§ 47-18. Conveyances, contracts to convey, options and leases of land.
§ 47‑18. Conveyances,contracts to convey, options and leases of land.
(a) No (i) conveyanceof land, or (ii) contract to convey, or (iii) option to convey, or (iv) leaseof land for more than three years shall be valid to pass any property interestas against lien creditors or purchasers for a valuable consideration from thedonor, bargainer or lesser but from the time of registration thereof in thecounty where the land lies, or if the land is located in more than one county,then in each county where any portion of the land lies to be effective as tothe land in that county. Unless otherwise stated either on the registeredinstrument or on a separate registered instrument duly executed by the partywhose priority interest is adversely affected, (i) instruments registered inthe office of the register of deeds shall have priority based on the order ofregistration as determined by the time of registration, and (ii) if instrumentsare registered simultaneously, then the instruments shall be presumed to havepriority as determined by:
(1) The earliestdocument number set forth on the registered instrument.
(2) The sequential bookand page number set forth on the registered instrument if no document number isset forth on the registered instrument.
The presumption created by thissubsection is rebuttable.
(b) This section shallnot apply to contracts, leases or deeds executed prior to March 1, 1885, untilJanuary 1, 1886; and no purchase from any such donor, bargainor or lessor shallavail or pass title as against any unregistered deed executed prior to December1, 1885, when the person holding or claiming under such unregistered deed shallbe in actual possession and enjoyment of such land, either in person or by histenant, at the time of the execution of such second deed, or when the personclaiming under or taking such second deed had at the time of taking orpurchasing under such deed actual or constructive notice of such unregistereddeed, or the claim of the person holding or claiming thereunder. (Code, s. 1245; 1885, c. 147,s. 1; Rev., s. 980; C.S., s. 3309; 1959, c. 90; 1975, c. 507; 2003‑219,s. 2; 2005‑212, s. 2.)