Section 291-E. Exceptions, reservations and recitals referring to unrecorded conveyances and contracts for sale of real property  


Latest version.
  • 1. This section
      applies to any language, contained in a conveyance of real  property  in
      this  state, which (a) excepts or reserves a part or any or all parts of
      the described premises which have  been  or  may  have  been  previously
      conveyed,  or  previously  contracted  to  be  sold or exchanged, by the
      grantor or by a previous owner, or  (b)  otherwise  indicates  that  the
      premises  or  some  part  or  parts  thereof  have been or may have been
      previously conveyed or that  a  contract  has  been  or  may  have  been
      previously  made  for  the sale or exchange of all or some part or parts
      thereof, or (c) indicates that only such part of the premises  described
      is  intended to be conveyed as the grantor, or a previous owner, has not
      previously  conveyed  or  has  not  previously  contracted  to  sell  or
      exchange,  and, in any of the cases described in this subdivision, fails
      to identify the premises previously conveyed or contracted to be sold or
      exchanged in any other manner than by indicating that  a  conveyance  or
      contract  has previously been made or indicating the fact or possibility
      that one or more conveyances or contracts have been  or  may  have  been
      previously made.
        2.  An  exception, reservation or recital described in subdivision one
      of this section is (a) void as against a subsequent  purchaser  in  good
      faith  and  for a valuable consideration, who has no other notice of the
      identity of the premises to which it refers, and (b) ineffective to give
      notice to such  subsequent  purchaser  of  the  previous  conveyance  or
      contract  so  referred  to  or  create  any duty of inquiry with respect
      thereto, unless, in either case, such previous conveyance or contract is
      sufficient to identify the premises to which the exception,  reservation
      or recital refers and is recorded as provided in this article before the
      recording  of  the instrument by which the subsequent purchaser acquires
      his estate or interest.
        3. For the purposes of this section,
        (a) "Purchaser"  includes  a  person  who  purchases  or  acquires  by
      exchange  or  contracts  to  purchase  or  acquire  by exchange the same
      premises or any portion  thereof  or  estate  or  interest  therein,  or
      acquires by assignment the rent to accrue from tenancies or subtenancies
      thereof in existence at the time of the assignment.
        (b) Contract for sale includes an option to purchase or lease.
        (c)  A  lease,  or a contract or option, is recorded when a memorandum
      thereof is recorded as provided in section two hundred  ninety-one-c  or
      section two hundred ninety-four of this chapter.
        (d)  The  recording  of  a  contract or option, or memorandum thereof,
      pursuant  to  section  two  hundred  ninety-four  of  this  chapter,  is
      effective  up  to  and  including  the thirtieth day after the day fixed
      therein for the conveyance of title, or the thirtieth day after the last
      day fixed therein for the exercise of the option, provided,  that  if  a
      written  declaration  of the exercise of the option has been recorded as
      provided in subdivision seven of section two  hundred  ninety-four,  the
      recording  of the option is effective to and including the thirtieth day
      after the last day fixed  pursuant  to  the  option  agreement  for  the
      conveyance  of  title or the execution and delivery of the lease, as the
      case may be. An agreement extending  the  time  for  the  conveyance  of
      title, acknowledged or proved, and certified, in the manner to entitle a
      conveyance  to  be recorded, may be recorded, and the recording shall be
      effective up to and including the thirtieth day after the day  fixed  by
      such agreement for the conveyance of title.
        4.  This  section  shall  not  impair  the  effect  of  an  exception,
      reservation or recital to limit any  warranty  of  the  grantor  in  the
      conveyance in which it is contained.
    
        5.  This  section  shall  apply  where  the  instrument  by  which the
      subsequent purchaser acquires his estate or interest is executed  on  or
      after  September  first,  nineteen  hundred sixty, except that where the
      conveyance containing an exception, reservation or recital described  in
      subdivision  one  of  this  section was executed before September first,
      nineteen  hundred  sixty,  this  section  shall  apply  only  where  the
      instrument  by  which  the  subsequent  purchaser acquires his estate or
      interest is executed on  or  after  September  first,  nineteen  hundred
      sixty-one.