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Oregon

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Oregon — Contract for Deed / Land Sale Contract

Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Statutes in this area are frequently amended. Last verified: 2026-06-08.

Oregon calls the instrument a “land sale contract.” Its remedy regime is hybrid, and the two tracks pull in opposite directions on buyer equity. On default the seller may (1) invoke the non-judicial statutory forfeiture remedy of ORS 93.905–93.945 — a notice-and-cure procedure that cancels the contract, extinguishes the debt, and lets the seller retain all sums previously paid, with a tiered 60/90/120-day cure period keyed to how much the buyer has paid down (ORS 93.915); or (2) sue in equity for strict foreclosure, where — critically — an Oregon court “may either decree a strict foreclosure or a sale of the land, as the equities of the case may suggest,” and will protect a vendee who has built substantial equity by ordering a judicial sale rather than a strict forfeiture of that equity (blondell-v-beam-1966). The vendee holds equitable title by equitable conversion, and an Oregon vendor who has accepted late payments must give a reasonable opportunity to cure before accelerating and foreclosing (stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-1971).

0. Identity & Terminology

  • In-state name(s): “land sale contract” is the dominant statutory and practice term (the recording statutes, the homestead statute, and ORS chapter 93’s forfeiture article all speak of a “land sale contract”). “Contract for deed,” “installment land contract,” and “land contract” are used colloquially for the same instrument. The buyer is the purchaser/vendee; the seller is the seller/vendor. The forfeiture article speaks more broadly of a “contract for transfer or conveyance of an interest in real property.” — ORS 93.905, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.905
  • Recognition: Statutory and common law. Non-judicial forfeiture is codified at ORS 93.905–93.945 (1985 c.718, as amended); the vendee’s equitable interest and the equity court’s foreclosure/sale discretion are common-law (blondell-v-beam-1966; stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-1971).
  • Statutory home: ORS ch. 93 (“Conveyancing and Recording”), Forfeiture Under Land Sales Contract article, §§ 93.905–93.945 — esp. § 93.905 (definitions; “forfeiture remedy”), § 93.910 (forfeiture enforceable only after ORS 93.915 notice), § 93.915 (notice of default; tiered cure period), § 93.920 (curing the default to avoid forfeiture), § 93.925 (failure to cure; the statutory notice is in lieu of contract notice), § 93.930 (recording the affidavit of forfeiture; prima facie / conclusive evidence), § 93.940 (junior recorded interests not cut off unless joined). Strict foreclosure is the general equity-foreclosure regime of ORS ch. 88 (esp. § 88.010). Recording is ORS 93.640/93.710; usury is ORS 82.010; homestead is ORS 18.395; transfer-tax prohibition is ORS 306.815. — https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.910
  • Remedy regime: hybrid. ORS 93.905–93.945 supplies a statutory non-judicial forfeiture (notice + tiered cure + affidavit) that lets the seller keep all payments and extinguish the debt; alternatively the seller may sue in equity, where the court chooses between strict foreclosure and a judicial sale to protect a vendee’s accrued equity (blondell-v-beam-1966). Statutory forfeiture does not itself turn on the vendee’s equity; the equitable substantial-equity protection lives on the strict-foreclosure track. — ORS 93.905, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.905

