Deed of Trust Lawyer No Longer Around

[vodka]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: North Carolina

I have a question that is not really a typical scenario. I bought a piece of property a few years ago and am now looking to sell it. When I purchased it I did it with the owner financing and so a promissory note and a deed of trust was signed. Now here is where it gets strange.

- The Deed of Trust was never recorded with the county thought the Deed itself was.
- The lawyer who handled the closing and was the Trustee on the deed of trust is no longer in business


The previous owner who I had the promissory note with is willing to sign some kind of satisfaction notice or something like it.

What do I do?

Normally, isn't it customary for the Trustee to convey the complete ownership? Also keep in mind that the deed of trust was never recorded at the county for some reason.

Help please!

[flyingron]

Presumably you have a copy of the deed of trust? Who is the trustee?

[vodka]

The former lawyer.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Let me see if I understand....

You purchased property via a deed of trust from the former owner. You have now paid for the property, in full.

There is a promissory note the chain of title indicating that you are buying the property from the owner pursuant to a deed of trust, but the deed is not recorded.

The lawyer who handled the transaction, and made himself trustee, is no longer a member of the state bar and is nowhere to be found - neither listed as an active bar member nor listed with an address in the state bar's directory, but also not listed as deceased.

You want to get clear title, the owner of the property is perfectly happy to convey clear title, and the only hold-up is the missing lawyer / trustee?

[vodka]

Yes I purchased a property 5 years ago from this guy, lets call him Bob. We used one lawyer at the closing. The previous owner Bob sold it to me and since I didnt use a bank but I signed a promissory note secured with a deed of trust. The trustee was this closing attorney whom since the closing has been disbarred. This attorney recorded the transfer of deed but not the deed of trust document.

Now I want to sell the property. I wanted to present clear title so I asked the previous owner, also the one who I had the loan with to record some kind of satisfaction notice with the county. When trying to do so it was found that the Deed of Trust was never recorded, again only the General Warranty Deed.

What do I do? Will the previous owner signing some kind of document with a notary be sufficient?

[Mr. Knowitall]

Is the former owner willing to execute a warranty deed to you, conveying title?

[vodka]

Is the former owner willing to execute a warranty deed to you, conveying title?

I am not sure if I understand correctly what you have asked. Please correct me if I am wrong but again the General Warranty Deed was recorded at the county registrar of deeds.

The grantor was the previous owner and I was the grantee. I signed the deed of trust document as well but that one was not recorded.

[colourfastt]

I've dealt with a number of these Deed of Trust situations. Either the Trustee or the note holder can file a Certificate of Satisfaction in the clerk's office where the Deed is recorded. As a side note, the Deed of Trust Note is typically not recorded (at least where my family had property and sold it).