Defiance County Land Contract Form (Ohio)
All Defiance County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:
Land Contract Form

Fill in the blank Land Contract form formatted to comply with all Ohio recording and content requirements.
Included Defiance County compliant document last validated/updated 6/2/2025
Land Contract Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the Land Contract form.
Included Defiance County compliant document last validated/updated 4/21/2025
Completed Example of the Land Contract Document

Example of a properly completed Ohio Land Contract document for reference.
Included Defiance County compliant document last validated/updated 4/17/2025
Residential Property Disclosure

Supplemental Form: Use if the subject property is residential.
Included Defiance County compliant document last validated/updated 7/4/2025
Ohio Protect Your Home From Lead Based Paint

Supplemental: Use for Residential Disclosure if applicable.
Included Defiance County compliant document last validated/updated 6/6/2025
Supplemental: Use for residential property built before 1978

Fill in the blank Land Contract form formatted to comply with all Ohio recording and content requirements.
Included Defiance County compliant document last validated/updated 7/2/2025
The following Ohio and Defiance 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 Defiance County. The executed documents should then be recorded in the following office:
Defiance County Recorder
500 Second St, Suite 201, Defiance, Ohio 43512
Hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm M-F
Phone: 419-782-4741
Local jurisdictions located in Defiance County include:
- Defiance
- Evansport
- Farmer
- Hicksville
- Jewell
- Mark Center
- Ney
- Sherwood
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?
Immediately after you submit payment, the Defiance 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 provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.
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 Defiance County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Defiance County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Defiance 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 Defiance County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Defiance County.
What are supplemental forms?
Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Ohio or Defiance 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 Defiance 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.
An "Ohio Land Contract," also known as a “Land installment Contract”, is a form of seller financing used to purchase real estate. This arrangement is particularly useful for buyers who may not qualify for traditional mortgage financing from banks or other financial institutions. In Ohio, land contracts are governed by specific statutes that outline the rights and responsibilities of both the seller and the buyer.
Chapter 5313. of the OH. Revised Code (A) "Land installment contract" means an executory agreement which by its terms is not required to be fully performed by one or more of the parties to the agreement within one year of the date of the agreement and under which the vendor agrees to convey title in real property located in this state to the vendee and the vendee agrees to pay the purchase price in installment payments, while the vendor retains title to the property as security for the vendee's obligation. Option contracts for the purchase of real property are not land installment contracts.
Overview of an Ohio Land Contract
A land contract is essentially an agreement between a seller (vendor) and a buyer (vendee) where the seller provides the financing for the purchase of the property. Unlike a traditional real estate transaction where the buyer obtains immediate title to the property, a land contract allows the seller to retain legal title until the buyer fulfills the terms of the contract.
Key Features of an Ohio Land Contract
1. Payment Structure: The buyer agrees to make installment payments over a period, which usually includes interest. These installments are often structured similarly to a mortgage, with part of each payment reducing the principal balance and part going toward interest. Can be used for traditional installment payments or installments with a balloon payment. This contract includes late payment fees if applicable.
2. Possession and Equitable Title: The buyer takes possession on a set date and gains equitable title, meaning they have the right to obtain full legal title once all contractual conditions have been met.
3. Transfer of Title: The legal title remains with the seller until the full purchase price has been paid by the buyer. Once the buyer completes all payments, the seller is obligated to transfer legal title to the buyer.
4. What Is Default: For the purposes of this Land Contract, "default" shall mean any of the following events: (a) Failure by Purchaser to pay any installment payment or other monetary obligation owed to Seller when due, or (b) Failure by Purchaser to obey any other obligation under this Land Contract, or (c) if Purchasers rights under this Land Contract are taken away by operation of law.
5. Maintenance and Taxes: The buyer is typically responsible for maintaining the property and paying property taxes during the term of the contract, even though the legal title has not yet been transferred.
Use this form for residential, rental property, and condominiums. It is flexible to meet specific needs. For use in Ohio only.
Our Promise
The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Defiance 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 Defiance 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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August 3rd, 2019
The information and instructions provided is thorough and great. But, the fill-in-the-blanks form does not work well and is very frustrating. The font size of the information I was adding on each individual line varies and is determined by the number of characters entered on that individual line. So the font size is different on each line. And the number of lines is fixed making it impossible to fill in the full legal name of the trust I needed to fill out the form for. My needs are somewhat unusual, but the form should have been designed to be flexible enough to handle it. A blank paper form would have been more useful.
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March 27th, 2023
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January 21st, 2024
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March 12th, 2019
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October 23rd, 2022
I used deeds.com to complete a gift deed for transferring a house to our son. Finding the correct form and completing it correctly was extremely easy due to wonderful explanations and examples provided with the purchase of the form. The registrar filing the deed told me she was impressed with the work we did. An attorney would have charged $150 so the $28.00 was well worth the money.
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May 20th, 2020
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August 14th, 2019
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August 19th, 2019
I bought a package for doing a mineral deed in Sheridan County, Montana. I will now try to use it and we'll see, I guess, how easy it may or may not be, etc. Check back later perhaps for more details~
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January 22nd, 2019
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January 22nd, 2021
Bottom line - it was certainly worth the $21 (+-?) I paid for the form and instructions, etc.
Admittedly the form is a little inflexible in terms of editing for readability but I understand that offering greater flexibility would likely make theft more likely. So I'm happy with what I got. One suggestion - add more info about what's required in the "Source of Title" section.
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