Charlene,
I think the question of whether the deed is usually handed over varies on type of property, lien, quit claims, and so forth. I believe a new deed is almost always drawn up.

In the case of an organization, you don't want to be held liable for something that happens after your organization sold the property such as environmental contamination, zoning irregularities, real estate fraud, property description problems, etc. Property may be combined with and separated from adjoining property time and time again over the years. You wouldn't think property lines would vary that much but you would be stunned at what can happen over the decades and centuries especially if there were problem from the beginning.

You want to be able to show what was owned by the organization, what was sold(description) as well as any right of way access, easements, or environmental records that might be associated with the property at the time it was owned and sold. It gets even more complicated when you factor in buildings, lead paint, asbestos abatement, and other issues regarding older structures. It could also be there was a problem with the property while it was owned by an organization but no one was aware of it. This could include environmental containments leaching from some neighboring property but the problem occurred on an unused section owned by your organization. I recall a case where a developer was trying to build new lofts in downtown Kansas City but part of the property was contaminated with benzene from a small coal fired power plant that had operated nearby 125 years earlier.

Yes, most of these records can usually be found at a county courthouse. It costs some money to hire a title company or lawyer to do all the research should something come up many years and owners later. If the quantity of these records is small it might be worth keeping them to chase away nuisance issues that may come up long after an organization has sold property.

You could classify them as historical. You could establish a process that anything classified as historical might have value but at some point it no longer has that value and can be dispositioned. For example, a property with a building on it might have records that you have kept for 50 years already. The records may be of historical interest but the risk of problem has likely diminished significantly. Keep in mind asbestos was used as a building material in structures into the 1970s.

Rob Seibolt, CRM
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Manager-Records and Library Services
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