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Hello,

Self studier here. Does anyone have a good trick/tip for telling the difference between a notice and race/notice statute?


Good luck with your studies.

If you mean in an MBE question where they give you the language of the statute, it's mercifully quite simple: a "notice" statute will only mention notice, whereas a race-notice statute will mention both notice and "first to record."

Edit: Also, the easiest way to remember the effects of each is:
Race: 1st to record wins [not gonna be tested]
Notice: last BFP wins
Race-Notice: 1st BFP to record wins

stickershocked wrote:If you mean in an MBE question where they give you the language of the statute, it's mercifully quite simple: a "notice" statute will only mention notice, whereas a race-notice statute will mention both notice and "first to record."

Edit: Also, the easiest way to remember the effects of each is:
Race: 1st to record wins [not gonna be tested]
Notice: last BFP wins
Race-Notice: 1st BFP to record wins

"First to record" is the phrase that pays.

Once you identify, bolded is all you need to know. Not getting tripped up on the BFP issue is the trickier part (e.g., keeping track of who purchased what and when; Doomed donee; shelter rule, etc.)

Look for the word "first" in the statute. If so, it's either a pure race statute or a race-notice statute. Then look for the term "notice" or "good faith." If the word "first" appears and neither "notice" or "good faith" appears it's a pure race statue. If either "notice" or "good faith" and the word "first" appears then it's a race-notice statute. If "notice" or "good faith" appears but the word "first" does not appear then it's a pure notice statute.

--Sean (Silverman Bar Exam Tutoring)