1. Formation & Mandatory Disclosures

  • Statute of frauds: A contract for the sale of land must be in writing and signed; Oregon’s general statute of frauds is ORS 41.580 and conveyancing form requirements are in ORS ch. 93. (Recordable instruments must be acknowledged — ORS 93.710.) — ORS 93.710, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.710
  • Mandatory disclosures: Oregon has no CFD-specific disclosure schedule of the Texas (§§ 5.069–5.070) or Minnesota (ch. 559A) type embedded in the land-sale- contract forfeiture article. Instead the general residential seller’s property disclosure statute applies: a seller of residential real property must complete, sign, and deliver the statutory Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (the ~50- question Section 2 form) to each buyer who makes a written offer (ORS 105.464, 105.465). — ORS 105.464, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_105.464
    • Penalty for omission: The buyer’s statutory remedy is revocation of the offer, not a statutory damages award. If the seller delivers the completed disclosure, the buyer has five business days to revoke the offer by signed written notice; if the seller refuses to provide the form, the buyer may revoke at any time prior to closing (ORS 105.465; ORS 105.475(4)). The disclosure scheme does not limit common-law fraud, negligence, or equitable remedies (ORS 105.465). — ORS 105.465, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_105.465
  • Recording requirement: No statutory deadline to record, but recording is decisive for priority and for the operation of the forfeiture article against juniors. Oregon’s recording act voids an unrecorded “land sale contract … or other agreement or memorandum thereof” as against a subsequent good-faith purchaser for value whose conveyance is first filed for record (ORS 93.640) — i.e., a race-notice rule. In practice the buyer records the contract or a memorandum to protect equitable-title priority; the seller depends on record notice to bind and properly notice junior interest-holders in a forfeiture (ORS 93.940). — ORS 93.640, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.640
  • Annual accounting statement: No general statutory annual-accounting mandate for land sale contracts. (Cure figures are disclosed transactionally: the notice of default must state the amount of the default and the costs required to cure — ORS 93.915, 93.920.) — https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.915
  • Prepayment: No Oregon statute bars prepayment of a land sale contract; terms govern. (No CFD-specific prepayment-penalty prohibition located — see needs_verification.)
  • Usury / interest cap: The legal rate where no rate is agreed is 9% per annum (ORS 82.010(1)). Oregon’s hard usury caps (ORS 82.010(3)) apply to certain business/agricultural loans of $50,000 or less, but loans secured by a first lien on real property — or made to finance acquisition of real property and secured by any lien on that property — are expressly exempt from those caps (ORS 82.025(3)). A seller-carry land sale contract financing the purchase of the same realty therefore generally falls within the real-property exemption; the rate is governed by the contract. Violation of the usury cap forfeits the right to collect interest (ORS 82.010(4)). — ORS 82.010, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_82.010; ORS 82.025, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_82.025

2. Buyer’s Equitable Interest

  • Equitable title passes / equitable conversion recognized: Yes. Under Oregon’s doctrine of equitable conversion the vendee in possession is treated as the equitable owner of the land (a real-property interest), while the vendor retains legal title as security for the price; that equitable interest is recordable and has priority consequences (ORS 93.640, 93.645). The vendee’s status as equitable owner underlies the equity court’s protection of accrued equity in blondell-v-beam-1966. See equitable-conversion. — ORS 93.640, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.640
  • Buyer’s interest recordable: Yes — the contract or a memorandum (with date, parties, legal description, nature of interest, signed/acknowledged) is recordable, and recording protects priority under the race-notice act (ORS 93.640, 93.710). — https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.710
  • Buyer’s interest insurable: Yes; vendee’s-interest and owner’s title policies covering the equitable interest are available from Oregon title insurers.
  • Risk of loss: Contract-governed. Oregon has adopted the Uniform Vendor and Purchaser Risk Act (ORS 93.290–93.300), which allocates risk of loss to the seller until the purchaser takes possession or title, unless the contract provides otherwise — most installment contracts shift risk to the vendee-in-possession by their terms. — ORS 93.290, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.290
  • Improvements and waste: The vendee in possession holds the equitable fee and may improve the property; improvements are lost on a completed statutory forfeiture (the seller retains the property and all sums paid — ORS 93.905). On the equity track, the vendee’s improvements and accrued equity are precisely what a court will protect by ordering a sale rather than strict foreclosure (blondell-v-beam-1966).

