The Five Sections Contained in This E-Mail Newsletter Are

Issue 04-8July 26, 2004Real Estate Database Update / 

Editors’ Notes

In New Jersey, the deed transfer tax will increase substantially August 1, 2004. The rate for standard transactions and new construction will be the same. There are two fee schedules, one where total consideration is not in excess of $350,000 and one where total consideration is in excess of $350,000. In addition to the regular fee schedule to calculate the tax, a 1% surcharge of the total consideration is due where total consideration exceeds $1,000,000. Please see Calculator Section of the newsletter for details.

In New York State, the fee to record the RP-5217 will increase to $75.00 per form with a deed submitted for recording from the current fee of $50.00 as soon as the State Budget passes. The legislators adjourned June 24, 2004 until August 2, 2004; therefore, we do not anticipate the increase prior to that date. We will alert subscribers to the increase as soon as the budget passes.

The five sections contained in this e-mail newsletter are:

Working List—This section lists changes in particular recording offices (sometimes in all the offices in a state) that have been brought to our attention. Items on this list will be reported here until our database has been updated with the changed information.

Most Recent Updates—This section contains the date of the most recent quarterly database update and a list of the items that were included in that update.

Calculator Updates—This section contains the date of the most recent update and a list of the most important calculator updates included in the update.

Prior Updates—For the benefit of our print subscribers, this section contains information on updates applied to the database prior to the most recent one since the last regular quarterly update.

Other Information—This section contains other useful information about upcoming fee changes as well as other recording requirements.

Please direct all data questions regarding any state or county recording information to .

Carl R. Ernst, Publisher and Executive Editor

Kathryn L. Teal, Esq., Editor

Liz Kelly, Senior Research Associate

Working List

New York State

The RP-5217 fee will be increased to $75.00 from $50.00 when the state budget passes.

Pennsylvania—Allegheny County

Effective September 1, 2004, the basic recording fee for a Mortgage will be $46.00 for up to four names and four pages.

Virginia

The state recordation tax is scheduled to increase effective September 1, 2004 to $.25 per every $100.00, or fraction thereof, of consideration. This is an increase of $.10 per $100.00 of consideration. The local recordation tax will increase to one-third of the amount of the state recordation tax, or $.0833. The local recordation tax is currently $.05 per $100.00, or fraction thereof, of consideration.

Most Recent Updates

Since Database Updated: July 26, 2004

The following items have been updated on our web site and for our database subscribers. We recommend that print subscribers keep a list of these changes until the next quarterly update is received.

Alabama—Tallapoosa County

Effective July 1, 2004 the recording fee for a Deed, Deed of Trust, Mortgage, Amendment or Modification is $14.00 for the first page. The recording fee for an Assignment is $15.00 and the recording fee for a Release or Satisfaction is $17.00 for the first page.

Florida—Broward County

Checks shall be made payable to: “Board of County Commissioners”.

Florida—Palm Beach County

If a subsequent recording includes only book & page without the land description, add a $1.50 search fee plus the abstract fee. This additional search fee increased $0.50.

Georgia—Tattnall County

The transfer tax and intangible tax is payable to “Clerk of Superior Court.” Separate checks are no longer required for each tax.

Illinois—McHenry County

Effective August 2, 2004, all basic recording fees will be increased by $8.00. The fee to record the first four pages of a document will be $26.00. The county website is:

Illinois—Perry County

Effective August 1, 2004, all basic recording fees will be increased by $3.00. The basic recording fee will be $21.00 up to and including four pages.

Maryland—Howard County

The new U.S. Postal Service Delivery and Courier Delivery address is: Attn: Land Records; Howard County Clerk; The Dorsey Building; 9250 Bendix Road; Columbia, MD 21045.

New Jersey

The deed transfer tax increases as of August 1, 2004. See Calculator Updates section of this newsletter for details.

New York—Monroe County

The recording fee for a modification is $33.00 for the first page. Monroe County is the only county in New York State that does not charge an additional $0.50 for the book and page on the modification.

Pennsylvania—Chester County

The new U.S. Postal Delivery address is: P.O. Box 2748; West Chester, PA 19380-0991. The new Courier Delivery address is: 121 North Walnut Street; Suite 100; West Chester, PA 19380.

