Berrien County Land Contract Form (Michigan)
All Berrien County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:
Land Contract Form
Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Berrien County compliant document last validated/updated 2/20/2024
Land Contract Guidelines
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Berrien County compliant document last validated/updated 4/15/2024
Completed Example of the Land Contract Document
Example of a properly completed form for reference.
Included Berrien County compliant document last validated/updated 4/12/2024
The following Michigan and Berrien County supplemental forms are included as a courtesy with your order:
When using these Land Contract forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Berrien County. The executed documents should then be recorded in one of the following offices:
Berrien County Register of Deeds
701 Main St, St. Joseph, Michigan 49085
Hours: 8:30 to 5:00 M-F
Phone: (269) 983-7111 Ext. 8562
Local jurisdictions located in Berrien County include:
- 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
How long does it take to get my forms?
Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.
How do I get my forms, are they emailed?
Forms are NOT emailed to you. Immediately after you submit payment, the Berrien County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be sent to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance.
What does "validated/updated" mean?
This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:
- Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
- Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Berrien County using our eRecording service.
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 the Land Contract forms be re-used?
Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Berrien County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Berrien County.
What are supplemental forms?
Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Michigan or Berrien County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.
What type of files are the forms?
All of our Berrien County Land Contract forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I need any special software to use these forms?
You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I have to enter all of my property information online?
No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.
Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?
Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.
Are there any recurring fees involved?
No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.
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.
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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May 16th, 2024
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May 16th, 2024
Prompt review and submission of documents could be an appropriate tagline for this business. The attention to detail and rapid response makes the company a great go to for servicing needs related to deeds.
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May 15th, 2024
Looks like a very professional site. I just don’t know what it would cost using this site.
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Sandra R.
June 2nd, 2023
This site was easy to use for access to State forms for filing in Montmorency County clerks office. Not only did I find claim form but a sample claim was available for assisting on how to complete your form correctly. Found this so very useful for us (public resident) to fill in the form as a .PDF file that prints out typed form - rather than handwritten entries. There is a fee but your access is always available on internet to this site in the future. Saved me time using this site and My filed form looks professional. You have access to several other forms if needed.
Thank you for the kind words Sandra, we appreciate you. Glad we could help!
Kenneth-Wayne L.
August 20th, 2020
1) I was very pleased when the staff mentioned your service since the three referenced on the Recorder's website all wanted HUGE Account set-up and maintenance fees AND BIG fees per recording, and yours has no set-up fee AND nominal per-recording fee; 2) My (few) recordings will be NON-LAND Related, summary or entire record(s) of Administrative (Procedures Act) records, Other than the Border width and Cover Sheet, do you anticipate any other special requirements for such recording(s)? NOTE: I just sent one by Snail Mail, and they just informed me that due to the GERMIPHOBIA 'Pandemic' the ONLY open and record Snail Mail ONCE A MONTH On the first of each chmonth!
Thank you!
Jorge F.
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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Elena R.
March 3rd, 2020
Very helpful forms and guide. Would use again if needed.
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Anitra C.
July 10th, 2021
This was so easy and the instructions were great.
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Vince D.
August 6th, 2020
Great product and service, really makes me rethink the value I provide to my customers.
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Tawnya B.
December 28th, 2018
The document I needed and easy instructions!
Thank you!
Joseph T.
February 6th, 2019
I downloaded the wrong form, how do I change this, or can I?
Sorry to hear that. As a one time courtesy we have canceled your order and payment for the documents you ordered in error. Have a great day.
Jose G.
April 12th, 2022
One of the best downloads ever. Very easy to do.
For the price, well worth it.
Thanks
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Daniel F.
June 26th, 2020
It was convenient to be able to download the deed template, instructions, and a completed sample deed all from deeds.com. I was able to complete my deed with little effort. My only complaint is that the editable fields in the pdf document are of fixed size, leaving some large spaces within a sentence, for example: Executed on this 1st day of July ,2020. This makes the printed document look a little peculiar.
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Fred A.
April 15th, 2019
Very nice forms offer, very thoughtful to include other related forms that may be necessary. The site was easy to use, and very fast. Thank You.
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Janette P.
April 30th, 2021
It was easy to find what I needed but I thought the price was too high.
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