BC 2011 10 17 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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October 17, 2011 (Regular Meeting) Page 666 Ownership shall be listed with the names) of the person (s) cited on the original deed, will, or court preceding. The name is to be listed exactly as it is on the deed. Descriptive information about the grantee (marital status, state of incorporation, etc) should not be listed, only the name of the owner or name of the company that owns it. Changing a Name Without Transferring Ownership Individual A new deed, filed in the Cabarrus County Register of Deeds is the best way to change the name for an existing owner. Generally, a correction deed is best suited when there is an error or omission in the original document. In the case of a marriage /divorce /name change, a new deed is also best. However, if a name change has been appropriately filed with the Clerk of Courts, it can be used. Corporation As with individuals, recording a new deed is preferable. However, for a corporation or business, the owner of record can be changed based on Articles of Name Change, Articles of Merger /Acquisition, or other similar documents as long as they have been appropriately filed with the North Carolina Secretary of State, Corporations Division, and /or the Cabarrus County Register of Deeds. Transferring Ownership The only way to transfer a parcel is via a recorded, legal land record document. These are: a deed, a will, or a special preceding /court order. These documents must be a recorded public record in Cabarrus County, either in the Register of Deeds or Clerk of Courts. A document filed in another county or state cannot be used to transfer a property. To transfer a parcel, staff must first identify the property described by the deed. Once the parcel is identified, then staff must verify that the grantor has an interest in the property to transfer. If the grantor does not, then the preparing attorney shall be contacted to obtain more information or to request a correction. Cabarrus County Land records can only transfer a parcel or interest in a parcel if they actually own interest in it. If the grantor does not have interest in a parcel, that deed reference shall be added to the parcel but the ownership will not change. If the ownership of a parcel is in dispute, per North Carolina statute, the property should be listed to unknown owner. Intent of a Deed Property shall be transferred or split exactly as it is described in the deed. However, minor typographical errors in a deed can be overlooked as long as the intent of the deed is clear. If the intent is not clear, then that deed shall be held until a correction deed is recorded. For example, if the grantor owns lot 125 of XYZ subdivision and a deed is recorded from that grantor for lot 25 of that subdivision, staff shall research the situation. If we find that the grantor actually owned lot 125, the mailing address and prior deed reference reflect lot 125 and the grantor never owned lot 25, then it would be obvious that lot 25 was a typographical error omitting the "1" and they intended to transfer lot 125. The attorney and owner shall be notified of this error, but for our purposes we shall transfer lot 125 to the new owner. Another example would be if one of the deed calls is reversed, as long as we can determine what property is to be conveyed, the deed shall be mapped /transferred. If a deed comes through for lot 5 of ABC subdivision as recorded in map book 105 / page 1, and that plat is a different subdivision owned by the grantor, the intent would not be clear because the grantor owns both parcels and either could be correct. This parcel would not be transferred until a correction deed is recorded. For this section, staff shall use its best judgment to determine if an error is minor enough to transfer the property or if a correction is necessary. Property Mapping Basics Each parcel shall be mapped in GIS according to the metes and bounds description on the original deed or plat. In the event of a conflict in a legal description, the following order should be precedence: ✓ Right of Possession ✓ Senior Right (which property /description was done first) ✓ Location of a natural monument ✓ Location of a man made monument