USA – IOWA Law and Practice Contributed by: David M. Erickson, Christopher S. Talcott, Amy S. Montgomery and Shannon M.H. Hasse, Dentons Davis Brown PC
ing title to real estate will only be recorded by the local county recorder’s office if accompanied by a declaration of value setting forth the con - sideration paid for the real estate, together with a groundwater hazard statement setting forth certain known hazards related to the property or a statement on the deed explicitly stating that there are no groundwater hazards. The matters covered by a groundwater hazard statement are: • whether any known private burial site is situ - ated on the property; • whether any known wells are situated on the property; • whether any known disposal site for solid waste which has been deemed to be poten - tially hazardous by the department of natural resources exists on the property; • whether any known underground storage tank subsection exists on the property; • whether any known hazardous waste exists on the property; and • whether any known private sewage disposal system exists on the property. The following language must be included on a deed when no groundwater hazard statement is required: “There is no known private burial site, well, solid waste disposal site, underground stor - age tank, hazardous waste, or private sewage disposal system on the property as described in Iowa Code section 558.69, and therefore the transaction is exempt from the requirement to submit a groundwater hazard statement.” Pursuant to Iowa’s marketable title statute, additional instruments may serve as muniments of title. For example, a properly admitted last will and testament of a decedent who was the vested titleholder of real estate may serve as a muniment of title. Additionally, a properly drafted divorce decree may serve as a muniment of title.
The sale of title insurance is prohibited in Iowa. Thus, although out-of-state title insurance com - panies may write title insurance policies on Iowa land, and the State of Iowa offers the equivalent of a title insurance policy through its Iowa Title Guaranty division, most Iowa real estate trans - actions involve the issuance of an attorney’s title opinion based on examination of an abstract of title. Additionally, transactions are typically closed through an attorney’s office or an escrow company, and not a title insurance company. Nearly all documents must be notarised to be recordable in Iowa. The Iowa Uniform Law on Notarial Acts allows electronic notarisation of recordable documents. 2.4 Real Estate Due Diligence The nature and manner of due diligence per - formed by buyers of real estate is largely depend - ent on the nature of the transaction. In residential transactions, subject to certain exceptions, sell - ers must disclose defects related to the property as mandated by the Iowa Code. The disclosure statement must be delivered prior to making or accepting a written offer for the transfer of the real property, and must include information relat - ing to the condition and important characteris - tics of the property and structures located on the property, including significant defects in the structural integrity of the improvements. Certified Inspectors Generally, properties that include a private sew - age disposal system (ie, a septic system) must be inspected by a certified inspector. A copy of the certified inspector’s report ( “time of transfer inspection” ) must accompany any deed convey - ing title to property that includes a septic sys - tem. The county recorder’s office will not record a deed upon the books that is not accompanied by the required time of transfer inspection.
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