3. Default & Remedies → see forfeiture-vs-foreclosure

  • Primary remedy: Seller’s election between (a) non-judicial statutory forfeiture under ORS 93.905–93.945 (notice + tiered cure + recorded affidavit; keeps all payments, extinguishes the debt), and (b) suit in equity for strict foreclosure under ORS ch. 88, where the court may instead order a judicial sale to protect substantial equity (blondell-v-beam-1966). — https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.905
  • Forfeiture available? Yes — but only through the ORS 93.905–93.945 notice-and-cure procedure, never by a self-executing contract clause. ORS 93.910 provides that “whether the remedy is self-executing or is optional, forfeiture … may be enforced only after notice of the default has been given … as provided in ORS 93.915, notwithstanding any provision in the contract to the contrary.” — ORS 93.910, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.910
    • Substantial-equity bar: Not on the statutory-forfeiture track — statutory forfeiture is keyed to the cure period (longer for equity-rich buyers) but does not require a sale to capture surplus equity. On the equity track, yes — a court hearing a strict-foreclosure suit “may either decree a strict foreclosure or a sale of the land, as the equities of the case may suggest,” and will protect a vendee who has built substantial equity by ordering a sale rather than strict forfeiture (blondell-v-beam-1966) — Oregon’s common-law analogue to skendzel-v-marshall-1973. — ORS 93.905, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.905
  • Statutory forfeiture — mechanics (ORS 93.905–93.945):
    • Cure period (tiered by paydown): ORS 93.915 sets the minimum cure period by how far the purchaser has reduced the balance — 60 days when the unpaid balance is greater than 75% of the purchase price (little paid down); 90 days when the unpaid balance is more than 50% but less than 75%; and 120 days when the unpaid balance is 50% or less (i.e., the buyer has paid down ≥50% and holds the most equity). More equity ⇒ longer cure. — ORS 93.915, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.915
    • Runs from: the giving (mailing/service) of the notice of default — notices served by mail are effective when mailed; the notice fixes the forfeiture date after the applicable period. — ORS 93.915.
    • Notice form prescribed: Yes (contents prescribed) — the notice must specify the nature of the default, the amount of the default if it is a payment default, the date after which the contract will be forfeited if not cured, and the name and address of the seller or the seller’s attorney. The statutory notice is in lieu of any contract notice (except where the contract requires greater notice or notice to additional persons) (ORS 93.925). — ORS 93.915, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.915
    • Service method: by service under ORCP 7 D(2)/(3) (civil-action manner) or by both first-class and certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last-known address of the purchaser, occupants, and any party who recorded a request for notice. — ORS 93.915.
    • Reinstatement / cure right: Yes. Under ORS 93.920 the purchaser avoids forfeiture by curing before the notice period expires — tendering the amount in default (other than sums not yet due but for the default) plus enforcement costs (late charges, title-search cost, and attorney fees capped at $350). After the period runs without cure, “the contract shall not be reinstated by any subsequent offer or tender of performance” (ORS 93.925). — ORS 93.920, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.920
  • Judicial foreclosure / strict foreclosure when: Never the exclusive remedy, but it is the seller’s alternative. A vendor may sue in equity (ORS ch. 88) for strict foreclosure; the court may decree strict foreclosure or a judicial sale as the equities suggest, and may impose a redemption-style cure window (blondell-v-beam-1966; stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-1971). — ORS 88.010, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_88.010
  • Acceleration enforceable? Conditional. An acceleration clause is generally enforceable, but a vendor who has waived strict timeliness by accepting late payments cannot accelerate and strictly foreclose without first giving the vendee a reasonable opportunity to cure (stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-1971). On the statutory-forfeiture track the cure right cannot be defeated by acceleration — cure under ORS 93.920 is “other than sums that would not then be due had no default occurred.” — ORS 93.920, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.920
  • Restitution offset on forfeiture? Not required by the forfeiture statute. The defined “forfeiture remedy” lets the seller “extinguish the debt and retain sums previously paid” (ORS 93.905) — no statutory refund. The equity-rich vendee’s protection is instead the judicial-sale-in-lieu-of-strict-foreclosure option in equity (blondell-v-beam-1966), not a payment refund on statutory forfeiture. — ORS 93.905, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.905
  • Seller’s other remedies: specific performance / action for the price, damages, strict foreclosure or judicial sale in equity (ORS ch. 88), and ejectment/ possession after a completed forfeiture. ORS 93.940 confirms junior recorded interests survive a forfeiture unless joined/noticed.

▸ For Sellers / Operators — Oregon gives you a two-track default remedy, and the choice is consequential. (1) Statutory non-judicial forfeiture (ORS 93.905–93.945) is the fast, debt-extinguishing remedy that lets you keep all payments — but it is strictly procedure-driven: no forfeiture clause is self-executing (ORS 93.910), you must serve the prescribed notice of default (ORS 93.915) by ORCP service or dual first-class + certified mail to the buyer, occupants, and recorded-request parties, and you must allow the tiered cure period — 60 / 90 / 120 days depending on how far the buyer has paid down (more equity = longer cure; ORS 93.915). The buyer can reinstate by curing within the period (arrears + costs + attorney fees capped at $350, ORS 93.920); after the period, no late tender revives the contract (ORS 93.925). Perfect the forfeiture by recording the affidavit of forfeiture (ORS 93.930), and join/notice every junior recorded interest or it survives (ORS 93.940). (2) Your alternative is suing in equity for strict foreclosure (ORS ch. 88) — but beware: an Oregon court can convert that into a judicial sale to return a vendee’s substantial equity (blondell-v-beam-1966), and if you accepted late payments you must give a reasonable cure window before accelerating (stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-1971). Confirm your federal threshold exposure (§ 4) and any wrap / due-on-sale consent issue (§ 5). Oregon has no general real estate transfer tax (ORS 306.815), so transfer-tax cost is usually nil.

