Editors’ Notes
We thank our subscribers for their continuing diligence to send us updated information. We strive to update all pertinent information as soon as possible, and we appreciate the time you take you to forward changes to us.
The four sections that are contained in this e-mail newsletter in addition to the Editors’ Notes are as follows:
Working List—This lists changes in particular recording offices (sometimes in all the offices in a state) that have been brought to our attention. Items on this list will be reported here until our database has been updated with the changed information.
Most Recent Updates—This section contains the date of the most recent interim database update and a list of the items that were included in that update.
Prior Updates—For the benefit of our CD-ROM and print subscribers, this section contains information on updates applied to the database prior to the most recent one since the last regular quarterly update.
Other Information—This section contains other useful information about upcoming fee changes as well as other recording requirements.
We appreciate your commitment to continue to work with us while we continue to strive for the zero-defect goal through accurate information in our database.
Carl R. Ernst, Publisher and Executive Editor
Kathryn L. Teal, Esq., Editor
Working List
Following is a list of possible or actual recording office information changes brought to our attention. Actual changes that have been verified are noted here until they are updated on the web site and transmitted to our database subscribers. We are currently researching the other items listed.
Items in this section of the newsletter are repeated each month until they are resolved or included in the regular quarterly update of The Real Estate Recording Guide™. We recommend that all subscribers keep a list of these items until we report such changes in the “Most Recent Updates” section of this newsletter.
Maryland
It has come to our attention that some offices are requiring deeds to be submitted to the Assessor’s office in the county, along with the transfer tax. In some cases the deed is supposedly then forwarded to the recording office. We are surveying all recording offices in the state to determine the procedure in each, and will report our findings when the survey is completed.
Virgin Islands
We are adding a page with recording information.
Most Recent Updates
Latest Database Update: 02-9/Sept.ember 2327, 2002
The following items have been updated on our web site and for our database subscribers. We recommend that print and CD-ROM subscribers keep a list of these changes until the next quarterly update is received.
[Ca-14]California—Fresno County
The fee for copies made by the office has increased from $1.00 for the first page to $1.50 for the first page. Additional page fee for copies remains $0.50 per page.
[Ca-14]Connecticut—State Transfer Tax
State Conveyance Tax has been added to all towns. The rate for residential transactions is .005 times consideration for the first $800,000 and .01 times consideration on the amount above $800,000. Other rates apply to commercial transactions and unimproved land.
[IL-20]Illinois—Cook County
The basic fee to record any document has been increased to $26.50 for up to and including two pages. We reported the fee in our previous newsletter as $26.00 for up to and including two pages. This was inconsistent with our presentation of basic fees in Cook County, which previously also included the return mail charge of $0.50. The fee of $26.50 includes such additional charge.
[LA-33; Change notes 1 and 2 to eliminate reference to “la-4”, and replace with note indicating subscriber should see forms]Louisiana—Lafayette Parish
The basic fee for recording the first page of a deed has increased from $15.00 to $25.00. The fee for cancellation of Mortgage has been increased from $5.00 to $10.00. The indexing fee has also doubled from $1.00 to $2.00 per name after the first four. Copies made by the office are now $1.00 per page, an increase of $0.50.
[add to note 2 to indicate form is available by referring to forms in ernst publication. form may be downloaded at http:www.goprincegeorgescounty.com/government/agencyindex/finance/forms.asp?h=20&s=&n=30&n1=30 and click on finance affidavit]Maryland—Prince George’s County
The “Finance Affidavit”, which is required with all mortgages recorded, has been updated. Refer to forms section of Real Estate Recording Guide for updated version of the form.Online subscribers may access the form through The Guide by selecting Maryland and clicking on the Forms button found in the resulting Office List or on any County Office Page.
[MN-31]Minnesota—Hennepin County
The basic recording fee has been increased another $5.00, for a total of $30.00 (for the first 15 pages).
[MO-107]Missouri—St. Louis County
As of September 6, 2002, the basic recording fee increased $3.00 per document to $23.00 for the first page. The additional page fee remains at $3.00 per page.
[NY-34]New York—Nassau County
The telephone number is 516-571-1444.
