How to buy property anonymously
11 sats \ 4 comments \ @trevor 5 Dec 2023 meta
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.
A recorded deed is prima facie evidence of a conveyance, but it is not always required by law to record a deed. Check your state laws and be aware of sneaky wording, such as this:
KRS 382.110 (1) All deeds, mortgages and other instruments required by law to be recorded...
Based on that wording, it's obvious that there are some deeds NOT required by law to be recorded. If this is your state and you're buying personal property WITHOUT A MORTGAGE, you might consider creating a deed or bill of sale between you and the seller and get it notarized as you normally would. The seller can call the county clerk and tell them "I've sold the property, but the buyer wants to remain anonymous. Please remove my name from the tax rolls." If they want proof, send them a copy with the names blacked out.
If the buyer wants to sell the property later, it can then be recorded OR the new buyer can do the same thing and keep the other original as well as their new deed so as to prove chain of title.
Did you notice what else happened?
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0 sats \ 3 replies \ @Arceris 5 Dec 2023
Also, not legal advice. I am A lawyer, but I'm NOT YOUR lawyer.
Every jurisdiction is different. What you're citing there in Kansas is called a Notice statute. In those states, there is often no requirement to record a conveyance. Recording creates constructive notice, but it's not strictly necessary.
An alternative is something called a Race statute (only DE, NC, and LA), where recording is basically mandatory - whoever records the conveyance first wins.
There's also a blend called Race/Notice, but it's more like Notice except in one circumstance.
While you could use the argument you make above, you are running a risk that the land could be conveyed out from under you. If you want to buy property, without a mortgage, in a private way, it might be easier to do so in a trust or other corporate vehicle.
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @trevor OP 5 Dec 2023
You're right - every jurisdiction is different, which is why I said to check your state laws. What I'm citing there is a Kentucky statute, not Kansas, and the deeds are dated, but obviously you could have two deeds done in the same day and run that risk, but that would be hard to do if you have actual possession of the property.
I'm putting this information out there so people are aware that there are alternatives. I agree you could use a trust, but the way specifically that I'm mentioning here also prevents property taxes being applied (although it's possible with a trust too). There are numerous ways to avoid those and people don't realize that they are really meant for government-created entities.
Thankfully people are fighting those in court now too, especially after learning of a case in Florida that was sealed.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Arceris 5 Dec 2023
Sorry, saw KRS and thought Kansas not Kentucky.
Kentucky is a Race/Notice state.
Dating the deed does not matter. Let's say you buy a property and put the deed in a drawer, then the old owner decides to issue a new deed to someone else at a later date.
Assume that the later buyer does not know about the existence of the earlier deed and buys the property for fair value. Then the later buyer records it.
The earlier deed is not able to overcome the later deed. It could be days, weeks, or years later. Though a longer timeframe does potentially make it harder to do the above, it is not impossible. The earlier buyer would be able to sue the seller, but the later buyer will have the land.
This though:
prevents property taxes being applied
I'm going to go with that being a great way to have your property seized by the local taxing authority. Property taxes apply to the land itself, and while keeping your name out of the rolls is pretty easy, that does not relieve the responsibility to actually pay the tax. Would need to see some extremely convincing precedent to accept your contention here.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @trevor OP 5 Dec 2023
Then record it with the names blacked out.
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