Hawaii’s Land Court
July 16th, 2008 categories: Rants & Riffs
In 1903, Hawaii adopted an alternative land recordation system, which is referred to as the Hawaii Torrens Land system-or more commonly referred to as “land Court”. Believe it or not, it was modeled after a system for registering ships. “Hypothetically” the government provides a guarantee for the title to a home, condo or piece of land. The key word in the last sentence is “hypothetically”, please don’t believe that the government will protect your title. As with all real property purchases, be sure to obtain title insurance (whether or not the property is in land court). I am not going to go into all of the nuances and challenges that one can face with property registered at the land Court, however, my purpose is to warn you to be sure to thoroughly investigate any property you may be purchasing which is registered in the land Court. The Land Court is especially relevant to Honolulu because Oahu has more land court registered land than any other island in Hawaii. I would like to focus on one aspect of the land Court that could impact parties making loans or obtaining judgments secured by Hawaii property.
In most other parts of the United States, in order to secure a mortgage or other type of lien against a property, one merely needs to go to the county recorder and record the appropriate document at the county seat. Once this is done, the lien becomes a public record and encumbers the property. If a property is registered in the land court and a lien is not properly registered with the court, then the person who holds the lien will not have a security interest in the property. Since Hawaii has two methods available for recording interests in property (regular system and land Court), theoretically, a party who was unaware of land Court could lend a borrower money, which is supposed to be secured to a piece of property, and at the end of the day not have an ability to get at the property.
When purchasing property in Honolulu it is a good idea to pay special attention to the preliminary title report and determine if the property is registered in the land court. If it is, then you may want to have an attorney review the title to give you an opinion concerning potential issues.
; ?>/images/MatoChiclet.gif)
My grandmother died in 1999. Her house has been detiorating since then. Today the home is a haven to alcoholics, drug abusers, and recently a host to a horrific death of a two year old by the “family pet” mixed breed dog.
The occupants are relatives whom have not kept up with the property taxes yet continue to deprive my brothers and sisters the right to share the property.
I want to pay the back taxes however I also want to take over the property. In other words I want clear title. I want to refurbish and rebuild the house to bring up the value of the home. Is there anything I can do to gain title to the home? Thank-you.
Email me, I’ll give you my thoughts, no charge.
Hi, I read your comment regarding Katherine Yamamoto and thought you might help me with some advice. We were in Escrow tryng to buy a house for 8 months. Finally the bank cancelled Escrow because they said they had been trying to get a clear title through Land Court, but Land Court was not being cooperative. Meanwhile, Land Court says it is the Banks fault. We are still interested in the home as it meets our needs, but to this day it is still sitting empty and the Bank still has not been able to resolve the issue. Any suggestions? Thanks Michelle