[NY-]New York—Rockland County
The telephone number is 845-638-5070.
[NC-78]North Carolina—Pitt County
The telephone number is 252-830-4128.
[OH-81; need to change in top area and under fees/taxes section]Ohio—Summit County
The check for recording fees and transfer taxes is payable to the Summit County Fiscal Office.
[TX-150]Texas—Liberty County
The area code has changed to 936; the telephone number is 936-336-4673.
[va-12]Virginia—Arlington County
The new telephone number is 703-228-4369.
[va-97]Virginia—Orange County
The State/Local Grantee tax is $0.20 per $100 or fraction thereof of amount of debt.
Prior Updates
Since Database Updated: 02-78/August 1530, 2002
The following items were updated on our web site and for our database subscribers prior to the current update but after the previous regular quarterly update. We recommend that print and CD-ROM subscribers keep a list of these changes until the next quarterly update is received.
Changes Effective September 1, 2002
The basic recording fees will increase $1.00 across the board in all counties in Colorado.
Arizona
The Affidavit of Property Value has been updated, and you may access a copy of the Affidavit by entering the Real Estate Recording Guide, selecting the State of Arizona, and clicking on the Forms button. The Forms button may also be selected from any one of the County Pages for Arizona. Three additional exemptions were added to the list of property transfers exempt from Affidavit and Filing fee in the State of Arizona, as follows: (1) From a husband and wife or one of them to both husband and wife to create an estate in community property with right of survivorship; (2) From two or more persons to themselves to create an estate in joint tenancy with right of survivorship; and (3) pursuant to a beneficiary deed with only nominal actual consideration for the transfer.
Versions of the form including a fill-in PDF are also available on the State’s web site at:
www.revenue.state.az.us/property/forms.htm
Arizona—Greenlee & Santa Cruz Counties
As of August 22, 2002, the basic fee to record the first five pages of a document is $14.00. This fee includes the fee for postage.
Colorado
All basic recording fees are increased $1.00 effective September 1, 2002. This fee increase also applies to the Public Trustee fee, which will be is $16.00 per trust deed to be released as of September 1, 2002. HB 1119 indicates the fee increase represents a filing surcharge to collect funds to defray the costs of implementing and providing electronic filing and recording capabilities. Fifty cents will be transmitted to the State Treasurer to fund the electronic filing technology fund; fifty cents will be retained by the county to defray the costs of implementation of electronic filing and recording.
Florida—Citrus County
The telephone number is 352-341-6476.
Illinois—Cook County
The basic fee to record any document has been increased from $23.50 to $26.00 for up to and including two pages.
Illinois—Mercer, Rock Island and Sangamon Counties
The non-conforming fees indicated in Note 1 for each of these counties was incorrect. In Mercer County and Sangamon Counties, $15.00 must be added to the basic fee for non-conformance; and in Rock Island County, $12.00 must be added to the basic fee for non-conformance.
Illinois—Madison County
The basic fee to record a Deed up to and including four pages is $20.00. The basic recording fee to record a Deed of Trust or Mortgage, however, is $18.00 up to and including four pages.
Iowa—Delaware County
The courier address must include “Room 204”; the complete address is as follows: ATTN: Real Estate Recording; Delaware County Recorder; Courthouse, 301 East Main; Room 204; Manchester, IA 52057.
Iowa—Polk County
The fee for copies made by the office is .50 per page, not $1.50 per page as previously reported.
Louisiana—Acadia Parish
The area code has changed from 318 to 337; the full telephone number is 337-788-8881.
Louisiana—St. John the Baptist Parish
In our quarterly update we changed the fee to record a mortgage to $25.00. This fee is to record the first page of the mortgage, which language was not made clear in the update.
Maryland—Charles County
The check for recording fees and transfer taxes is payable to the Charles County Clerk of the Circuit Court. The check for the recordation tax, however, must be made payable to the County Treasurer.
