Middlesex North Registry of Deeds post-storm update

The Lowell Superior Courthouse has been without electrical power since Saturday night's storm.  Consequently, the Trial Court closed the building yesterday and again today and will continue to do so until power has been restored.  The Middlesex North Registry of Deeds, located inside the courthouse, has also been closed both days.

If power is restored overnight, we will be open for business tomorrow morning in our normal manner.  However, if the power remains out, we will establish partial operations at Lowell City Hall in the basement Human Relations Conference Room from 10 am until 3 pm tomorrow and each day continuing until regular operations are restored.

At Lowell City Hall, we anticipate accepting documents for recording for subsequent recording once the registry itself resumes operation.  We will assign each document delivered to us in this manner a sequential number that will control the order of recording once the registry itself comes fully into operation.  Customers using this service will be able to access MassLandRecords.com to do pre-recording rundowns and then will be permitted to view either the previously received documents or hand-written daily sheets that will be prepared as they were in the days before computers were utilized for this task. 

While we will not be able to assign actual book and page numbers or time of recording, this system will allow customers to convey documents into the custody of the registry with an extremely high degree of confidence that no other documents, other than the ones you have already had the opportunity to see, will get on record before your's.  Hopefully, this will all have been a contingency planning exercise and power will be back on in the courthouse overnight.  If it is not and if you are under pressure to record, please come see us at Lowell City Hall if you have any questions.  Unfortunately, because of extremely limited internet access here in Lowell (I'm doing this post from the city library), it will be difficult to update you from here.  Please check with MassLandRecords.com for additional announcements.