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Iowa · Iowa CodeIowa real estate closing laws: a checklist for transaction coordinators

Iowa's rules for a home sale, in the order a transaction meets them: the seller of a one-to-four unit home delivers the written disclosure statement before making or accepting a written offer, and a buyer who gets it late may withdraw within 3 days after personal delivery or 5 days after mail or electronic delivery (Iowa Code §558A.2). If the home is on a private septic system, a certified time-of-transfer inspection is needed before the transfer – the recorder won't record the deed without the report or the buyer's binding acknowledgment (§455B.172(11)). At recording, a groundwater hazard statement goes with the declaration of value when there's a known burial site, well, waste site, underground tank, hazardous waste or septic system; otherwise the deed's first page carries the statutory exemption sentence – and without one or the other, the recorder refuses the deed (§558.69). The declaration of value is signed by a seller or buyer or agent, and the transfer tax is 80 cents per $500 above the first $500 (§428A.1). For rentals, the seller transfers each deposit to the buyer with notice to the tenant, or refunds it (§562A.12).

From offer to recording

  1. 1. Disclosure (§558A.2)

    Before the offer; 3 or 5 days to withdraw if late.

  2. 2. Septic inspection (§455B.172(11))

    Before transfer; no report, no recording.

  3. 3. Groundwater hazard statement (§558.69)

    Or the exemption sentence on the deed.

  4. 4. Declaration of value and tax (§428A.1)

    80¢ per $500 above $500.

  5. 5. Tenant deposits (§562A.12)

    Transfer with notice, or refund.

Questions about Iowa closings

When must the Iowa seller disclosure be delivered?

Before the seller makes or accepts a written offer (Iowa Code §558A.2).

Why would an Iowa recorder refuse a deed?

Among other things, if there's neither a groundwater hazard statement nor the exemption sentence on the deed (§558.69(9)), or no septic inspection report or buyer's acknowledgment when the home has a private system (§455B.172(11)).

How much is the Iowa transfer tax?

Eighty cents for each $500, or fraction, of the price above $500 (§428A.1).

The Iowa guides

On the seller side of an Iowa deal, ClosingCode adds the groundwater hazard statement and septic inspection report to the documents, alongside the seller's disclosure.

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Sources: Iowa Code §§428A.1, 455B.172(11), 558.69, 558A.2 and 562A.12 (legis.iowa.gov, read for the linked guides).

General information, not legal advice. Each point links to the guide with the details. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm. This guide is not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney.