Bona Fide Purchasers

Consideration

Generally, all contracts must be supported by consideration in order to be legally binding. Consideration is the benefit(s) exchanged between parties to a contract. For example, if you buy a watch from a jeweler, the consideration you receive is the watch while the consideration the jeweler receives is your money. A contract for sale includes consideration from the buyer (money) and consideration from the seller (title to the property being conveyed).

 

Strictly speaking a deed is not a contract and, therefore, need not recite consideration in order to effect a conveyance of title. However, a failure to give consideration may have undesirable consequences for the purchasers, so it is customary to recite consideration in a deed. A deed need not set forth the exact consideration paid to be valid. A deed reflecting standard consideration language – e.g., “$10 and other valuable consideration paid” –  would be sufficient for conveyance purposes.