The Ten Commandments of Recording Documents

1. Caption date vs. acknowledgment date: the acknowledgment should not predate the caption.

2. Acknowledgment must include the following: county, state, date, persons/corporate officers (names and titles) appearing and the notary's signature, seal and expiration date. If any of the above is missing, the acknowledgment will be considered defective.

3. Deeds, Mortgages, and Assignments should indicate the property's county and state.

4. The written amount must match the numerical amount on all deeds and mortgages.

5. Book and page numbers of mortgages must appear on all documents that refer back to an original mortgage.

6. Checks submitted for payment of taxes and fees must be in the correct amount.

7. Multiple papers constituting one transaction must be clearly numbered to indicate the order in which they are to be places on record. Any re-recording expenses resulting from an improper order of documents will be paid for by the party submitting the instrument for recording.

8. Documents presented for recording with property in more than on municipality must clearly state the division of the local Transfer Tax in dollar amounts.

9. All deeds, all mortgages, and all assignments of mortgage should have a grantee, mortgagee, or assignee address. Grantee address should be signed.

10. All foreign documents must include written English translations to be recorded along with the original instrument.

Other conditions may apply to returned documents. We also require a return stamped addressed envelope and no personal checks over 75 dollars.