Massachusetts—Worcester County
(Northern and Worchester District)
The check for taxes is payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Minnesota—Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington Counties
We polled all counties in Minnesota to find out how many counties were charging an additional $5.00 if documents are mailed to the recorder’s office rather than hand-delivered. The fee is assessed to deeds and mortgages sent via mail for recording. Our results show that only four counties – Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington – are charging the fee. In Dakota, Hennepin, and Washington Counties, the fee is charged for each document sent via mail for recording. In Ramsey County, the fee is assessed per envelope of documents to be recorded. Since most of our subscribers record documents by sending them via mail, we have added the $5.00 fee to the basic fee for these documents and created a note for subscribers to subtract $5.00 per document if the documents to be recorded in Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, or Washington Counties will be hand-delivered. In addition, in Ramsey County, the note indicates that $5.00 should be deducted from the basic recording fee for each document after the first if the documents will be sent by mail.
Minnesota—Ramsey County
Ramsey County now has a website, located at the following address: www.co.ramsey.mn.us/prr/index.asp.
New Mexico—Grant County
The new telephone number for the Grant County Clerk is 505-574-0000 ext. 5.
New Mexico—Otero and Socorro Counties
We reported in our last issue of this newsletter that we would poll the counties in New Mexico by telephone to ascertain whether all the counties had increased their fees uniformly. We found that all counties had done so except Otero and Socorro. Most counties increased the basic recording fee for all documents to $9.00 for the first page; however, Otero and Socorro charge $8.00.
New York—Richmond County
A coversheet is now required for filing recording all documents. The person submitting the recording is responsible for preparing the coversheet,. and aAn copy illustration of athe coversheet is was included in Issue 02-8 of this newsletter and is also available to subscribers to the online version of The Guide.reproduced on the last page of this newsletter. The basic fee is $34.00, up to and including two pages, and the coversheet is an additional fee of $2.00 for the page. Online subscribers may access the coversheet through The Guide by selecting New York, clicking on the Forms button, and then selecting Richmond from the list of Counties with coversheets.
New York—Monroe & Rockland Counties (Correction)
We reported in our July 19, 2002 Real Estate Database Update that fees in Monroe and Rockland were increased by an additional $2.00. The listing of fees was not completely accurate, and should have read as follows:
Deed: $33.00
Mortgage: $33.00
Amendment/Modification: $33.50
Assignment: $33.50
Satisfaction: $33.50
We thank our subscriber who brought this error to our attention.
Ohio—Portage County
The courier address must include “4th Floor”; the complete address is as follows: ATTN: Real Estate Recording; Portage County Recorder; 449 South Meridian Street; 4th Floor, Ravenna, OH 44266.
Pennsylvania—Fayette County
The basic recording fee for an assignment is $19.00 for up to and including four pages. This fee includes a marginal notation.
Texas—Brazos County
Effective September 1, 2002, the basic recording fee for the first page of a document will be increased to $9.00, reflecting a $3.00 increase from the fee of $6.00. The county requires a 4” margin at the bottom of the last page of the document and, if the requirement is not met, a fee of $2.00 for an additional page is imposed. We have edited our state summary for Texas now that a county requires a 4” margin at the bottom of the last page, which is the most stringent requirement reported by a recorder in Texas. A 3” margin was the largest we had documented previously.
Virginia—Spotsylvania
A coversheet is now required for filing recording all documents. The person submitting the recording is responsible for preparing the coversheet. The coversheet is not counted as a page. Call recorder for details. The extension has been changed to reach the recording office. The complete telephone number is 540-582-7090 ext. 247.
Other Information
This section notes current and upcoming changes in laws and recording requirements of which subscribers should also be aware.
California
AB 1090 requires each reconveyance document to specify the trustor’s (borrower’s) name and address as the person to whom the recorder will deliver the reconveyance once recorded.
Illinois
Recording offices active in changing fees.
Indiana
Sales disclosure and auditor transfer fees in flux from $8 to $10 and $3 to $5.
HB 2117 adds section 2.IC 36-2-11-26 which states that effective July 1, 2002, a mortgage may not disclose a social security number.
Louisiana
Effective August 2001 SB 364 suggests—does not mandate—recording fees at $25.00 for the first page and $10.00 per additional page up to 10 pages. If a document exceeds 10 pages, the fee per additional page is $8.00. Also add $5.00 for each name indexed after the first.