Posted by Ernest_CT on 7/19/05 12:48am
Msg #53043

How is a mortgage, quit claim deed, etc. filed?

Somebody asked me recently if I was the one who would be filing the paperwork with the town hall (that's the place in CT, other states will vary). That got me curious. Is it done via mail / FedEx / UPS, directly to the recording office? Certainly not by fax. Is it done by the title company?

Thanks in advance!

Reply by TinaG_CA on 7/19/05 12:53am
Msg #53046

As far as I know, it's done by the Title Company then once it's recorded is mailed to whoever requested it, i.e. the lender.

Reply by TitleGalCA on 7/19/05 1:04am
Msg #53048

If it's insured by a title company and a policy of title insurance is being issued either to the the buyers and/or lenders, it is "filed" by the title company with the County Recorder's Office. Typically, a recording service picks up documents to be recorded from major title insurers and has them recorded. That service (of recording documents) has evolved over many years from messenger runners employed by the TC to companies that focus only on recording docs for title companies. The real estate industry feeds many mouths.

Some individuals may send documents in by mail or fedex (individuals beware) and there are also those folks that like to stand in line at the counter to have a document recorded...we title folks always look at those documents (commonly known as 'wild' recordings) with one eyebrow raised. Lots of good jokes about wild recordings....but that's a whole other story.

Reply by Kevin Ahern on 7/19/05 3:38am
Msg #53056

In Connecticut the title company is usually entrusted by the lender to record the mortgage as part of the services it performs. The title company is the party that usually orders the title search on the property, and generally reassigns the recording of the mortgage to the title abstractor that performed the search. Upon receipt of the mortgage the abstractor performs an up date of the title search beginning from the date of his last search to the minute of the recording. This is to assure that no intervening encumbrances have been recorded since the last title search. If the up date reveals no intervening encumbrances the abstractor will then record the mortgage. This recording is done personally by the abstractor. No one in their right mind would consider mailing the mortgage to the town hall for recording. The town hall will certainly accept it. However, it by passes the title up date, and the mortgagee may find itself recorded subsequennt to some intervening lien.

Connecticut is currently setting up to accept emailed recordings, but no one seems to know how the title up date is to be performed since it has to be done down to the minute of the recording. Recording the mortgage without performing the title up date is a very dangerous proposition.

Reply by Bobbi in CT on 7/19/05 6:39am
Msg #53059

Kevin, Nice answer. Plus ...

Some lenders and title insurance companies are crazy enough and so cheap that they FedEx and UPS mortgage deeds for recording. Amazes me (and the Town Clerks) every time we see on come in that way. Oh well - at least the recording fee is correct (so far ). Suppose it's the same as the Ford Pinto the risk versus cost analysis theory.

CT Email/Edocument recordings: Still a long way off. From what I've seen and heard from the committee meetings, the lastest is the Public Librarians are the only organization willing to take on the task of becoming the custodians for all of CT's Land Records - providing the State pays a lot of money up front for staff, offices, equipment etc. to set it up. Trying to work out cost (implement another recording "surcharge" next year to pay for start-up costs and studies), should it be set up so that attorneys must have accounts with funds held in the account to pay for recordings (like CT SOTS commercial recording system), and how to integrate 169 sets of Town paper and microfilm records into one state-wide system, plus how to integrate the paper recordings and Email recordings (who's first in line?). FOI issues: To cover expenses, some want to charge to view records on-line and for on-line printouts, but under CT's current FOI laws this may not be viable. What are the odds of taking away an FOI right from the public so that the state may charge a fee for something that used to be free? Also, haven't figured out what to do about security issues. Interesting points of view and at the rate the committees are studying this and the millions they want to set the new system up, it won't be here shortly.

Reply by Ernest_CT on 7/19/05 8:59am
Msg #53073

Thank you all! As usual, ...

... people who post here have gone beyond the simple answer to provide insight into why things are the way they are.