Lot Line Adjustment - I own both lots

[subman]

After getting through the planning process and recording my LLA/Certificate of Compliance, what type of deeds do I exchange with myself to legally create the new lot line and provide constructive notice?

Any examples to share? Thanks in advance...

[E_Page]

In El Dorado County, they have you file a PM with no conditions. Since you cannot leagally deed land to yourself (that is, no conveyance, hence no legal effect), the PM acts as the vehicle to accomplish it.

The process is the LLA process, not the onerous PM process. It works well.

[PLS7393]

Dennis, this is very common, but each jurisdiction doesn't understand the legalities or what truly has to happen. Your planning department might need a little education.

Steve G. said one option, if the planning department understands.
"In Sacramento County, you would just record the Boundary Line Adjustment Resolution with the new legal descriptions (no map or plat) and the next time the property is transferred, you would use the new description. Oh, and if the parcels are separately financed, you'd have to modify the D ot T's."

Some might just call it a "Lot Line Adjustment" and record it with the New Legal Descriptions for Parcel 1, and Parcel 2. Ready to record when one is sold.

A clean way is to go through a Title Co.. They use to use the term "Stick Man", where you would transfer the New Parcel to them, then right back to you using the new description. Do that for both parcels, and your done, it's of record, and you have a Grant Deed with the new descriptions.

Remember, a Lot Line Adjustment does not transfer property! It only records that the jurisdiction is authorizing the lot line to be adjusted. Some jurisdictions will even state on the map, or in the document that "The lines of record shall be recorded within one year".

If new deeds are not recorded, and then you go to sell the property, title companys have had issues, where the property owners then have to go back to planning to get a Certificate of Compliance, cause new deeds were never recorded.

[subman]

In our County, the Assessor does not map the new lot line till the deeds record. In this case, the owner has two tenants that he wants to construct buildings for relying on the new common lot line and is ready to submit building plans. However, confusion will reign, since there is conflicting information until the reconveyance deeds are executed based on the new legal descriptions. I will advise the customer to check with their Title Company. Thanks for the input.

[VANCE]

I've seen grant deeds where the Grantor and Grantee are the same person(s). (reading one right now)

[mpallamary]

If I might note, as the courts have pointed out, a map does not create a legal parcel. The conveyance does. Unless there is a compelling reason to deed yourself the property, why do anything? A viable reason might be to hypothecate one of the parcels. As a general rule, the assessor will not recognize the lot line adjustment unless something is recorded. All depends on the objective.

[subman]

Vance, can you email me a pdf?

dhunter@dslextreme.com

[Anthony Maffia]

There are reasons to deed to yourself, e.g. correcting a description.

The title officers I worked with (East SF Bay Chicago Title & First American) explained it to me this way: The LLA process is approved & you record the docs or certificate of compliance, but those won't be indexed in the grantor/grantee index. Therefore, follow up with a deed to yourself with the new legal description for constructive notice. If not, then future transfers may accidentally use the old description.

Transferring a parcel from yourself to a third party and then back may trigger a re-appraisal by the county tax collector, which may or may not be a bad thing.

[goodgps]

I have a question that may or may not relate to this thread (Ive searched other threads)

To present a clear title, is it better to do a Lot Line Adjustment by PArcel Map ? and if so, is a PM guarantee required ?

Thanks

[Anthony Maffia]

An LLA wouldn't mess up title... a Parcel Map around here is just 5 to 10 times the fees and a tax re-assessment.

A common problem, though, is living trust deeds prepared by attorneys who don't know what they're doing, and title companies who combine descriptions and make mistakes. That is why I like a deed back to one's self.

[Ben Lund]

Some agencies I've worked with record a "Pro-forma" grant deed. I recall all of the fee owners granting their interest to the owner of the newly configured parcel. In other words, for a 2 lot LLA, Owner A and Owner B would grant their interest in the land described as the future lot configuration to Owner A and visa versa. Is this acceptable?

[RAM]

Record Certs of Compliance with description of each adjusted parcel. to ensure the ability to secure developement permits. No map is required per state law. No transfers required. If you transfer in the future, the Certs are the descriptions. Modify any deeds of trust, pay the taxes, slam dunk, about as simple as it gets.

[T. S. Higgins]

You do need to record a Grant deed; a certificate of compliance doesn't meet the requirements of a LLA. You also can name yourself as both the grantee and grantor; there's no reason to involve a third party like the title company because that will trigger a reassessment.

You can wait to create the grant deeds until you sell the parcel(s) if you like, but the LLA won't be considered "final" until the new descriptions are included in a grant deed.

You shouldn't be able to acquire a Certificate of Compliance on the new parcel until the LLA is completed; at least for San Mateo, we don't finalize the LLA in our system until the deeds go through, meaning no update to the legal lot or assessor's parcel is made in our system. I've got about 120 LLAs sitting in a backlog with no accompanying Deeds on a list right in front of me that aren't final until the deeds come through.

[Ian Wilson]

The idea that one cannot convey real property to oneself stems from Civil Code §1039, “Transfer is an act of the parties, or of the law, by which the title to property is conveyed from one living person to another.”

This is an archaic concept that harkens back to medieval times when land would be conveyed through a ceremony involving handing of a clump of dirt from the current owner to the new owner. The old owner was said to “enfeoff” his land. Supposedly, handing dirt to oneself was “ungainly” and, therefore, not legal.

Fortunately, we live in the 21st century…except for our arcane real estate statutes. Equally fortunately, we live in a world of USUALLY sane courts.

Take the case of Riddell v Harmon [102 Cal. App. 3d 524]. The case cites a few methods of conveying to oneself. The court sums up with a wonderful bit of legal prose, “We discard the archaic rule that one cannot enfeoff oneself which, if applied, would defeat the clear intention of the grantor.”

Perhaps it’s time to rectify this silliness with a modification to CC §1039.

BTW – it really doesn’t matter what form of document is or isn’t used if the Trust Deeds are not re-conformed, too. Oh the hell that hath broke loose over lot line adjustments wherein the Trust Deeds have not been amended!

Ah well…back to work for me!

[Ian Wilson]

Waiting for CAD to grind away...

Actually, that's exactly what you're doing. The Lot Line Adjustment process allows the creation of small bits of land that would be in violation of the SMA. Those small bits of land are conveyed to the owner of the other parcel and then merged. That's exactly why the bits are described in separate deeds and conveyed.

In the case where both parcels are owned by one physical person, the conveyance is from Mr. X, as owner of Parcel A to Mr. X, owner of Parcel B, and vice versa.

If the bits aren't conveyed, they aren't adjusted.

[bruce hall]

are made to the deed of trust, new deeds are recorded from one entity to the other. who cares if they are the same person? This is all part of the LLA process and it works well.

Bank of America is the lienholder to Lot 1. Chase is the lienholder to Lot 2.

Parcel A and Parcel B are now created in these old Lots with new modifications to the trust deed with new land descriptions. But new grant deeds for parcel 1 and parcel two are not recorded. The dividing line between these new parcels does not exist until the land is conveyed. It would seem to me that B of A and Chase may have a problem, or could have a problem, somewhere down the road if this new line is not created.

But maybe not.

[T. S. Higgins]

Danner- Ian Wilson referred to Riddell v Harmon [102 Cal. App. 3d 524] above. If you get a chance, peruse that case; it makes it pretty clear that it was the decision of the court that you can record a deed to yourself.