Randal B. Caldwell Real Estate Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Iowa Real Estate Transfers

Monday, November 28, 2011 by Randal B. Caldwell

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           Real estate transfers in Iowa are unique.  Unlike most other states many transfers take place based upon attorney title opinions instead of title insurance.  An oral agreement to buy or sell real estate is not binding in Iowa unless one party has detrimentally relied upon the promise of the other.  Once there is a signed agreement the abstract is “continued” or brought up to date (assuming no survey is necessary to describe the property).

            The abstract is then sent to buyer’s attorney for examination or a “title opinion”

The title opinion will indicate who the title holder (owner) of the property is and whether there are any liens or encumbrances that impair marketability (such as mortgages, judgments, etc)   If the title is determined to be Marketable or Merchantable (in other words, ready for sale) the “closing” can be scheduled when the deed is exchanged for the money.

            At closing in a cash deal (where there is no long term installment contract)  the Seller pays taxes for a year from the date of possession because taxes are a year behind, transfer tax on the deed of $1.60 per thousand dollars of valuation, preliminary abstract continuation and preparation of the deed, as well as other expenses that may have been agreed to.   Buyer pays to have the abstract examined by an attorney, for expenses related to the securing and filing of a mortgage, the recording fee for the deed, and final abstract continuation expense.

            If you are purchasing in Iowa and would like to have title insurance the best option is Iowa Title Guaranty, a program run by the state that is  actually less expensive than title insurance.     

 
Posted at 13:46 PM
Topic: Real Estate
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