Word of the Day – Learning Real Estate One Word or Phrase at a Time…
Actual Notice
Express information or fact; that which is known; actual knowledge.
Constructive notice, on the other hand, is knowledge that is implied by law—that which the law charges one with knowing.
A person having either actual or constructive notice of a third party’s prior rights to a property normally takes the property subject to that third party’s rights.
One cannot claim the benefits of the recording law if taking title to property with actual notice of a previously executed but unrecorded instrument. There is also a type of notice called inquiry notice, where circumstances, appearances, or rumors are such that one has a duty to inquire further in order to determine whether property ownership exists with a person other than the one claiming that ownership. (See constructive notice, inquiry notice, legal notice, notice, recording.)
