Helen purchased a home in Franklin, Tennessee using a general warranty deed. Later, she discovers that her grantor had previously conveyed the same property to another party using a quitclaim deed before selling it to Helen, but that prior quitclaim deed was never recorded. Helen recorded her general warranty deed promptly after closing. Under Tennessee's recording statutes, which of the following best describes Helen's position?
Correct Answer
B) Helen takes priority as a bona fide purchaser for value who recorded first, regardless of the type of deed used
Tennessee follows a race-notice recording statute system. Under Tennessee's recording act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-26-103), a subsequent purchaser who takes for value, without notice of a prior conveyance, and records first will prevail over an earlier unrecorded conveyance. Helen paid value, had no notice of the prior unrecorded quitclaim deed, and recorded her general warranty deed first. The type of deed (general warranty vs. quitclaim) does not determine priority under the recording statutes — recording priority and notice do. Helen's title prevails.
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Related Topics & Key Terms
Key Terms:
Related Concepts
In a cooperative (co-op), the building is owned by a corporation, and residents purchase shares of stock in the corporation that entitle them to a proprietary lease on a specific unit. Residents are shareholders, not property owners.
Fee simple absolute is the highest and most complete form of property ownership, giving the owner unrestricted rights to use, possess, enjoy, and dispose of the property. It is of unlimited duration and fully inheritable.
Community property is a system where property acquired during a marriage is owned equally by both spouses.
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