Could this happen in your home area?
It is 1890. You own the south half of the northeast quarter of a section. You also own the west half of the northwest quarter of the same section. You get a chance to purchase the east half of the northwest quarter and make a deal.
Now it is 1910. You need some money. You sell the east half of the northwest quarter of the section....except, you keep a 33-foot wide strip across the south end to use as a connecting link between your two remaining properties. So now you have an 80 and an 80 and a 1 acre strip connecting them.
Boom. It is 2000. Your great-grandson decides to sell off the 161 acres. But, he sells the south half of the northeast quarter to one buyer and the west half of the northwest quarter and the connecting one-acre tract in the east half of the northwest quarter to a different buyer. The connection is now of no use, but, hey, someone has to own it.
It is now 2010. The owner of the 81 acres is ready to sell. The buyer needs a loan. So he mortgages only the 80 acre parcel. The one-acre parcel will be free and clear. He can sell it to either of the two logical adjoiners or simply keep it as a novelty should the lender ever foreclose on the mortgaged 80.
The question: Would your local real estate practices dictate that the one-acre tract would be required to be mortgaged with the 80? Heck, the lender wouldn't even necessarily know that you owned the one-acre parcel.
Here, it would be no problem. Do what you want. No Big Brother demanding a specific practice.
Not as long as it is a separate deed, unless the lender decides it needs additional collateral.
SJ
