What is meant by the word “Notice?” In most legal jurisdictions in the United States, there are three types: Actual, Inquiry, and Constructive.
Actual. Actual notice is based in sensory experience. If you saw, smelled, heard, felt, or tasted it, you are said to have had actual notice. For example, if you see a road, you have actual notice that the road exists.
Inquiry. Inquiry notice is the sensory experience that causes a reasonable person to ask the question whether something is true or not. For example, if you see a road on a prospective land purchase, it is reasonable to ask who uses the road and whether an easement exists to allow such use.
Constructive. Constructive notice is a legal fiction. There is no sensory experience relied on for its existence. Constructive notice is a legal construct that assumes a reasonable person knows of the existence of public-records documents and understands their legal meaning. For example, documents filed at the Country Recorder’s Office are assumed to be known and understood by the buyer of a parcel.
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At Timely Contract we have local real estate attorneys who have experience throughout Idaho, including: Boise, Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Moscow, and Sandpoint.
We also have local real estate attorneys who have experience throughout Montana, including: Missoula, Billings, Bozeman, and Kalispell.
And we have local real estate attorneys who have experience throughout Washington, including: Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Medical Lake, and Cheney.
Definitions given in this post may differ in your State. This post is not legal advice. Legal advice is given pertinent to a specific fact scenario and involves an application of the law of the jurisdiction to that fact scenario.