{"id":336,"date":"2010-07-07T20:04:25","date_gmt":"2010-07-07T20:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=336"},"modified":"2010-07-07T20:04:25","modified_gmt":"2010-07-07T20:04:25","slug":"internet-recording-of-documents-in-massachusetts-our-commonwealth-joins-the-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=336","title":{"rendered":"Internet Recording of Documents in Massachusetts–Our Commonwealth Joins the 21st Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wonder of wonders!!! Massachusetts, the commonwealth (not state, thank you very much) where I practice real estate law, is joining the 21st<\/sup>Century. Three different counties (there are 15 counties in the Commonwealth) have now made arrangements for attorneys, and other people involved in the land recording process, to record documents over the Internet. The counties which have made this “break-through” are Middlesex, Plymouth and Hampden, and the system is working extraordinarily well.<\/p>\n

Massachusetts has a dual land registration system, which involves recorded land (most of the land in the Commonwealth) and registered land (a much smaller fraction of the land). Because of the idiosyncrasies involved in registered land, only “recorded” land filings may use the Internet system. \u00a0Just as importantly, the system can only be utilized by those recording entities who have established themselves as “qualified” to use it by\u00a0 satisfying the particular \u00a0procedural and financial requirements established by the Registries, themselves.<\/p>\n

My firm, Topkins & Bevans, was quick to become qualified, and we are now actively recording any available documents using the Internet. I am not aware of whether other jurisdictions have for a long time had a system like the one evolving in Massachusetts, or whether Massachusetts is in the forefront here. To me, it hardly matters because we are now able to eliminate, in almost all cases, the inconvenience of Registry closings for recorded land in the counties I described, and the consequent standing in line and waiting to record documents, in person, at the Registry.<\/p>\n

If my Massachusetts realtors expect to be involved in closings that traditionally “had to close” \u00a0at the Registries described above, because the transaction is “back-to-back” or the Seller needs the funds “right away”, the new procedure should be a Godsend. Make sure to inquire of the closing agent involved whether he or she offers Internet recording. It is an idea whose time has come, and like all the technology which is becoming available to us every day, if that closing agent does not “climb on the bus”, the bus may just pass it by. Topkins & Bevans would be pleased to answer any questions of Massachusetts closing agents about this new process. In the long run, using the Internet for recording will make all of us more efficient and able to increase our productivity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonder of wonders!!! Massachusetts, the commonwealth (not state, thank you very much) where I practice real estate law, is joining the 21stCentury. Three different counties (there are 15 counties in the Commonwealth) have now made arrangements for attorneys, and other people involved in the land recording process, to record documents over the Internet. The counties … Continue reading Internet Recording of Documents in Massachusetts–Our Commonwealth Joins the 21st Century<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[223,222],"class_list":["post-336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-internet-recording","tag-land-recording"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37481,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=37481","url_meta":{"origin":336,"position":0},"title":"Clash of the Condominium Owners","date":"July 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We all know it is getting harder and harder to find our little piece of this earth to call our own. Housing prices continue to rise and the demand for houses has only gotten more competitive. This have never been more true than on Cape Cod, where one condo owner\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "closing"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":138,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=138","url_meta":{"origin":336,"position":1},"title":"Massachusetts Real Estate Transactions-A world of their own","date":"June 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I am frequently asked by out of state realtors and mortgage professionals about deals \"going into escrow\" or the work of the \"title company.\" Very few out of Massachusetts people are aware of the idiosyncrasies of Massachusetts real estate practice, which include the following: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1. An Offer and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":361,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=361","url_meta":{"origin":336,"position":2},"title":"Massachusetts Buyer Beware!!!! If there is a foreclosure in your back title, you may not be getting what you are expecting","date":"July 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a tale of woe that is real, and may be repeated many times in the future for Massachusetts real estate scenarios. Well before I started representing my client, he purchased a home which had a recent foreclosure in its title. My client, now attempting to do a refinancing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Short Sales & Foreclosures"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":966,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=966","url_meta":{"origin":336,"position":3},"title":"Massachusetts Court of Appeals rules that a deed notarized improperly is unenforceable?","date":"October 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Land Court ruled that the deed was unenforceable because it was improperly notarized. It was not sufficient that Ethel had signed the deed. She had not confirmed before the notary that the deed had been her free act and deed. The deed because of the invalid acknowledgement was not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Estate Planning"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":340,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=340","url_meta":{"origin":336,"position":4},"title":"Closings in Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket–They are not Quite as Mysterious as you Might Imagine","date":"July 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I am sure most of you are aware of the existence of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, if for no other reason, the fact that several of our recent president's have spent summer vacations \"on Island\" as they call it. Each of these islands has its own Registry of Deeds (Dukes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "closing"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":338,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=338","url_meta":{"origin":336,"position":5},"title":"Bad Things Come in “Three’s”, Too–Three Difficult Situations in the Life of a Massachusetts Real Estate Attorney","date":"July 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In general, the fact that I have been practicing for over 40 years in Massachusetts puts me in a position where I can honestly say \"I've seen that, and I believe I know what to do to fix it\" rather easily. This past week I encountered three\u00a0(3)\u00a0 difficult scenarios, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"three difficult legal situations\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=336"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":801,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336\/revisions\/801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}