need it to sell my land. But I don't know how is the procedure with closing papers and the deed transfer.

How is the procedure with deed transfer? I need to know before I put my land up for sale..

Thank you?

2

Adrian, I'm a realtor in Texas.

Since your property is in North Dakota, I'm going to suggest that you call the North Dakota Association of Realtors and ask them to refer you to several realtors who sell land/farms in/around the city your land is located.

They should have current sale's experience in selling 1.) unimproved country acreage ( raw land) and/or 2.) country acreage with improvements (barns, ponds, maybe a house). Ask them, each, to send you a list of recent sale comps (comparable sale prices) in your area.

Interview the realtors and decide who you feel comfortable doing business with and who was the most helpful. They will ask you to sign a Listing Agreement. Tell the realtor that you want a NET CASH sale price. A NET sale price is when the buyer pays ALL closing costs. So when an acceptable offer is made and signed (you don't have to accept the first one), the realtor and the title company (where the Closing will take place) will do the rest. Ask buyer to pay for the survey if you don't already have one. Sell your property "AS IS" and be sure that realtor writes "AS IS" in the offer.

I think you should also know that an offer is only an offer, until BOTH parties have signed. Only then will it become a CONTRACT. Feel comfortable with all the terms before you sign.

Good luck,

Pat

3

I forgot to add something important ... mineral ownership.

You should also consider whether you want to let your minerals go with the land or keep them. Land price should go up with sale of minerals.

In Texas, many land owners keep their minerals.

Good luck,

Pat

4

Hi Pat,

Thanks for getting back to me, sorry for miss understand me. My land is in Texas not in North Dakota. I forgot to mention Ward County, Texas. As for the mineral, I am not sure if I have them or not. I have a Warranty Deed. Do you know where I can find out?

Thanks,

Adrian

5

Adrian,

I'm no realtor or lawyer, so take this with a grain of salt. Sounds like you just simply want to transfer your land to a buyer? All you need to do is just fill out and sign the Warranty Deed and file it of record in Ward County. How complicated you want to make it is up to you and the buyer.

As far as mineral rights are concerned, you would need to run title on your property from the beginning of the land's history until you received the property to determine whether or not you owned any part of the minerals. You can just go ahead and reserve All Minerals in your deed and if you have some, you would own them and if not, well then you didn't own any to begin with.

Hope this helps

6

Adrian

Do you know your neighbors? Allot of time it is nice and considerate to ask your neighbor if they are interested in buying your land. It might fit into there farm, ranch or home plan. You can have a title company do your closing. Just visit a local title company(Ward County) and they will tell you how to proceed. Most realtor's have title companies do the closing on sales for them anyways. Or if not, then maybe a realtor is who you need to see. Good Luck!

7

Texas,

Thanks for your input. I know it would've been easy for me to do that, if I would've been there. But at the moment I am tide up on a project in Melbourne, Australia for few months...

8

Hi Dennis,

I know that, but unfortunately I don't know any anybody in that area, and don't know how to contact them. I will try to give a call to a local Title Company and speak with them....

Thanks!

9

Good idea! Call a local title company, or two or three, and ask to speak to an Escrow Officer.

You say you have a Warranty Deed? I never heard of just a Warranty Deed. There are three types of deeds ... a General Warranty Deed warrants title all the way back to the origins of the real property records. A Special Warranty Deed warrants title from the grantor but no further back than that. Under no circumstances should a Quit Claim Deed be used. Quit Claims are not true deeds. Texas title companies do not respect these documents so using them can create problems with the chain of title. Instead of a Quit Claim Deed, use a Deed without Warranties.

Good luck,

Pat

10

Adrian, if you want to, send me a copy of your Deed so I can read it and see if I can offer you a "more personalized" answer to your particular situation.

Thank you.

Pat

[email protected]

PS Only if you want to

11

Thank you Pat

I am sending you a copy of my deed to your email address provided.