Montana Code 70-17-212. Transfer fee covenants — void
70-17-212. Transfer fee covenants — void. (1) A transfer fee covenant or any lien that is recorded or filed to enforce a transfer fee under a transfer fee covenant does not run with the title to real property and is not binding upon or enforceable at law or in equity against any subsequent owner, purchaser, or mortgagee of any interest in the real property as a covenant, an equitable servitude, or otherwise.
Terms Used In Montana Code 70-17-212
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
(2)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(a)”Transfer” has the meaning provided in 70-1-501.
(b)”Transfer fee” means a fee or charge payable upon the transfer of legal or equitable title to an interest in real property regardless of whether the fee or charge is a fixed amount or is determined as a percentage of the value of the real property, the purchase price, or other consideration given for the transfer. For purposes of this section, a transfer fee does not include the following:
(i)consideration payable by the transferee to the transferor for the interest in real property being transferred, including any subsequent additional consideration for the property payable by the transferee based upon any subsequent appreciation, development, or sale of the property, if the additional consideration is payable on a one-time basis only and the obligation to make the payment does not bind the original transferee’s successors in interest to the property;
(ii)a commission payable to a licensed real estate salesperson or broker for the transfer of real property pursuant to an agreement between the broker and the transferor or the transferee, including any subsequent additional commission for the transfer payable by the transferor or the transferee based upon any subsequent appreciation, development, or sale of the property;
(iii)interest, charges, fees, or other amounts payable by a borrower to a lender pursuant to a loan secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, trust indenture, or other security interest against real property, including but not limited to a fee payable to the lender for consenting to an assumption of the loan or a transfer of the real property subject to the mortgage or other security interest, fees, or charges payable to the lender;
(iv)consideration payable by a buyer under a contract for deed as a condition of allowing a buyer to acquire equitable title to the real property described in the contract for deed;
(v)any fee, charge, assessment, dues, contribution, or other amount payable to:
(A)an association of unit owners as defined in 70-23-102 or any association of homeowners, mobile home owners, townhouse owners, or other property owners created pursuant to a recorded declaration that has the power to require owners to pay the costs and expenses incurred in the performance of the association’s obligations; or
(B)a nonprofit corporation as provided in Title 35, chapter 2, that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 528 of the Internal Revenue Code.
(c)”Transfer fee covenant” means a covenant or declaration recorded or filed against the title to real property that requires the payment of a transfer fee to the declarant or other person specified in the covenant or declaration or to the declarant’s or other person’s successors or assigns upon each subsequent transfer of a legal or equitable interest in the real property.
(3)This section does not apply to any easement granted pursuant to Title 77.