Expert: Jessica Bryan - 4/5/2005

Question
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
can't seem to get a rational answer to this question; why is it that real estate transactions are routinely listed in papers for public perusal?..why is this essentially private barter between 2 parties, anyone's business, or different than the buying/selling of a car, for instance?
Answer -
Hi Joe;
You ask a good question! It seems strange that when you buy a car it is not public information but buying a home is.   Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases in a person's life. The government agencies to protect consumers and the laws regarding consumer protection require full disclosure and along with this they protect the consumer by giving as much information as possible. By announcing price and transfer of property others can stay informed and keep an eye on the ever-changing market.  More importantly, there are liens--such as creditor and tax liens on properties. Public announcement is necessary so that the lenders, and government fulfill their obligations in public announcement.  It is a complicated process but a necessary one so that nobody gets "burned". (It's a matter of informing and keeping informed.) You know how there have historically been big property disputes--rightful heirs, etc?  Claims to property can cause major problems so the government devised a method to solve that by recording deeds.  Once a deed is officially recorded it becomes part of the public record--that's just the way the government sets things up since it is a public agency.  We can't have secrets (supposedly) in a public office.

I know that this doesn't completely answer your question but often these practices don't have great explainations. I do know that there is more and more emphasis on consumer education and information especially with home prices soaring.  

I hope that this answer helps.

Sincerely,
Jessica Bryan
Manging Broker
House to Home Realty Services...maybe that all made sense in the early days, but, in my mind, provides no basis as to why if i sell my house to john doe for 232,500, the whole community needs to read it in the paper; it's nothing less than a total privacy invasion, with little or no justification...but thanks for attempting to explain--i know you didn't make the law..

Answer
Ahhhh...invasion of privacy??? Don't get me started!  We could talk all day about how the government invades (or has allowed others to invade) our privacy everywhere.  This goes right along with old laws on the books that make absolutely no sense today.  

Jessica Bryan