Property Transfers

Crow Wing County maintains up-to-date records on each parcel of land in the County to include legal description and current tax payer. Changes are made from Real Estate documents involving transfers, sales, parcel splits, subdivisions, plats and court judgments.

We examine and sign off on documents presented for compliance with Minnesota Statutes that require payment of various taxes before documents related to real estate can be recorded, or manufactured home documents are issued.

• Collection of Mortgage Registration Tax and State Deed Tax
• Review documents conveying parcels of property for completeness
• Collect delinquent tax on parcels being conveyed
• Collect current-year taxes on any subdivision of property prior to conveyance
• Update tax roll records according to conveyance for fee owner and tax payer
• Review all subdivision plats in accordance with MN Statute Chapter 505.
• Certificate of Real Estate Value (CRV)

What is a legal description?

Parcels each contain a legal description which is a recorded description of where the property is legally located. Parcels can be either platted or un-platted.

A plat is a recorded survey by which parcel boundaries are identified initially by the plat name and by further definition of one of the following: a lot/block combination, tract, unit number, outlot, park, or some form of right of way. When a plat arrives at the county for recording, an underlying parcel that is identified on the plat may be subdivided into many parcels of land. Each new parcel created will be given the name of the plat and a legal description of the portion of the plat by which it is identified. All property taxes, current and delinquent, must be paid on the underlying parcel(s) that are either entirely or partially included in the plat. A certification on the plat requres the signatures from the county auditor-treasurer that taxes have been paid in full.

Un-platted parcels are identified by the section, township and range in which they are located. Additionally, parcels are defined by quarter-quarters or Government lots. Descriptions of these types can be quite lengthy as added language can define parcels to smaller areas within quarter-quarter regions. In many instances there is added language to further define the property by feet, links, chains and other types of surveying tools. These forms of legal descriptions are labeled as metes and bounds descriptions.

Once an instrument is received by the county for recording, the legal description is assigned to a parcel and is carried on all assessment and tax rolls. It is also used on the many notices sent to owners and taxpayers throughout the year.