Oklahoma—Tulsa County

Make recording fee checks payable to the “Tulsa County Recorder.”

Oregon—Clackamas County

The new U.S. Postal Delivery and Courier Delivery address is: Clackamas County Clerk; The Recording Dept.; The Public Services Building 2nd Fl.; 2051 Kaen Rd.; Oregon City, OR 97045

Texas—Starr County

The basic recording fees have increased to $14.00 for the first page, which is an increase of $5.00.

Texas—Travis County

The new U.S. Postal Delivery address is: Travis County Clerk; P.O. Box 149325; Austin, TX 78714-9325.

Calculator Updates

Latest Database Update: July 26, 2004

The following items have been updated on our web site calculators. We recommend our GFE database subscribers review the updates to determine if additional programming is required for their system.

New Jersey

New Jersey will increase its realty transfer tax, but the effective date is unclear. The statute states that the increased tax is due on “transfers of real property occurring on or after August 1, 2004”. However, a memorandum dated July 13, 2004 issued by the Department of Treasury of New Jersey and sent to all county clerks, recording officers, county chief financial officers, attorneys and title officers states that the increased tax is due on all “deeds that are physically delivered or submitted to the county recording officer on or after August 1, 2004.”

The realty transfer tax rates for standard transactions and for new construction where total consideration is not in excess of $350,000 is as follows: $2.00 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration not in excess of $150,000; $3.35 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration in excess of $150,000 but not in excess of $200,000; $3.90 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration in excess of $200,000 but not in excess of $350,000.

The rates for standard transactions and for new construction where total consideration exceeds $350,000 are as follows, effective August 1, 2004: $2.90 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration not in excess of $150,000; $4.25 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration in excess of $150,000 but not in excess of $200,000; $4.80 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration in excess of $200,000 but not in excess of $550,000; $5.30 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration in excess of $550,000 but not in excess of $850,000; $5.80 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration in excess of $850,000 but not in excess of $1,000,000; $6.05 per $500 or fraction thereof of consideration in excess of $1,000,000. An additional 1% of the total consideration is due where total consideration exceeds $1,000,000 and the property is zoned for residential use.

The increased rates listed above do not apply to transfers by senior citizens, blind persons, disabled persons, and on the transfer of property that is low and moderate income housing.

Deeds must include a statement of consideration. A revised Affidavit of Consideration (RTF-1) that is not yet designed should be submitted with all deeds. The affidavit counts as one page. The revised form will be posted to the web site as soon as it is available.

New Features Added To Calculators

We have added new capabilities to the Mortgage Fee and Tax Calculator and the Title Insurance Calculator. These enhancements address refinance tax credits and title insurance reissue rates in the jurisdictions that make them available, and will assist you in working with your clients to provide more accurate fee calculations where credits are available.

Mortgage Fee and Tax Calculator:

A user now has the ability to calculate the adjusted tax when dealing with a refinance, amendment or modification of an existing debt in the 13 states that offer refinance tax credits. This upgrade requires the user to answer a short series of questions specific to each jurisdiction in order to generate the proper tax whenever a refinance tax credit is applicable.

Title Insurance Premium Estimator:

A user now has the ability to estimate the premium due, when requesting a reissue rate within the 38 states that make this consideration available. By providing the requested amounts, the date on which the original policy was issued and other applicable information, the user is given an estimate of the reissue rate premium. In some transactions this rate can be as little as 20% of the new policy premium. The reissue rate is generally available from a title company upon request, check with your title insurer if they offer the adjusted premium.

To access our calculator enhancements simply log into your account at and from the Start page, select the Mortgage Fee and Tax Calculator or the Title Insurance Calculator. Or, when in any Recording Office page in The Real Estate Recording Guide™, use the feature buttons to enter each calculator. If you have any questions please contact Ernst Client Services at 800-345-3822 and we will be happy to help you.

Prior Updates

Since Database Updated: May 6, 2004

The following items were updated on our web site and for our database subscribers prior to the current update but after the previous regular quarterly update. We recommend that print subscribers keep a list of these changes until the next quarterly update is received.

