Black-letter propositions
- 01
A bona fide purchaser gives value and lacks actual, record, and inquiry notice at conveyance.
- 02
Notice statutes protect the later BFP; race-notice also requires first recording; pure race rewards first recording.
- 03
An instrument outside the chain of title may not give record notice.
- 04
Visible possession and suspicious references can create inquiry notice.
- 05
Shelter allows transferees from a protected purchaser to receive protection, subject to limited reconveyance issues.
Use this attack sequence under time
Frame the issue
Translate statutory words.
Resolve the next checkpoint
Chronologically list conveyances and recordings.
Resolve the next checkpoint
For each later taker, test value and three notice forms.
Resolve the next checkpoint
Apply first-record requirement.
Finish the conclusion
Check wild deeds and shelter.
Common wrong turns
- A donee does not give value.
- Recording first cannot cure notice under race-notice.
- A record search is insufficient when possession demands inquiry.
Worked example
O deeds to A, who possesses but does not record. O later deeds to B, who sees A but makes no inquiry and records first under race-notice law.
A's possession gives B inquiry notice, so B is not a BFP and loses despite first recording.
Practice this topic
Recording acts
Cornell says a recording statute governs how deeds and other property interests are recorded to give public notice and establish legal priority among competing claims. A notice statute gives priority to the party with the most recent valid claim, but only if that party lacked notice of an earlier claim. The subsequent bona fide purchaser prevails if the purchaser had no actual or constructive notice of the prior conveyance, even if the earlier buyer records first.
A notice statute differs from race and race-notice statutes, where being first to record matters. Notice statutes give purchasers an incentive to record.
Bona fide purchasers
Cornell defines a bona fide purchaser as someone who exchanges value for property without reason to suspect irregularities, with no actual or constructive notice of defects in the seller's right to transfer title. A buyer who knows the property is stolen has actual notice, and a buyer has constructive notice of defects shown in the recording system.
On an exam, list the conveyances in order, note who paid value and who had notice, and then apply the jurisdiction's type of recording act. The chain of title is the sequence of recorded transfers a searcher would find.
Cornell's example of a notice statute has A sell to B and then to C a week later, and C had no knowledge of the sale to B. C's claim is recognized even if B records before C. Write out each step in that order on an exam, mark who paid value and who had notice, and only then name the type of statute.
Frequently asked questions
What is the controlling rule for notice, race, race-notice, and chain of title?+
Recording priority follows the statute word for word through value, actual, record, and inquiry notice, timing, and recordation.
How should I analyze notice, race, race-notice, and chain of title on the bar exam?+
Translate statutory words. Chronologically list conveyances and recordings. Apply first-record requirement. Check wild deeds and shelter.
What is a recording statute?+
A law governing how deeds and other property interests are recorded to give public notice and establish priority among competing claims.
What is a notice statute?+
A recording act giving priority to the most recent valid claim, but only if that party lacked notice of an earlier claim.
Does recording first win under a notice statute?+
Not by itself. A later purchaser without notice prevails even if the earlier buyer records first, according to Cornell.
Who is a bona fide purchaser?+
Someone who exchanges value for property without actual or constructive notice of defects in the seller's right to transfer title.
How does a notice statute differ from race statutes?+
In race and race-notice states being first to record matters, while in a notice state lack of notice is the key, per Cornell.