Mortgage, deed of trust or land contract: your state's answer

1 · Learn the move · Comparison matrix

The three instruments that carry seller financing on land are not interchangeable and they are not a style choice. Which one is usual, how a default is enforced under each, and what the buyer must be told before signing all turn on state law and sometimes county practice. The model has absorbed a great many confident answers to this question, each for a state it would be guessing at, and that answer is the one you must not take. The useful job is narrower: lay the three side by side, fill each cell only from what your attorney or the source you pasted actually says, and let every empty cell become a question for counsel. The gate sits over all of it. A seller-financed note to an individual buyer can be a lending-licence matter, so the matrix is a brief for counsel to review, never a finding that any instrument is permitted or compliant.

Build a matrix with columns MORTGAGE | DEED OF TRUST | LAND CONTRACT and one row each for: who holds title until payoff, how default is enforced, what the buyer must be told, what gets recorded. Fill cells only from the attorney memo below, citing its paragraph. Silent cells read [NEEDS: counsel]. Do not recommend one, and do not tell me any of them is compliant. [memo]