Michigan Forms

Berrien County Land Contract Form

Berrien County Land Contract Form

Berrien County Land Contract Form

Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.

Document Last Validated 7/3/2025
Berrien County Land Contract Guidelines

Berrien County Land Contract Guidelines

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.

Document Last Validated 6/12/2025
Berrien County Completed Example of the Land Contract Document

Berrien County Completed Example of the Land Contract Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.

Document Last Validated 7/23/2025

All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees

Immediate Download • Secure Checkout

Important: Your property must be located in Berrien County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

Where to Record Your Documents

Berrien County Register of Deeds
Address:
701 Main St
St. Joseph, Michigan 49085

Hours: 8:30 to 5:00 M-F

Phone: (269) 983-7111 Ext. 8562

Recording Tips for Berrien County:
  • Bring your driver's license or state-issued photo ID
  • Request a receipt showing your recording numbers
  • Recording early in the week helps ensure same-week processing

Cities and Jurisdictions in Berrien County

Properties in any of these areas use Berrien County forms:

  • Baroda
  • Benton Harbor
  • Berrien Center
  • Berrien Springs
  • Bridgman
  • Buchanan
  • Coloma
  • Eau Claire
  • Galien
  • Hagar Shores
  • Harbert
  • Lakeside
  • New Buffalo
  • New Troy
  • Niles
  • Riverside
  • Saint Joseph
  • Sawyer
  • Sodus
  • Stevensville
  • Three Oaks
  • Union Pier
  • Watervliet

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Berrien County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Berrien County forms will be in your account ready to download to your computer. An account is created for you during checkout if you don't have one. Forms are NOT emailed.

Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Berrien County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Berrien County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can I reuse these forms?

Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Berrien County you only need to order once.

What do I need to use these forms?

The forms are PDFs that you fill out on your computer. You'll need Adobe Reader (free software that most computers already have). You do NOT enter your property information online - you download the blank forms and complete them privately on your own computer.

Are there any recurring fees?

No. This is a one-time purchase. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

How much does it cost to record in Berrien County?

Recording fees in Berrien County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (269) 983-7111 Ext. 8562 for current fees.

Questions answered? Let's get started!

A land contract is a written legal contract used to purchase real estate; it is typically used in owner/seller financing. Once recorded it (shall have the same force and effect, as to subsequent encumbrancers and purchasers, as the recording of deeds and mortgages as now provided by law.) (565.354 section 4)

565.358 Land contract mortgage; document; form; execution, acknowledgement, and
recording; identification of encumbered interest; perfection of mortgage; priority.
Sec. 8.
(1) Any document that would be sufficient to constitute a real estate mortgage upon an interest in
real property shall constitute a land contract mortgage upon the vendor's or vendee's interest.
(2) A land contract mortgage shall be in a form and shall be executed, acknowledged, and recorded in the same manner as provided for real estate mortgages.
(3) A land contract mortgage need not specifically identify the interest encumbered as a vendor's or vendee's interest.
(4) A land contract mortgage that is recorded in the manner provided for real estate mortgages is perfected for all purposes, without filing, under the uniform commercial code, 1962 PA 172, MCL 440.1101 to 440.11102, any notice to the nonmortgaging vendor or the nonmortgaging vendee or the taking of possession of the original land contract document or otherwise. A land contract mortgage perfected in accordance with this section takes priority as a matter of law over all other mortgages, liens, security, or other interests in such vendor's or vendee's interests except those as to which a real estate mortgage would be subordinate.

565.359 Land contract mortgage; enforcement; foreclosure; additional remedies.
Sec. 9. (1) A land contract mortgage may be enforced in accordance with any existing procedure for the enforcement of a real estate mortgage, including, without limitation, foreclosure by advertisement and judicial foreclosure. Upon completion of a foreclosure by advertisement or judicial foreclosure of a land contract mortgage and the expiration of the applicable redemption period, the successful bidder at foreclosure shall succeed to all of the mortgaged interests of the respective foreclosed vendor or vendee.
(2) Other rights and remedies that may be available to a real estate mortgagee, including, without
limitation, future advance mortgages, assignments of rents, or receiverships may, in a proper case, be applied in favor of a land contract mortgagee.
(3) All remedies that existed before the effective date of sections 6 to 11 shall continue to apply. However, a land contract mortgage made pursuant to this act may, at the option of the land contract mortgagee, also be enforced as provided in this act.

Use this form for vacant land, residential housing, apartments/rental property, small commercial and condominiums.

For a Discharge of Land Contract, see Discharge of Mortgage form.

(Michigan LC Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example) For use in Michigan only.

Important: Your property must be located in Berrien County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

This Land Contract meets all recording requirements specific to Berrien County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Berrien County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.

Save Time and Money

Get your Berrien County Land Contract form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.

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April 23rd, 2020

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March 26th, 2019

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October 15th, 2021

It would be helpful for documents to be in word format as well and for PDF version not to be locked.

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November 3rd, 2020

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March 12th, 2021

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John V. B.

April 11th, 2019

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December 17th, 2020

This site is amazing! What a time saver from driving somewhere and standing around waiting.

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Shirley T.

April 14th, 2021

Quit Claim deed for North Carolina did not include all of the information I needed (two separate notary sections), but I was able to re-create another notary section in Word, and then insert it in the appropriate place after printing both documents. Otherwise, the document worked as described.

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Billie W.

April 23rd, 2021

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Joyce M.

July 28th, 2019

Great website, but not helpful in locating my deed dated 1747.

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Willard V.

May 11th, 2025

While it's nice to get all the forms and info in one package for a reasonable cost, the fixed format of the form does not allow for a lengthy meet and bounds property description for real property. Also, the Cover Sheet has big fillable sections with no instructions about what's supposed to go there. I tried the "Contact Us" link, but all it does is spin saying it's trying verify the security of my connection. Looks like I;m going to have to create my own deed in MS Word instead of just filling in the blacks of the PDF file that I downloaded. Bummer!

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Sandra M.

November 17th, 2019

The forms were easy to use but there was a software issue that made it impossible to get the county name to appear on the form in the correct place. It made the deed look a little sloppy

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January 30th, 2021

Convenient yes, expensive "big YES" and with what I paid to record a lien it cost me close to $50. That seems quite exorbitant in my estimation!!

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