Arizona Revised Statutes Section 33-411.01 provides that the transferor of an interest in real estate, meaning the party transferring such interest to another, must record any document - such as a deed - within 60 days in order to avoid potential liability in an action challengin the transferee's interest in the property. Section 33-411.01 states:
Any document evidencing the sale, or other transfer of real estate or any legal or equitable interest therein, excluding leases, shall be recorded by the transferor in the county in which the property is located and within sixty days of the transfer. In lieu thereof, the transferor shall indemnify the transferee in any action in which the transferee's interest in such property is at issue, including costs, attorney's fees and punitive damages.
The obvious import of this statute is that sellers of real estate should make sure the deed is recorded after their sale of property to ensure that public notice is provided of the new transferee's interest. Significantly, in the recent 2011 case of In re Vasquez, the Arizona Supreme Court held that this statute did not require an assignment of deed of trust to be recorded as a prerequisite to a trustee's sale.