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Attorney Michael Robinson performs the Livery Of Seisin or Twig and Turf ceremony

Livery of seisin is an archaic legal ceremony, once practiced in England and in other countries following English common law, to convey property. The common law in those jurisdictions once provided that a valid conveyance of a fee interest in land required the physical transfer by the transferor to the transferee, in the presence of witnesses, of a piece of the ground (often, in the literal sense of a hand-to-hand passing of an amount of soil), a twig, key, or other symbol.

Interviewer: Today we are talking with Michael Robinson from Robinson and Henry Law Practitioners, Michael welcome to the show, thanks for being with us.

Michael Robinson: Glad to be here.

Interviewer: We had done a previous segment we were talking about Deeds and the different types of Deeds, we went through the standard six but at the end we started talking about a very old method in which they used to transfer property and it was called Livery of seisin is that correct.

Michael Robinson: It sure it is and that's where the Deed actually comes from, is that action.

Interviewer: Real quick, what is Livery of season recap?

Michael Robinson: Because most people were illiterate in England at the time this thing developed, they would bring witnesses out to the property and witnesses would be able to witness the buyer giving money, the seller giving over the actual physical parts of the property namely Turf and Twig which is the two things that it is called the Turf and Twig ceremony.

Interviewer: Alright so for first time ever on IPTV we will do a reenactment here.

Michael Robinson: I think it is an excellent idea.

Interviewer: All right, so what we are going to do is, we are in old England and we are going to transfer property and of course we have to dress the part, now am I the buyer or the seller?

Michael Robinson: You are the buyer.

Interviewer: And you are selling me this land?

Michael Robinson: Yes, and we have come out here with two witnesses.

Interviewer: Okay.

Michael Robinson: Watch all this happening.

Interviewer: And how does this procedure go?

Michael Robinson: You are going to start by cutting out a piece of turf on the property.

Interviewer: All right, so we will just...

Michael Robinson: Then and you hold on to that turf.

Interviewer: On hold on to the turf, okay.

Michael Robinson: Now put money in the hole.

Interviewer: Alright I got some cash, how about a buck for this?

Michael Robinson: Buck is worth here, it is a couple of shillings back in old England.

Interviewer: Okay.

Michael Robinson: And then hand me the sod.

Interviewer: This piece?

Michael Robinson: Yes you do.

Interviewer: Okay.

Michael Robinson: And I take the twig and I take the sod and I say this following, "This turf and twig I give to thee, as free as Athelstan gave to me, and I hope a loving brother thou wilt be." and twiggle give with the twig.

Interviewer: Really.

Michael Robinson: Yes I do and then I put it in the sod and I hand it to you.

Interviewer: Thank you.

Michael Robinson: And then you take this sod and put it back in the hole.

Interviewer: All right.

Michael Robinson: And with that you just bought this wonderful property.

Interviewer: And I have been twiggled?

Michael Robinson: Yes you have.

Interviewer: Wow!

Michael Robinson: And the reason for that was so that the blind people could still buy and sell property even if they couldn't see what was going on. They knew that they were at least being getting the twig and they knew that they were getting the property.

Interviewer: Well that's a heck of a lot easier than the three hour closing today?

Michael Robinson: Yeah. In Pennsylvania, entire city of Pennsylvania was purchased exactly this way by William Penn.

Interviewer: Really?

Michael Robinson: Yes, and there is a statue of him in Delver actually Whiteshoe across the river from North Pennsylvania where he actually gave the this Turf and twig ceremony.

Interviewer: Last but not least, could this be recorded?

Michael Robinson : Yes and that's actually what was happening was at a later time when we started moving more toward recording of Deeds they would get the witnesses and they would get them to sign an affidavit saying that they had done this particular thing and they had witnessed that this happened. A witnessed an action, they witnessed a Deed occurring. You did a Deed or I did a Deed by giving it to you and that's actually where the word Deed comes from and all the other Deeds that we have today and most of the stuff if you think about it, it still exists today in modern real estate when you go to a closing there are other witnesses one of which is the notary public and almost always when you go to a closing at the end the buyer hands the keys to the seller..

Interviewer: Well I am going to twiggle my buyer at my next closing. Michael thanks so much for the information, I appreciate it.

Michael Robinson defines six forms of fee interest or estate in land transfers known as Deeds

Interviewer: Today we are talking with Michael Robinson from Robinson and Henry Law Practitioners. Michael welcome to the show.

Michael Robinson: Thanks, it's good to be here.

Interviewer: Today we are talking about Warranty Deeds, when you buy and sell property in Colorado and in most states you usually transfer that by a Deed. And I probably could have rattled off five of the six, I didn't know the sixth that we will get to it in just a second but tell me what types of Deeds there are?

Michael Robinson: Okay the most common one is the General Warranty Deed and that's the one at the, it is in our statuette as a matter of fact and that's one where you get Title Insurance and you are basic warranting that the title of the property is good.

Interviewer: And does the general give you the broadest protection?

Michael Robinson: Yes it does. And it is the one that, it is the most common one that's used is the one where the real Title insurance is bought. There is another kind called a Special Warranty Deed and it sounds like it is even better but actually it is just the opposite. It only warrants actions that occur during the time the seller owned the property, if there is something that existed before that and there is no coverage anyway down the line. So that is a lesser version of it.

Interviewer: Okay, how about number three?

Michael Robinson: See the quick claim deed where you simply transfer whatever rights you have to the other person. Lots of time, courts don't actually consider that as actual conveyance. We use that a lot though for estate planning where we do it for; we will Quick claim the house if it is only in one spouse's name to both of them in joint tenancy. It is a very, very standard and the next three I believe are all ones to have to do with the government. One is the Treasurer's deed for the sale, of a tax sale of people that buy tax liens. There is the personal representative's deed too.

Interviewer: Now that is the one that I didn't know. What is that?

Michael Robinson: Well when you die you end, and your estate begins and thee state needs to be probated and a personal representative is appointed. That person has the power to do all the actions for the estate which is now who actually owns the property because the decedent the dead person can't go to close in, cant do anything so it is a special kind of deed that's done for probate issues and then the last one is the Property Trustees Deed which is what happens in foreclosures.

Interviewer: Got you. Are there still some bizarre ways to transfer properties, or bizarre mechanisms still out there?

Michael Robinson: Well, there are some old ones and some of these oldie but goodies still kind of float around. One of which is I think is called the Livery of seisin. Livery is just like delivery and this was the oldest version in our legal system where you go out to a field with someone and you would actually give piece of grass and a piece of tree and then they would accept it. You would have witnesses seeing that and that was the real legal basis in England all the way up to 1900 and some really famous places have been transferred exactly that way.

Interviewer: Oh that is perfect that way. I mean I still work today. Why do all the paper work. Just have a piece of grass. Michael thanks. Great information. Very interesting.

Michael Robinson: It's been a pleasure meeting you.

Heather Heuer provides details about Certified Distressed Property Expert CDPE desigation

Interviewer: Today we are talking with Heather Heuer for REMAX Professionals and the topic is the 'Certified Distressed Property Expert' designation which is a mouthful. Welcome to the show.

Heather Heuer: Thanks, Dan Appreciate having me.

Interviewer: So recently you just obtained a designation as a certified distress property expert (CDPE). What is that exactly?

Heather Heuer: Well, a CDPE is someone that has taken the time to explore the real estate profession from a short sell perspective. It gives real estate agents a better understanding that the nuances in our current industry specific to the short sell process.

Interviewer: And ten years ago, this designation, probably wouldn't even existed.

Heather Heuer: No, of course not. And at this time 14,000 brokers nationwide currently hold this designation.

Interviewer: Okay and why did you think it was important again?

Heather Heuer: I think it is important to have a greater knowledge of the market place and this designation helps me have an understanding of what the banks need in order to complete a short sell process and help home owners that are facing a pre foreclosure situations.

Interviewer: All right. So that was the next question because people watching this are going to say, 'okay, what qualifies is a distressed property?

Heather Heuer: Well, distressed property is first of all, a home owner must be 31 days delinquent in their mortgage.

Interviewer: Okay.

Heather Heuer: Secondly, they must have some sort of financial hardship, and that could include a job loss, a medical emergency situation or possibly the loan was modified and they can no longer afford the payments.

Interviewer: Okay and this becomes termed a short sale?

Heather Heuer: Well. A short sale would mean that we are asking the bank to accept less money for the property than what they originally paid for.

