If the vendee of a land contract desires to record the same so that the record thereof will be notice to his rights in the contract, care should be exercised to see that the vendor executes a proper acknowledgment of the contract, as such an acknowledgment is an essential prerequisite to the legal recording of such contract, in the absence of which the record is of no validity so far as providing notice to any third party of the vendee's rights.20

While it is not essential that the certificate of acknowledgment shall be in any prescribed form, nevertheless, the essential fact must appear in the certificate or in other portions of

17. No deed, mortgage or other instrument in writing, which by law are required to be acknowledged, affecting the title to lands, or any interest therein, shall be recorded by the register of deeds of any county, unless the same shall be duly witnessed and acknowledged, or proved as provided by this chapter and the amendments thereto. Sec. 11748 C. L. 1915.

18. Dougherty v. Randall, 3 Mich. 581; King v. Carpenter, 37 Mich.

369; Prive v. Haynes, 37 Mich. 489; Baker v. Clark, 52 Mich. 22.

19. "The consideration of any contract or agreement, required by the provision of this chapter to be in writing, need not be set forth in the contract or agreement or in the note or memorandum thereof, but may be proved by any other legal evidence. (C. L. 1915, 11978; history, C. L. 57, 71, 4695; How. 6182 C. L. 97, 95112, consideration; Smith v. Sheridan, 175 Mich. 403.)

20. Sec. 25 in the entry books the instrument. If the vendee is in possession of the property, such possession is notice to the world without any recording of the instruments, but difficulty may arise in connection with possession of vacant property where neither the vendor or vendee exercises acts of ownership in relation thereto, in such case to protect the vendee, he must either record the contract or exercise acts of ownership over the property which will be notice to the world.

Where the initial payment made upon a land contract is small, it is not usually customary to record such contracts, therefore the acknowledgment thereof is not important, the vendee in such cases relying upon the financial responsibility and honesty of the vendor to carry out the terms of the contract and make conveyance in accordance with the terms thereof, but where a substantial sum of money is paid, as the initial payment, or substantial rights are involved in such contract, it would seem desirable to have the same recorded and not trust to the financial exigencies which the vendor may experience.

(book) of deeds the register shall enter all deeds of conveyance absolute in their terms, and not intended as mortgages or securities, and all copies left as cautions and in the entry book of mortgages he shall enter all mortgages and other deeds intended as securities, and all assignments of any such mortgages or securities; and in the entry book of levies he shall enter all levies, attachments, notices or lis pendens, sheriff's certificates of sale, and United States Marshal's certificates (Certificate) of sale, noting in such books, the day, hour and minute of the reception and other particulars, in the appropriate columns in the order in which such instruments shall be considered as recorded at the time so noted. And the said record of such levies attachments, notices, lis pendens, sheriff's certificates, marshal's certificates, and the original papers required by the statute to be filed to perfect such levies, attachments, notices, lis pendens and certificates on file in the office of the register of deeds, shall be notice to all persons, of the liens, rights and interests acquired by or involved in such proceedings, and all subsequent owners or incumbrancers shall take subject to such liens, rights or interests.

Any contract, executed and acknowledged according to the foregoing provisions, shall, with the certificates thereto attached, be entitled to be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of the county where the lands lie, and the recording of the same shall have the same force and effect as to subsequent encumbrances and purchasers, as the recording of deeds and mortgages, as now provided by law. Sec. 11773 C. L. 1915.