North Dakota Code 47-33-05 – Notice requirements for existing transfer fee obligations
1. For a private transfer fee obligation imposed before August 1, 2011, the receiver of the fee shall record, before December 31, 2011, against the real property subject to the private transfer fee obligation a separate document in the county records in which the real property is located that meets all of the following requirements:
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 47-33-05
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
- 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: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Property: includes property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
a. The title of the document must be “Notice of Private Transfer Fee Obligation” in at least fourteen-point boldfaced type; b. The amount, if the fee is a flat amount, or the percentage of the sales price constituting the cost of the transfer fee, or the other basis by which the transfer fee is to be calculated; c. If the real property is residential property, actual dollar-cost examples of the transfer fee for a home priced at one hundred thousand dollars, two hundred fifty thousand dollars, and five hundred thousand dollars; d. The date or circumstances under which the private transfer fee obligation expires, if any; e. The purpose for which the funds from the private transfer fee obligation will be used; f. The name of the person to which funds are to be paid and specific contact information regarding where the funds are to be sent; g. The acknowledged signature of the payee; and
h. The legal description of the real property burdened by the private transfer fee obligation.
2. The person to which the transfer fee is to be paid may file an amendment to the notice of transfer fee containing new contact information, but the amendment must contain the recording information of the notice of transfer fee which it amends and the legal description of the property burdened by the private transfer fee obligation.
3. If the payee fails to comply fully with subsection 1, the grantor of any real property burdened by the private transfer fee obligation may proceed with the conveyance of any interest in the real property to any grantee and is deemed to have acted in good faith and is not subject to any obligations under the private transfer fee obligation. In this event, the real property is conveyed free and clear of the transfer fee and private transfer fee obligation.
4. If the payee fails to provide a written statement of the transfer fee payable within thirty days of the date of a written request for the same sent to the address shown in the notice of transfer fee, then the grantor, on recording of the affidavit required under subsection 5, may convey any interest in the real property to any grantee without payment of the transfer fee and is not subject to any further obligations under the private transfer fee obligation. In this event, the real property is conveyed free and clear of the transfer fee and private transfer fee obligation.
5. An affidavit stating the facts enumerated under subsection 6 must be recorded in the office of the county recorder in the county in which the real property is situated before or simultaneously with a conveyance under subsection 4 of real property unburdened by a private transfer fee obligation. An affidavit filed under this subsection must state that the affiant has actual knowledge of, and is competent to testify to, the facts in the affidavit and must include the legal description of the real property burdened by the private transfer fee obligation, the name of the person appearing by the record to be the owner of such real property at the time of the signing of the affidavit, a reference by recording information to the instrument of record containing the private transfer fee obligation, and an acknowledgment that the affiant is testifying under penalty of perjury.
6. When recorded, an affidavit as described in subsection 5 constitutes prima facie evidence that:
a. A request for the written statement of the transfer fee payable in order to obtain a release of the fee imposed by the private transfer fee obligation was sent to the address shown in the notification; and
b. The person listed on the notice of transfer fee failed to provide the written statement of the transfer fee payable within thirty days of the date of the notice sent to the address shown in the notification.