▸ For Buyers — Your protections are real. No forfeiture clause self-executes (ORS 93.910); you are entitled to a statutory notice of default and a 60/90/ 120-day cure period that lengthens as you build equity (ORS 93.915), and you can reinstate by paying the arrears + capped costs (ORS 93.920). Record your contract or a memorandum to protect priority (ORS 93.640). Your strongest tool against losing accrued equity is to push the dispute into equity: if a vendor sues for strict foreclosure, the court can order a judicial sale that pays you your surplus rather than forfeiting it (blondell-v-beam-1966), and a vendor who accepted late payments must give you a reasonable chance to cure before accelerating (stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-1971).

3b. Remedies — Advanced

  • Election of remedies: A seller chooses between the statutory non-judicial forfeiture track and the equitable strict-foreclosure/sale track; the statutory notice is in lieu of contract notice for the forfeiture remedy (ORS 93.925). Pursuit of an inconsistent remedy (e.g., suing for the price) can bear on election; Oregon resolves the form of equitable relief case-by-case (blondell-v-beam-1966). — ORS 93.925, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.925
  • Deficiency after forfeiture/foreclosure: A completed statutory forfeiture extinguishes the debt (ORS 93.905) — the seller keeps the property and the payments, and there is no deficiency (and no refund). A ch. 88 judicial sale follows ordinary foreclosure-sale/deficiency rules. — ORS 93.905, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.905
  • Anti-forfeiture / equitable relief from forfeiture: Oregon equity protects a vendee’s substantial equity: a court hearing a strict-foreclosure suit may order a judicial sale instead of strict forfeiture (blondell-v-beam-1966), and will not let a vendor who waived timeliness accelerate-and-foreclose without a reasonable cure opportunity (stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-1971). The statutory track channels relief into the tiered cure right (ORS 93.915, 93.920).
  • Ejectment vs. eviction path: Pre-default, the vendee is the equitable owner in rightful possession (equitable conversion), not a tenant — so the seller’s path is forfeiture/foreclosure, not an FED eviction, to extinguish the buyer’s interest. After a completed statutory forfeiture (affidavit recorded, ORS 93.930) the seller recovers possession as against a holdover.
  • Quiet title after cancellation: Recording the affidavit of forfeiture (ORS 93.930) is prima facie evidence of forfeiture and conclusive in favor of a good-faith purchaser for value who relies on it — so in the ordinary uncontested case the recorded affidavit perfects record title without a separate quiet-title action. A contested forfeiture is litigated in circuit court. — ORS 93.930, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.930
  • Forfeited payments treatment: Forfeiture of all sums paid is the statutory rule (ORS 93.905) and is not treated as an unenforceable penalty on the statutory track; the equity-protective backstop is the ch. 88 judicial-sale option, not a penalty-doctrine refund.
  • Intervening seller-lien risk to buyer: The vendor holds record legal title during the contract, so a judgment or lien against the vendor can attach to the vendor’s interest; conversely the vendee’s recorded equitable interest takes priority over the vendor’s subsequent judgment creditors (ORS 93.645). Recording the contract/memorandum (ORS 93.640) is the buyer’s chief priority defense.

4. Federal Overlay (as applied in-state) → see dodd-frank-seller-financing, safe-act-mlo, garn-st-germain-due-on-sale

  • Dodd-Frank exposure: Federal seller-financing rules apply in Oregon with no special state carve-out. A natural-person seller financing one dwelling in 12 months may use the ≤1-property exclusion (no balloon limit, no ATR test); the ≤3-property exclusion (persons/entities, ATR + no negative amortization) is the next tier — per the “mortgage originator” definition and seller-financer exclusion at 15 U.S.C. § 1602(dd) and 12 C.F.R. § 1026.36(a) / § 1026.43. — see dodd-frank-seller-financing.
  • SAFE Act MLO licensing: Sellers exceeding the federal seller-financer thresholds may trigger loan-originator licensing. Oregon administers SAFE-Act mortgage loan originator licensing through the Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) within the Department of Consumer and Business Services, under the Oregon Mortgage Lender Law (ORS ch. 86A). — Oregon DFR, https://dfr.oregon.gov/; see safe-act-mlo and needs_verification (exact ORS ch. 86A MLO cite).
  • State consumer-protection overlay / CFPB enforcement notes: Oregon has no CFD-specific predatory-sales statute of the Texas/Minnesota type. The generally applicable overlay is the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act (ORS ch. 646) for unfair/deceptive practices, plus the seller-disclosure regime (ORS 105.462–105.490). Post-2016 CFPB / state-AG scrutiny of predatory contract-for-deed selling (e.g. Harbour Portfolio) is the national compliance backdrop. — ORS 105.465, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_105.465

