The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-02-24
Discussion of the Torrens Sys-
TEN Continued by War.
rem Gregory.
NORTH SIDE IMPROVEMENTS
Wleland Property Sold-$65,ooo Mar
ket Street Sale-Building
and Loan Notes.


any means the trade is encouraoipo
There has been noticeable increase in
the number of recorded transfers. which
include several important sales of business
property.
During the past week the sale of tho
Wieland property on the west side Of
Powell street, between Ellis and Eddy
was effected by Baldwin & Hammond to
Mrs Z. +. Clarke, at the price of S1O0 600
The lot has a frontage of Al feet and a
depth OF s712 feet, with an up in the rear
Inc improvements consist OF a four-story
frame building under lease for $500 ner
month.
Another sale OF note was lot 25x9o feet
on the southeast line of Market street. 900
feet southwest of Sixth, with two-storv
orlck. improvements, for 500, 600. The
transfer was made through the Burnhan
q Marsh Company. The total number of
deeds recorded during four DAYS of the
past week was 104.
Money IS abundant for loaning purposes
at reasonable rates on good real estate Sc
curly, ana the records indicate consider
able activity In this line. The largest real
estate loans made the past week were as
follows: By the Mutual Savings Bank
$4,000 10 VIM. Mccormick at 7 per cent
per annum, on the southwest corner of
anu DidOy streets, IOXlZ4: DV the
hlpernla Savings and Loan Society, SAL -
ouz 10 David Hewes for one year at 61% per
cent, on the northeast corner of Market
and Sixth streets, 53x90; and $4,000 to the
Langa investment Company for one year
at ga per cent, on the northeast corner of
MInna and Sixth streets, 75x25.
The principal releases granted were:
BY James Finlayson SIG 900 TO Christopher
Nelson on property on the southeast line
OF Mission, 402 :6 southwest OF Fifth street,
eOx16O; by the Mutual Savings Bank S12,-
GOO to Frederick and Mary Ryer on prop
erty on the south line OF O'Farrell, 112 IS
east OF Powell, 25X137 IS; and by a. L. TAFT
10000 to w. Z. Allen on blocks s. 80 and
S6 in the Excelsior Homestead Association.
Building statistics make fair showing
and the number of idle premises will not
be found exceptionally large, when the
number OF buildings which do not afford
modern accommodations are lett out of the
estimate.
THE ToRRENs LAND TRANSFER SYSTEM.
Continuing the discussion upon the Tor
rens land transfer system, WarrensGregory
writes:
Editor Call note with pleasure the interest
displayed by your correspondents IN reference
10 me Iorrens system OF land transfer. 1t is
useless 10 expect any adoption OF this system
In California, or It's successful operation after
It's adoption, until its every phase has been DIS
Cussed IN The public press and its merits appre-
cIaJed by an intelligent public opinion. ANY
legislation relating 10 the rights OF property in
land strikes deeply at the interests OF every
member OF the community, and it is conceded
that the security which Will in still public con-
ndence is the quality above all others which
every system OF land transfer must possess.
But IN examining any proposed new system il
IS well also 10 note the deficiencies of the pres
ent recording acts, and to ask whether they
give the necessary stability Of title which may
atone Tor the expense ard delay incident to
transfer under them
Some OF the causes of uncertainty in the pres
ent system may be briefly stated thus:
l. The record gives no information as to the
possession. If. as a matter of fact, the land
has been held adversely to the grantor by some
one Tor the period OF i've years the deed is
worthless.
1t might be said that since the passage of the
present constitution the payment of taxes is a
necessary link in claiming adverse possession
and that this is matter of record but these
records 90 not show who paid the taxes and
therefore cannot give any notice as 10 that fact
There are many instances OF everyday occur
renee in which person who has paid money
upon the faith of the record title has received
no consideration for 1t on account OF the pos
sessory right being IN a stranger
2. The record can never show that the deed
has been delivered. 1t is true thatthe delivery
TO the Recorder constitutes prima facie deliv-
cry, but it is not conclusive and may De repudi-
ated by proof
There is a class of cases now becoming very
common in which il seems TO me this quest ion
will become of grave import. 1t is now q COM
mon practice Tor a person, say a husband, to
make out deed to his land in favor of his
wife, but II is not placed OF record until after
his death. Ii this deed was as matter of fact
delivered TO the grantee by the grantor it is
valid, If not, it is invalid, unless it complies
with the forms of will. In other words the
validity OF a title which grantee would take
rests upon oral proof as to whether or not there
has been delivery during the lifetime OF the
grantor. This is oftentimes very difficult to
obtain, and the evidence can never be very
satisfactory because no record has been made
OF il.
3. The present system leaves many questions
open as TO the identity of the parties. For ex-
- 90 arRY&a< Don
forbidding a husband to transfer community
property by way of gift, without the consent OF
his wife, 1t becomes in every instance impor-
tant to know whether or not the grantor be
married. There is frequently no record made
OF this, and one must therefore rest upon tn
recital in the deed. If there was no recital lei
the instrument itself, 1t is necessary to get evn
dence without the record, matter of much
time and trouble.
(. The expense OF preparing abstracts of
title grows greater with each additional
transaction, for with every sale there is added
new link in the chain OF title which must be
passed upon. These titles must, except in q
few special cases, be traced to the source.
Although the Legislature OF this State has,
upon several occasions, attempted to pass a
statute which would establish q starting point
beyond which the seareher need not go, it has
practically produced no effect.
Any such wholesale attempt to rectify exiSt-
ing defects is always subject TO tie constitution
al objection that owners may not be deprived
of their property without due process OF law.
In practice, therefore, these curative acts have
been of little use, for the conveyancer always
feels IL necessary TO go back OF them in order
10 ascertain whether there are outstanding
rights. This constitutional objection does not
exist to the Torrens act as previously en-
deavored to make clear.
The problem of how best to preserve these
existing records is a serious one. The mass OF
testimony which is being accumulated through
out the country is enormous. since the de-
struction of the Hall OF Records in Chicago in
1871 there have been accumulated in the Re
corder's office of Cook County more than 400
large volumes of deeds and mortgages. In
New York City the accumulation has been so
great that searches OF titles can no longer be
carried on by private partie but must be done
by private abstract companies who rely upon
indices prepared by themselves. In san FRAN
cisco there are 1877 books OF deeds OF 300
pages each, 1l40 books OF mortgages ana
corresponding number in each OF the other
subdivisions OF cOnyeyances authorized TO De
recorded These volumes are increasing at the
rate of three per day, which ratio must grow
greater as the City becomes more popuious anu
real estate transactions more numerous .
There is now an earnest effort TO m axe al
these recorders offices fireproof, but absolute
safety in that regard is almost impossible
since we have become so accustomed 10 rel"
upon the record the original document is
rarely preserved. AS soon as ii is recorded We
leel that we can always get cernneo copy,
ana hence are careless of the necessity OF the
preservation OF The original. BY the deStruc-