California—Marin County

Effective June 1, 2004 there is a $2.00 fee increase on all basic recording fees except a Deed. This increase is for the District Attorney Real Estate Fraud Prevention Trust.

Colorado—Boulder County

The mailing and courier address is: Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Recording Division; 1750 33rd Street #201; Boulder, CO 80301-2549.

Florida

Effective July 1, 2004 the Certified Copy fee will be $1.50 per document. This legislation, SB 2962 may be viewed at www.flsenate.gov.

Florida—Nassau County

The U.S. Postal Service Delivery address is: Nassau County Clerk of the Circuit Court; P.O. Box 456; Fernandina Beach, FL 32034. The new courier address is: 76347 Veterans Way; Tulee, FL 32094. The phone number is 904-548-4600 and the fax number is 904-548-4549.

Georgia—Newton County

Assignments are $5.00 for the first page and $2.00 for each additional page.

Illinois—Bond County

Effective June 1, 2004, all basic recording fees have increased by $3.00 to record the first four pages.

Illinois— Williamson County

Effective July 1, 2004 all basic recording fees will increase by $6.00 to record the first four pages.

Iowa

Effective July 1, 2004, all basic recording fees will be DECREASED by $4.00 due to the expiration of SF 453.The fee to record a one page document will be $7.00.

Kentucky—Laurel County

The U.S. Postal Delivery and Courier Service address is: Laurel County Clerk; 101 South Main; Room 203 Courthouse; London KY 40741.

Maryland—Prince George’s County

The county website is:

New York—Warren County

Warren County will increase their cover page fee effective July 1, 2004 to $5.00 from $3.00.

New Jersey—Burlington County

The phone number is 609-265-5122.

New Mexico—Santa Fe County

The Courier Service address is: Santa Fe County Clerk; 102 Grant Avenue; Santa Fe, NM 87501.

Pennsylvania—Washington County

All basic recording fees have been increased by $5.00 for a Parcel Identification Fee, effective January 1, 2004. Each additional parcel identified is $1.50 per parcel.

Virginia

The Technology Trust Fund fee will be increased from $3.00 to $5.00 effective July 1, 2004. This is a statewide increase of $2.00 to record the first ten pages of a document.

Virginia—New Kent County

Karen Butler is the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Virginia—Newport News County

Effective March 1, 2004 this county requires the Virginia Land Record cover sheet, at be used when submitting a document for recording. This is not counted as a page

Virginia—Chesterfield and Henrico County

Effective July 1, 2004, both counties will require a cover sheet be sent with all recordings. The cover sheet can be generated on the following website: The cover sheet is not counted as a page.

Other Information

This section notes current and upcoming changes in laws and recording requirements of which subscribers should also be aware.

New York—Bronx, Kings, New York, and Queens Counties

These offices record documents immediately if payment is made by money order, certified check or cash. Checks from title companies and agents of title companies are also accepted for immediate recording as long as the address line of the check includes wording indicating such affiliation with a title company. Otherwise, any document accompanied by an ordinary business check will not be recorded until the check has cleared the bank.

Issue 04-7June 28, 2004Real Estate Database Update / 

Important Notice to Subscribers: Other than referring to our publications in the performance of internal or client services, our agreement to provide you and/or your company with our publications is expressly conditioned upon your acceptance of the following terms, unless you have received a separate license for such use(s): (1) You agree not to copy or download information from the electronic versions of our publications per the terms of a written agreement that you and/or your company have signed, and (2) you agree not to use information from the print version of our publications for such purposes as maintenance of databases or incorporation into products that you and/or your company might control. If you are concerned whether your use of our publications might contravene these agreements, call our Client Services Division at 800-345-3822 for information about how to obtain the appropriate license.

Real Estate Database Update Newsletter is published as necessary by The Real Estate Guide Inc., P.O. Box 318, Clarksville, NY 12041. Real Estate Database Update and The Real Estate Recording Guide™ are copyrights of The Real Estate Guide Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced in any form, by microfilm, xerography, or otherwise, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, without the written permission of the copyright owner. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal or accounting advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.