FAQ

Where can plat books be purchased?

               Plat books can no longer be purchased through the county nor area title companies.  They are currently provided by Rockford Maps at (800) 321-1627 or www.rockfordmap.com.

How can I find out the owner of property in Sauk County?

               There are a few ways:

• Call our office with physical address or parcel ID number.
• Call Sauk Co Treasurer’s office with same information as above.
• Use Sauk Co Land Information/GIS’s interactive mapping site (Tax Parcel iSite).  Ability to search by physical address, parcel ID number or even information from nearby property.  See https://gis.co.sauk.wi.us/TaxParceliSite/ or call Land Information/GIS for further assistance (608) 355-3240.

I paid off my mortgage; will I get a new deed?

               Under Wisconsin law, you only ever receive one deed to your property & you should have received it shortly after you closed on your property.  Looking at your deed, you will notice that your name appears as a “grantee” but the bank is never mentioned.  So, when you pay your mortgage in full, it is not necessary to update your deed.

               What does need to be done is to have a “Satisfaction of Mortgage” document recorded with the Register of Deeds office.  Financial institutions are required to record such a document within a specific timeframe.  If you received a “Satisfaction of Mortgage” endorsed with a time, date & document number from a Register of Deeds office, nothing further needs to be done.  If you have not received the endorsed satisfaction, check with your lender to be certain they processed the appropriate paperwork. 

If a copy is needed for your records, one can be obtained at a nominal fee ($2 for the first page, $1 for each additional).

Can Register of Deeds assist with drafting real estate documents?

               At most, Register of Deeds can assist with general questions regarding form completion along the lines of our recording requirements and recommend legal assistance for the drafting of documents.

               The Register of Deeds office is charged with the duty of being an independent custodian of records relating to real estate.  As such, the only area we can assist you in is general process questions.  We cannot assist you in the actual drafting of documents.  We highly recommend that you obtain legal counsel for these transactions. 

               Although several legal documents have been developed into “fill-in-the-blank” style forms & appear to be very easily completed, it is the answers to those fill-in-the-blank questions that are critically important.  Those answers can vary widely from person to person.  Determining the correct answer for your situation constitutes “legal advice” in which we are not licensed to practice real estate law.  Even if we were, our role as custodian of the records prevent us from assisting in the creation of records. 

What is the legal description for a property?

               The description of property is in words that can include lot, block, subdivision or metes & bounds.  Go to the Wisconsin Register of Deeds website for detailed information https://www.wrdaonline.org/description.

How can I determine the sale price of a piece of property?

               The sale price reflects the fee assessed by The Wisconsin Electronic Transfer Return & is often noted on the deed of sale as long as an exemption is not claimed.  The current rate of fee is $3.00 per $1000 of the determined value of property.