Land contract enforceable despite failure to record

Dale Emch

Contributor

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In Ohio, state law imposes strict requirements on those who buy or sell property by using a land contract.

This week in my Legal Briefs column in the Toledo Blade, a reader asked whether his failure to record a land contract within 20 days as required by law would stop him from enforcing the contract.

Despite the requirement, various state courts have decided that failing to record the contract will not bar enforcement of the agreement as it pertains to the two parties to the contract. Recording is designed to protect potential creditors and subsequent purchasers, so it shouldn't be available as a weapon for a defaulting buyer to avoid his obligations under the contract.