Title XIV, PROPERTY (Ch. 555 - 594A)

A transcript of the record of any instrument affecting real estate, certified as provided in section 558.12 , shall be entitled to record in the office of the recorder of any other county in which is situated any of the real estate affected by such instrument. The effect of the r…

All conveyances or the record title thereof of real estate executed more than ten years earlier, wherein the grantor or grantors described themselves as the surviving spouse, heir at law, heirs at law, surviving spouse and heir at law, or surviving spouse and heirs at law, of som…

Any official stamp purporting to have been affixed to any instrument in writing, by any notary public as provided in chapter 9B residing elsewhere than in this state, shall be prima facie evidence that the words thereon engraved conform to the requirements of the law of the place…

When any such records are copied, the officer to whose office the original records belong shall compare the copy so made with the original, and when found correct, shall attach the officer’s certificate in each volume or book of such copied records, to the effect that the officer…

The following or other equivalent forms of conveyance, varied to suit circumstances, are sufficient for the purposes herein contemplated: 1. For a quitclaim deed. For the consideration of ................ dollars, I hereby quitclaim to ................................ all my inte…

As used in this chapter , unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Book” , “list” , “record” , or “schedule” kept by a county auditor, assessor, treasurer, recorder, sheriff, or other county officer means the county system as defined in section 445.1 . 2. “Grantee” means the na…

In the execution of any written instrument conveying, encumbering, or affecting real estate by a corporation that has adopted a corporate seal, the seal of such corporation may but need not be attached or affixed to such written instrument. [C51, §974; R60, §1823; C73, §2112; C97…

The acknowledgment of any deed, conveyance, or other instrument in writing by which real estate in this state is conveyed or encumbered, whether made within this state, outside this state, outside the United States, or under federal authority, shall comply with the provisions of …

If the corporation has not adopted a corporate seal, such fact may but need not be stated in such written instrument. [S13, §3068; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 10068; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §558.3 ] 96 Acts, ch 1154, §2

Proof of the due and voluntary execution and delivery of a deed or other instrument may be made before any officer authorized to take acknowledgments, by one competent person other than the vendee or other person to whom the instrument is executed, in the following cases: 1. If t…

The certificate endorsed by the officer upon a deed or other instrument thus proved must state: 1. The title of the officer taking the proof. 2. That it was satisfactorily proved that the grantor was dead, or that for some other reason the grantor’s attendance could not be procur…

An officer having power to take the proof of execution and delivery of a deed or other instrument under section 558.31 may issue the necessary subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses residing within the county, in the manner provided for the taking of depositions. [C51,…

The certificate of proof or acknowledgment may be given under seal or otherwise, according to the mode by which the officer making the same usually authenticates the officer’s formal acts. [C51, §1223; R60, §2231; C73, §1961; C97, §2951; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 10098; C46, 50, 54,…

The acknowledgment of a married person, when required by law, may be taken in the same form as if the person were sole, and without any examination separate and apart from the person’s spouse. [C97, §2960; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 10099; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79,…

The execution of any deed, mortgage, or other instrument in writing, executed by any attorney in fact, may be acknowledged by the attorney executing the same. [R60, §2251; C73, §1962; C97, §2952; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 10100; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §558.…

Any officer, who knowingly misstates a material fact in any of the certificates mentioned in this chapter or chapter 9B , shall be liable for all damages caused thereby, and shall be guilty of a serious misdemeanor. [C51, §1224; R60, §2232; C73, §1964; C97, §2955; C24, 27, 31, 35…

1. Effect of recording. An instrument affecting real estate is of no validity against subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration, without notice, or against the state or any of its political subdivisions during and after condemnation proceedings against the real estate, u…

A document shall not be deemed lawfully recorded, unless it has been previously acknowledged or proved in the manner prescribed in chapter 9B , except that affidavits, and certified copies of petitions in bankruptcy with or without the schedules appended, of decrees of adjudicati…

1. As used in this section , unless the context otherwise requires: a. “Agricultural land” means agricultural land as defined in section 9H.1 . b. “Beneficial ownership” includes interests held by a nonresident alien individual directly or indirectly holding or acquiring a ten pe…

Where any mortgage, contract, or other instrument constituting an encumbrance upon real estate shall be assigned or released by a separate instrument, it shall be the duty of the recorder to make a notation where the instrument was originally indexed, indicating the nature of suc…

1. Every real estate installment sales contract transferring an interest in residential property shall be recorded by the contract seller with the county recorder in the county in which the real estate is situated not later than ninety days from the date the contract was signed b…

