FAQQ. What is the Register of Deeds Office (ROD)?
A. The R.O.D. Office is a place where all transactions having to do with land, including deeds, mortgages and some liens are recorded and maintained so that the public is made aware of their existence. This is also the place where financing statements and security agreements are filed on personal property under the Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.) Q. What is a deed? A. A deed is an instrument by which the buyer obtains title to a piece of property. A deed comes in many forms. The most common source of passing title is called a Warranty Deed. The seller warrants that he has a good and clear title & guarantees that his predecessors have no interest in the title. A Quit-Claim deed would be used to obtain a release from any person who is believed to have some interest in or claim to the property. By this form of deed the grantor "quits" any claim he might have. Q. Should a deed be recorded with the ROD Office? A. Yes. A deed should be recorded as promptly as possible after the transaction is complete. Failure to record a deed could render the transfer or mortgaging of the property impossible and create numerous legal difficulties. A transfer-on-death deed needs to be recorded before the passing of grantors. Q. How are recording fees set? A. Recording fees are set by State law. If you are unsure as to your recording fees, please contact the R.O.D. Office, or see link on this site. We will be glad to help you figure the correct fees. Q. What if I lose my deed? A. The primary evidence of ownership of land is not so much the deed itself as the recording of the deed. Once recorded, the original deed is returned per the instructions of the person/entity that provided the deed for recording. If your deed is misplaced or lost, a copy of a recorded deed may be obtained from the R.O.D. Office and/or certified with it's official stamp. Q. How long does it take for a document to be recorded? A. Most documents are completed & returned within 24 hours unless problems occur during processing. Q. May I make out my own deed? A. Yes, you could, but the R.O.D. Office always recommends the retention of an attorney or licensed abstract/title company. We are a recording agency and cannot make out deeds or answer those questions which pertain to legal matters. Q. Can you record property in the Crawford County ROD Office if the property is not located in Crawford County? A. No. The property has to be located in Crawford County. Q. Can the ROD office tell you if you have a good & clear title to your property? A. No. Professional title examiners or abstractors use the records in our office, along with their own records and records of other offices to determine if the title is good & clear. Q. Can I locate the mortgage on my house in the ROD office? A. Yes, if recorded. Normally the mortgage follows the recording of the deed. If not, then we would go to our tract index for that piece of property to find the mortgage. The index will give you the book and page and recording information of your mortgage. Q. What is a lien? A. Many times the owner of property may owe money to various creditors. The lien allows the creditors a means of preventing the property from being sold or mortgaged until the debt is paid. Among the many types of liens are Tax Liens (for non-payment of taxes) or mechanic's liens (for labor and materials furnished for home repair). Mechanic's liens on home repairs are filed in the district court. The mechanic's liens that are filed in the R.O.D. office are for repairs to automobiles. Q. What is uniform Commercial Code? A. Uniform Commercial Code, more commonly known as UCC, became effective in Kansas in 1966. As the name implies, a code developed for uniform filing on all personal property. The filing of UCC financing statements is what perfects or secures the loan on consumer goods or personal property. Q. What other kinds of records will I find in the ROD office? A. Besides deeds, mortgages and liens, we have land patent books, oil and gas leases, plats of additions to the towns and subdivisions in Crawford County, county schools records and teacher records, along with honorable military discharges from the armed services, powers of attorney and corporate records. Q. How far back do the records go? A. The earliest records found in our office date back to 1869. Among the early records are the patent deeds recorded when land was bought by the U.S. Government and are signed by some of our early presidents. On Laredo or Tapestry records can be looked up back to 1979. Q. Can the ROD Office help me find records on my ancestors? A. If they owned land in Crawford County, probably. Q. Who runs the ROD Office? A. The R.O.D. Office is administered by a duly elected official called the Register of Deeds, who in turn, has a Deputy Register of Deeds and a Clerk that perform various duties within the office. Q. When should a death certificate be filed in the ROD Office? A. When an individual dies and is listed as an owner of record on a deed, their death certificate should be filed. When no death certificate is available, a title company or lawyer can advise you as to documents that could be filed. We also will accept affidavit of death from funeral home where services were rendered. Q. Should I record my military records (DD-214, etc) with the ROD Office? A. Yes, there is no charge to our veterans to record military papers. We recommend recording the original DD-214 for safekeeping. |