5. Title, Recording & Wraps → see garn-st-germain-due-on-sale

  • Memorandum recording: Permitted — the land sale contract or a memorandum is recordable (ORS 93.710 prescribes memorandum contents), and recording protects the buyer’s priority under the race-notice act (ORS 93.640). — ORS 93.710, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_93.710
  • Garn-St. Germain due-on-sale: A land sale contract is a transfer that can trigger a due-on-sale clause in an underlying loan; Garn-St. Germain (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3) preempts state restrictions and makes due-on-sale clauses generally enforceable, subject to the enumerated residential exemptions (which do not cover an installment sale where the borrower parts with occupancy/possession). See garn-st-germain-due-on-sale.
  • Underlying-mortgage / wrap: Wrap-around land sale contracts over an existing mortgage are permitted in Oregon but carry the standard risk: the senior lender may call or foreclose the underlying loan on a due-on-sale trigger even if the buyer pays the seller on time, and a senior foreclosure can wipe the buyer’s junior equitable interest. No Oregon statute conditions a wrap on lender consent, so disclosure and payment escrow are contractual best practice. — see garn-st-germain-due-on-sale.
  • Deed delivery: The seller retains legal title and conveys by fulfillment/ warranty deed at payoff; escrow of the executed deed is common. ORS 93.286 governs the effect of contract fulfillment on title. — see needs_verification (precise ORS 93.286 fulfillment-deed mechanics).
  • Marketable title at payoff: The seller must convey marketable title at payoff; the recorded contract plus the fulfillment deed clears the chain.
  • Title insurance: Available to buyers (vendee’s-interest and, at payoff, owner’s policies) through Oregon title insurers.
  • Seller death / bankruptcy effect: The vendor’s interest (legal title + payment stream) passes to the estate or bankruptcy estate; the buyer’s recorded equitable interest and right to the deed at payoff survive.

6. Tax Treatment

  • IRC § 453 installment reporting: A land sale contract is an installment sale; a non-dealer seller may report gain under IRC § 453 as principal is collected (dealer-property and other exceptions apply). — 26 U.S.C. § 453, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/453; see irc-453-installment-sale.
  • Property-tax responsibility: Contract-governed; in practice the vendee in possession (equitable owner) pays property tax, and as equitable owner can claim owner benefits.
  • Homestead exemption for equitable owner: Eligible. Oregon’s homestead exemption applies to a purchaser’s interest under a land sale contract (ORS 18.395(9), by reference to the ORS 18.960 definition); it does not shield a seller enforcing the contract. As amended by SB 1595 (2024), the general exemption protects the homestead to **300,000 for two or more household judgment debtors), CPI-adjusted annually from July 1, 2025, where it is the owner’s actual abode (a lower 50,000 cap applies only to support and restitution debts). — ORS 18.395, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_18.395
  • Transfer / documentary-stamp tax: None statewide. ORS 306.815 prohibits cities, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing a tax or fee on the transfer of a fee estate in real property, with a single grandfathered exception for Washington County (whose tax predates the 1997 cutoff — 1,000 of price). Elsewhere only flat recorder fees apply. — ORS 306.815, https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_306.815
  • Mortgage registration tax: None — Oregon imposes no mortgage recording/ registration tax on a land sale contract; recording is a flat per-document recorder fee.