Interviewer: Got it. Qualifications of a short sale. You said they have got to be what, passed to?

Heather Heuer: 31 days delinquent.

Interviewer: And what else?

Heather Heuer: And also they need to be have some sort of financial hardship, whether that be a job loss, a loan modifications, they couldn't afford the payment or possibly a medical situation.

Interviewer: Okay, and of course they could go out and hire any realtor obviously to represent them but there is an advantage to hire a realtor with a CDPE.

Heather Heuer: There is. A CDPE understands what the bank needs in order to complete a short sale package. We also have information on how to price the short sale throughout the listing history and the tools that are needed in order to let the bank know that. The homeowner really is in distress and they should consider letting the home owner complete a short sale situation.

Interviewer: All right. Do you use Metro list to market this?

Heather Heuer: Absolutely.

Interviewer: How?

Heather Heuer: Well, Metrolist, we use it for the short sale package. They need to have a listing history. They also need to have comparables for the markets since the bank doesn't really know where this home is, and what it is comparable to as far as actives under contracts and sold. I also use it to let other brokers know my CDPE designation in the broker remarks.

Interviewer: Okay.

Heather Heuer: And I put the short sale addendum up on the ML system for everyone to see.

Interviewer: Do you think it has got enough penetration inside the market, meaning both consumers and realtors understand what the designation is and how it has been official?

Heather Heuer: I don't think that they know all the way.

Interviewer: Okay.

Heather Heuer: And that is why I am here. I think it is important for other brokers to really explore the option. I would love to work with another broker that is a CDPE agent because I know, they know the process also.

Heather Heuer describes the new Find Prospect feature on Metrolist Prime Access

Interviewer: Today we are talking with Heather Heuer from ReMax Professionals and the topic is Prime Acess 'MetroList' a new feature they are unveiling. "How are you"?

Heather Heuer: I am great, thank you.

Interviewer: Thanks for being in here. So it is called find prospect, tell me how it works inside a Metrolist provides brokers with prospect that match their specific listing with the MLS.

Interviewer: Okay so for instance, walk me through this. I have got a listing in say Washington Park, I have just put it the MLS and there is a feature that can direct me to agents who are looking for my home?

Heather Heuer : Yes, you go into the Listing feature of your home and in the upper right hand corner there is a button that says 'Find prospects' and you click on that and a list drops down that lists all the brokers that have prospects that potentially match your listing.

Interviewer: Now how do I contact them?

Heather Heuer: You can contact them by phone.

Interviewer: Just start dialing?

Heather Heuer: That's right. The prospect feature provides the brokers name, their company name, their phone number. Then the prospect itself as well as some status info and the price range. It doesn't provide an e-mail address for the broker, but I think that is okay because in this type of market we need to be talking face to face with other brokers.

Interviewer: So it's Heather if got a house in Wash Park, I think your buyers going to be interested in?

Heather Heuer: That's right and I hopefully I am going to sign them up and get a contract going with you.

Interviewer: Alright, is this feature limited to only your listings or any listings?

Heather Heuer: It is available to any listings including IRES and Pikes Peak MLS

Interviewer: Okay. What information do you need to use this feature?

Heather Heuer: What information? Well you need to have a listing.

Interviewer: Just in there, in filled out and complete?

Heather Heuer : Yeah and you know even if you are working on the by side, If you have a house that you want to make an offer on, you can use this tool to look at that listing and see what competition your buyers have and what price range those buyers are in so that you can write a solid offer.

Interviewer: I would use it. Alright, how about benefits to the lister?

Heather Heuer: Well for the lister you get to show them immediately what buyers are available in the area, you can talk to them about the value of a pricing for their home. Let us say they want to be priced at 500 thousand and you pull up this tool and all the buyers in that neighborhood are looking in the 475 thousand dollar range, you need to have a discussion with your seller to make sure you price correctly.

Interviewer: Aren't we always having discussions with our sellers about pricing correctly?

Heather Heuer: Yes we are. But it is another tool to help us. It is going to back us up when we need to have that extra little push.

Interviewer: You need more Data and more ammunition when you go in for that conversation.

Heather Heuer: That's right.

Interviewer: Heather, terrific information, thanks so much. I am excited about the feature.

Heather Heuer: Thanks Dan.