Chilivis v. Tumlin Woods Realty Assoc., Inc., 250 Ga. 179, 297 S.E.2d 4 (1982)
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited opinion.
- Citation: 250 Ga. 179, 297 S.E.2d 4 (1982)
- Court / Year: Supreme Court of Georgia, 1982
- Topic tags: equitable_interest · bond_for_title · security_interest · equitable_conversion
- Facts: Litigation over priority of interests in an Athens, Georgia apartment complex, arising from a security deed and an attempt to foreclose. The court had to characterize the nature of the interests created by a bond for title in the chain.
- Holding: A bond for title creates an equitable interest in the buyer and a security interest in the seller of land; an equitable estate arises in favor of the holder of the bond, limited by the amount of the holder’s investment. The court stated that a contract for deed under Georgia law “is for all practical purposes no different from a bond for title.”
- Reasoning: Georgia recognizes equitable conversion: under a bond for title / contract for deed, the buyer holds equitable title (the beneficial, investment-measured interest) while the seller retains bare legal title as security for the unpaid price. This is the same security relationship the security-deed statute (O.C.G.A. § 44-14-60) reflects in the loan context.
- Practical impact for CFD operators/buyers: The controlling statement that a Georgia contract for deed is functionally a bond for title — so the bond-for-title body of law (equitable interest, security characterization, restitution-on-rescission) governs CFDs. Confirms the buyer is an equitable owner, not a mere tenant, which shapes default remedies and forecloses summary dispossessory treatment of a contested default.
- Good-law status: Good law; the leading modern Georgia Supreme Court statement on the nature of the bond-for-title / contract-for-deed interest.
- Source (retrieved): https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/supreme-court/1982/38855-1.html (case located via Justia; holding language corroborated across multiple reporters) · Verified: 2026-06-08
Jurisdictions that follow / cite: georgia
Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. Confirm the opinion is still good law before relying on it.