LowellDeeds

Yesterday's Boston Herald ran a story about missing mortgage discharges. It detailed how major lenders routinely mail discharges to customers without a clear explanation of why the document must be recorded at the registry of deeds. Inevitably, the discharge is lost and a future sale or refinancing is delayed. Even if the lender mails the discharge directly to the registry, that's no guarantee it will be recorded. Close to thirty percent of all discharges received by mail in Lowell cannot be recorded because they belong at a different registry or they are not accompanied by the correct recording fee. We hope that big national lenders, who are the biggest offenders when it comes to getting discharges recorded, will embrace electronic recording once it is implemented. This method of recording is perfect for the high volume, multi-state business model now followed by so many lenders.