1. For purposes of this section , unless the context otherwise requires: a. “Transfer” means the sale, gift, conveyance, assignment, inheritance, or other transfer of ownership interest in real property located in this state. b. (1) “Transfer fee” means a fee or charge payable up…

The recorder must keep index records to show the following: 1. Each grantor. 2. Each grantee. 3. The date and time when the instrument was filed with the recorder. 4. The date of the instrument. 5. The nature of the instrument. 6. The document reference number where the record of…

1. When the record shows that a contract or bond for a deed was executed more than ten years earlier, the contract or bond shall be deemed abandoned by the vendee and void and the land shall be freed from any lien or defect on account of the contract or bond in any of the followi…

The entries shall show the names of the respective grantors and grantees, arranged in alphabetical order. When the instrument is executed by a personal representative, guardian, referee, commissioner, receiver, sheriff, or other person acting in a representative capacity, the rec…

The recorder must endorse upon every instrument properly filed for recording in the recorder’s office, the day, hour, and minute when filed for recording and the document reference number, and enter in the index the entries required to be entered pursuant to sections 558.49 and 5…

After the recorder has accepted for recording and indexed any deed, real estate installment contract, or other instrument unconditionally conveying real estate or altering a real estate contract by assigning the buyer’s or seller’s interest, changing the name of the buyer or sell…

1. a. At the time of filing a deed, real estate installment contract, or other instrument mentioned in section 558.57 , the recorder shall collect, and note payment of, the recording fee and the auditor’s transfer fee, as provided by law, except as provided in subsection 2 . b. A…

Every instrument shall be recorded as soon as practicable, after which the recorder shall complete the entries to show the document reference number where the record is to be found. [C51, §1216; R60, §2225; C73, §1946; C97, §2938; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 10118; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62…

When there is a difference between the given names or initials in which title is taken, and the given names or initials of the grantor in a succeeding conveyance, and the surnames in both instances are written the same or sound the same, the conveyances or the record of them is p…

1. The county auditor shall keep in the county auditor’s office books for the transfer of real estate, which shall consist of a transfer book, index book, and plat book. As used in this context, “book” means the method of data storage and retrieval utilized by the county auditor.…

The auditor shall keep the book of plats showing the number of lot and block, or township and range, divided into sections and subdivisions as occasion may require, and shall designate thereon each piece of real estate and the name of the owner. The plats shall be lettered or num…

No conveyances or plats of additions to any city or subdivision of any lands lying within or adjacent to any city in which streets and alleys and other public grounds are sought to be dedicated to public use, or other conveyances in which streets and alleys are sought to be conve…

1. Upon the receipt of an instrument that satisfies the requirements of this section and the payment of the applicable fees authorized in section 331.507, subsection 2 , the auditor shall enter the updated or corrected real estate ownership information in the transfer books and i…

The auditor from time to time shall correct any error appearing in the transfer books, and shall notify the grantee of any error in description discovered in any instrument filed for transfer, and permit the same to be corrected by the parties before completing such transfer. [C7…

1. A nonvested interest in property is not valid unless it must vest, if at all, within twenty-one years after one or more lives in being at the creation of the interest and any relevant period of gestation. 2. a. In determining whether a nonvested interest would violate the rule…

1. With each declaration of value submitted to the county recorder under chapter 428A , except as specified in subsection 8 , there shall be submitted a groundwater hazard statement stating all of the following: a. Whether any known private burial site is situated on the property…

An assignment shall have the same force and effect as a deed of conveyance and shall be conclusively presumed to carry all right, title, and interest of the patentee of the real estate, the same as though a deed of conveyance had been subsequently executed by the patentee or assi…

1. Prior to executing a residential real estate installment sales contract, the contract seller shall deliver a written contract disclosure statement to the contract purchaser which shall clearly set forth the following information: a. If the real estate subject to the contract h…

1. A contract purchaser injured by a violation of section 558.70 may within one year of the execution of the contract bring an equitable action in the district court of record where the real estate is located to obtain relief as follows: a. The court may rescind a contract that r…

1. As used in this section , unless the context otherwise requires: a. “Entity” means any of the following: (1) A partnership, limited liability partnership, or foreign limited liability partnership as provided in chapter 486A . (2) A limited partnership, foreign limited partners…

Affidavits explaining any defect in the chain of title to any real estate may be recorded as instruments affecting the same, but no one except the owner in possession of such real estate shall have the right to file such affidavit. Such affidavit or the record thereof, including …

Every railroad company which owns or claims real estate in this state, granted by the government of the United States or this state to aid in the construction of its railroad, where it has not already done so, shall place on file and cause to be recorded, in each county wherein t…