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In Missouri, we're one of those "ten dollars and other valuable considerations" states. There's a recording fee, but it's not based on value. So there's no way from public records to determine what a person actually paid for a house, but you can see what their original mortgage amount was, which may or may not be meaningful.
Interesting...I've never heard of this either. Our warranty deeds (that show transfer of title) just address purchase price by saying "For value received".
It was probably a trade. Someone might have traded another piece of property, some gold or silver, a valuable automobile, anything really. Go back a century in some states and you see where land or houses were traded for cattle or horses or such.
I have a deed that says "for love and other valuable consideration". I think I agree that you are just reading the deed preamble which does not list the price but must show value received. Of course, I have heard about the woman who sold her hubbies corvette for $10 when she found him cheating - hopefully the title was in his or her name!!
Most of the replies have been right on the money: many deeds simply do not show the purchase price of the property. In Michigan, however, the purchase price either needs to be shown on the deed or revealed in a separate document provided to the recording office. Transfer taxes are levied based upon the actual purchase price.
Of course, there are occasions when a Deed indicating $1, $10 or any other low amount could be accurate. A property could be in terrible condition...or it could even have lots of back taxes.
In my area, deeds almost all say for $10 (or $100) and other consideration. And, although the price is not listed, we know the sales price from the doc stamps $1,036 doc stamps in my area would mean a sales price of $148,000.
Yeah, also, dying small towns that are in the process of becoming ghost towns. Housing values are maybe, $5000, $10,000, $15,000. Most of the houses vacant or on the market, and no buyers for them. Many of the sellers would probably be happy to get $10 for their property, just so they could get the hell out.
Divorce also. I almost bought a house that "sold" through a divorce decades ago. She paid all of $1 for it.
In some states, the recording fee isn't based on the amount of the house alone. There's state fees and taxes, county fees and taxes, and town/city/village fees and taxes. It's not always so cut and dry as $1 per $1000.
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