Good morning Tipsters,
I closed my first deal out of state using a mobile notary and I need to record the deed now. I was wondering how all of you handle this process. I was planning on using Simplifile, but it looks like there's a $395 a year fee just to sign up. Any tips or advice would be appreciated.
You can always just mail the hard copy to the county recorder and have them record it the old fashioned way. You just need to ask them ahead of time what the recording fee would be (and if there are any applicable transfer taxes), so you can include a check to cover those costs - if you don't, they'll probably just ship it back to you. The only downside is it takes several days, costs postage and isn't as convenient as simplifile, but if you're okay with that, it'll get the just done all the same.
@Troy, what @retipsterseth said.
Beyond that...and full disclosure here, I've recorded a grand total of two deeds myself in person, and one document against title on a property out of state which I did by mail (accomplished exactly like Seth said). The only other things that I'd point out based on my limited experience is that, when you call the deed recording department with the Circuit Court of the county the property is in, to ask them to confirm what the recording fee will be, it's a really good idea to ask them nicely to describe to you all of the details that you'll need to know in order to do this.
For instance, do they have any specific formatting requirements -- e.g. one that I did required something like a minimum 3" by 3" blank space in the upper right corner of the first page of the deed, to allow room for them to place their stamp with the information regarding the date it was recorded, deed book/page, etc. Do you need to include a pre-addressed stamped envelope for them to return the recorded deed to you (probably)? Etc., etc. You don't know what you don't know, and in general, I've found most of the people who work in these offices to be very helpful and patient.
Thanks @retipsterseth and @dl7573 . I spent some time on the county recorder website and was able to use Deeds.com to get the recording completed.
@Troy - glad to hear it! Sounds like you're learning a lot about the process in a short amount of time. :)
one other thought on this Troy: if you are only doing a few deals in a given year, SIMPLIFILE is not worth the cost. If you have any sort of appreciable volume of deals, maybe a couple or several at least every month, SIMPLIFILE is cheap for the value it delivers. I have a hard time imagining my business without the convenience and speed provided by SIMPLIFILE (or other vendor that does the same thing).