North Carolina — Estates, Deeds & Conveyances — North Carolina Real Estate — State Law Practice Test

This North Carolina Real Estate — State Law North Carolina — Estates, Deeds & Conveyances practice set has 14 practice questions based on the official exam materials, each with an instant explanation.

Sample questions

Three questions from the North Carolina — Estates, Deeds & Conveyances bank with the correct answer and an explanation. The practice quiz above draws 14 questions at random from the same bank.

1. Buyer A receives a deed from the owner but never records it. The owner later sells the SAME land to Buyer B, who KNOWS about A's earlier unrecorded deed. Under North Carolina's Connor Act (G.S. §47-18), who prevails if Buyer B records first?

   • Buyer B — in NC the first to record prevails even with notice of a prior unrecorded deed — Correct answer
   • Buyer A — A's deed came first in time, and time of delivery controls regardless of recording
   • Buyer A — because B's actual notice of A's deed defeats B even though B recorded first
   • The land is split equally between A and B because both have valid claims

   Explanation: North Carolina is a PURE-RACE recording state under the Connor Act: as between purchasers for value, the FIRST to record wins — even if the later purchaser had actual notice of the prior unrecorded deed. NC does NOT inquire into notice or good faith (that is a notice/race-notice rule used by other states). So B, having recorded first, defeats A despite B's knowledge. Connor Act（康纳法/纯竞赛登记）: pure-race recording — first to record prevails regardless of notice. (G.S. §47-18)

   Handbook: North Carolina Estates, Deeds & Conveyances — Connor Act pure-race recording (G.S. §47-18)

2. How is North Carolina's recording system under the Connor Act (G.S. §47-18) best characterized?

   • A pure-race statute — first to record prevails, notice is irrelevant — Correct answer
   • A notice statute — the last good-faith purchaser without notice prevails
   • A race-notice statute — first to record AND without notice prevails
   • There is no recording statute in NC; priority is purely by date of the deed

   Explanation: The Connor Act makes NC a PURE-RACE jurisdiction: priority is decided solely by who records first, with no requirement that the recording party be a good-faith purchaser without notice. This distinguishes NC from 'notice' states (the last bona-fide purchaser without notice wins) and 'race-notice' states (first to record AND without notice wins). Race statute（竞赛型登记法）: priority turns only on the race to record, not on notice. (G.S. §47-18)

   Handbook: North Carolina Estates, Deeds & Conveyances — pure-race vs notice/race-notice (Connor Act, G.S. §47-18)

3. Under North Carolina's Connor Act (G.S. §47-18), which leases must be recorded to be valid against later purchasers and creditors for value?

   • Leases for a term of more than 3 years — Correct answer
   • All leases, regardless of term
   • Only leases for a term of more than 10 years
   • No leases ever need to be recorded in North Carolina

   Explanation: The Connor Act requires recording not only of deeds but also of LEASES with a term of MORE THAN 3 YEARS (from the making of the lease) to be valid against subsequent purchasers for value and lien creditors. A lease of 3 years or less need not be recorded for that protection. Recording（登记）: entering the instrument in the county register of deeds to give it priority under the race statute. (G.S. §47-18)

   Handbook: North Carolina Estates, Deeds & Conveyances — leases over 3 years must be recorded (Connor Act, G.S. §47-18)