7. Bankruptcy & Death / Divorce

  • Buyer bankruptcy: Whether an Oregon land sale contract is an executory contract (11 U.S.C. § 365) or a secured debt in the buyer’s bankruptcy is subject to the national split. Oregon’s equitable-conversion view — vendee holds equitable title, vendor holds legal title as security — supports secured-debt- style treatment, but the federal characterization is fact- and court-specific. — see needs_verification (controlling District of Oregon / Ninth Circuit holding not pinned this run).
  • Seller bankruptcy: The vendor’s interest enters the estate subject to the vendee’s recorded equitable interest and right to the deed at payoff.
  • Assignability by buyer: The vendee’s equitable interest is real property and is generally assignable subject to contract terms; due-on-sale and anti-assignment clauses are enforced per their terms (and the federal Garn-St. Germain overlay for underlying loans).
  • Survivorship / divorce treatment: The vendee’s interest is real property that passes by will/intestacy and is divisible marital property on dissolution; Oregon’s equitable-distribution rules (ORS ch. 107) govern division.

8. Case Law (real, verified)

CaseYearTopicHolding (plain English)Source
blondell-v-beam-19661966forfeiture / foreclosureOn a vendee’s material default the vendor may sue in equity; the court may decree strict foreclosure or a sale of the land as the equities suggest, protecting a vendee’s substantial equity by ordering a sale.https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/blondell-v-beam-890750907
stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-19711971waiver / accelerationA vendor who waived strict timeliness by accepting late payments may not accelerate and strictly foreclose without first giving the vendee a reasonable opportunity to cure.https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1126630/stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-inc/

9. Edge Cases (state-specific notes)

  • garn-st-germain-due-on-sale — A land sale contract can trigger a due-on-sale clause on an underlying loan; no Oregon statute conditions a wrap on lender consent, so the wrap risk is allocated by contract.
  • Tiered statutory cure (ORS 93.915) — the cure period lengthens as the buyer builds equity (60 → 90 → 120 days), an equity-sensitive feature unique to the statutory forfeiture track.
  • Equity-track judicial sale (Blondell) — Oregon’s common-law Skendzel analogue: a strict-foreclosure suit can be converted into a judicial sale to return surplus equity to a vendee.
  • No reinstatement after the cure window (ORS 93.925) — once the notice period lapses without cure, a late tender does not revive the contract.
  • Junior interests survive unless joined (ORS 93.940) — a recorded junior lien/ contract is not cut off by forfeiture unless made a party/noticed.
  • (Add: manufactured/mobile-home land sale contracts; SCRA servicemember protections; Uniform Vendor and Purchaser Risk Act risk-of-loss default, ORS 93.290.)

10. Operations

  • Where records live: County clerk/recorder where the land sits; land sale contracts, memoranda, notices of default, and affidavits of forfeiture are recorded there (ORS 93.640, 93.710, 93.930).
  • Recorder / agency portals: County clerk recording offices (e.g., Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Lane, Marion). Washington County additionally administers a real property transfer tax (the sole grandfathered exception under ORS 306.815). — Washington County, https://www.washingtoncountyor.gov/at/recording/transfer-tax-exemption
  • Who may draft (UPL notes): Land-sale-contract and forfeiture-notice forms are standardized in practice, but ORS 93.915 forfeitures are exacting (prescribed notice contents, ORCP/dual-mail service, tiered cure, recorded affidavit) and contested forfeitures plus equity strict-foreclosure suits are litigated through counsel; non-attorney drafting/forfeiting for others risks UPL exposure.
  • Typical costs: Recorder per-document fees; no statewide transfer tax (ORS 306.815; Washington County 1,000 exception); reinstatement requires the buyer to pay arrears + costs + attorney fees capped at $350 (ORS 93.920).
  • Typical timelines: Statutory cure of 60 / 90 / 120 days by paydown tier from the notice of default (ORS 93.915); the equity strict-foreclosure alternative (ORS ch. 88) runs on the longer judicial timeline and may add a court-set cure/redemption window (stinemeyer-v-wesco-farms-1971).
  • Key agencies: County clerk/recorder; county assessor/treasurer (property tax); Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (SAFE/MLO licensing); Oregon Department of Justice (Unlawful Trade Practices Act).
  • Useful forms: Recorded land sale contract or memorandum of contract (ORS 93.710); notice of default (ORS 93.915); affidavit of forfeiture (ORS 93.930); Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (ORS 105.464).

11. Meta

Disclaimer. This page is legal information, not legal advice, and may be out of date. Contract-for-deed / land sale contract statutes are frequently amended and remedies turn on facts. Oregon’s statutory forfeiture (ORS 93.905–93.945) is procedure-driven, and an equity court can order a judicial sale to protect a vendee’s substantial equity. Consult a licensed Oregon attorney before drafting, enforcing, or signing a land sale contract.

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