Good Faith

Bona fide; an act is done in good faith if it is in fact done honestly, whether negligently or not. The recording laws are designed to protect a good-faith purchaser. Most antidiscrimination laws require a broker to transmit all good-faith offers to lease or buy. Many states add a requirement of good faith for a person to acquire title to someone else’s real property by adverse possession
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Sometimes an act done in “bad faith” is punishable as a crime. For instance, if an investor-borrower applies for an owner-occupant loan and lies about his intent to occupy, this type of falsehood is punishable as a misdemeanor under the National Banking Act.