Montana Code 76-3-303. Contract for deed permitted if buyer protected
76-3-303. Contract for deed permitted if buyer protected. Notwithstanding the provisions of 76-3-301, after the preliminary plat of a subdivision has been approved or conditionally approved, the subdivider may enter into contracts to sell lots in the proposed subdivision if all of the following conditions are met:
Terms Used In Montana Code 76-3-303
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
- Final plat: means the final drawing of the subdivision and dedication required by this chapter to be prepared for filing for record with the county clerk and recorder and containing all elements and requirements set forth in this chapter and in regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter. See Montana Code 76-3-103
- Plat: means a graphical representation of a subdivision showing the division of land into lots, parcels, blocks, streets, alleys, and other divisions and dedications. See Montana Code 76-3-103
- Preliminary plat: means a neat and scaled drawing of a proposed subdivision showing the layout of streets, alleys, lots, blocks, and other elements of a subdivision that furnish a basis for review by a governing body. See Montana Code 76-3-103
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Subdivider: means a person who causes land to be subdivided or who proposes a subdivision of land. See Montana Code 76-3-103
- Subdivision: means a division of land or land so divided that it creates one or more parcels containing less than 160 acres that cannot be described as a one-quarter aliquot part of a United States government section, exclusive of public roadways, in order that the title to the parcels may be sold or otherwise transferred and includes any resubdivision and a condominium. See Montana Code 76-3-103
(1)under the terms of the contracts, the purchasers of lots in the proposed subdivision make any payments to an escrow agent, which must be a bank or savings and loan association chartered to do business in the state of Montana;
(2)under the terms of the contracts and the escrow agreement, the payments made by purchasers of lots in the proposed subdivision may not be distributed by the escrow agent to the subdivider until the final plat of the subdivision is filed with the county clerk and recorder;
(3)the contracts and the escrow agreement provide that if the final plat of the proposed subdivision is not filed with the county clerk and recorder within 2 years of the preliminary plat approval, the escrow agent shall immediately refund to each purchaser any payments the purchaser has made under the contract;
(4)the county treasurer has certified that no real property taxes assessed and levied on the land to be divided are delinquent; and
(5)the contracts contain the following language conspicuously set out: “The real property that is the subject of this contract has not been finally platted, and until a final plat identifying the property has been filed with the county clerk and recorder, title to the property may not be transferred in any manner.”