Week One Wrap Up

Friday (March 27, 2020) marked the end of our first week in the new home of the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds in the Lowell Justice Center. Moving the registry in the midst of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic was a challenge but it went relatively smoothly and we continued recording documents throughout the process. 

Here is where we stand now and going forward until circumstances change. (And remember, circumstances could change for the worse which could cause the shutdown of all but electronic recording or they could change for the better which would mean current health and safety restrictions are eased):

·        Electronic Recording - We continue to accept recorded land documents for recording via our electronic recording system. Prior to the pandemic, this method already handled 65 percent of our recording volume. I assume that most who weren’t using the service a month ago have signed up by now. If you haven’t, you should.

·         Mail - The registry continues to receive documents by US Mail, Fedex and UPS. However, because of health-related restrictions on people entering the building, the carriers are not permitted past the front entrance. Thus far, the Court Officers staffing the security checkpoint have been accepting mail and signing for packages after which registry of deeds personnel go and retrieve it. While this method of delivery has proved reliable thus far, it could change suddenly based on rapidly changing circumstances. If and when that happens, I will share the news on this site.

·         Drop-Off Box - We have placed a drop-off box in the lobby of the Justice Center. This is for those who cannot e-file and who don’t want to mail their documents. For this service, you may come to the Justice Center at 370 Jackson Street, Lowell, enter the lobby, and drop your package in the Registry of Deeds box which sits atop a small pushcart just inside the main entrance to the building. Then you call the registry at 978-322-9000 and tell us you’ve dropped off a document. Then leave the building. Be sure to include a self-addressed stamped envelope so we can mail your original documents back to you (there is no scan-and-return service during the pandemic).  

·         IMPORTANT - Registered Land - If you have registered land documents to register, before dropping them off you MUST email us all of your documents for us to review. Send them to lowelldeeds@comcast.net. Someone in our Registered Land Department will review the documents and email you back, either instructing you to make changes or authorizing you to drop off your documents. (This requirement is due to the frequency with which registered land filings are rejected for defects: we have no way of getting your documents back to you so they have to be correct the first time you present them to us).

·         Coming into the Registry is NOT ALLOWED - No customers are allowed into the Registry of Deeds space. Consequently, many of the services we previously provided are not available during the pandemic shutdown. These include acknowledging signatures (notary service); administering oaths; picking up corporate certificates; conducting research on registry computers; printing plans and documents on registry printers; and anything else that requires in-person presence.

·         Enhanced Virtual Customer Service - During the pandemic and afterwards, we will use technological tools to provide virtual customer service. These tools include our website (lowelldeeds.com); email (lowelldeeds@comcast.net); and the telephone (978-322-9000).

Looking into the future . . . 

Once the restrictions imposed by the pandemic are loosened, we will be delighted to have you see our new space. However, it is quite a bit smaller than our prior home in the Superior Courthouse. That was not a choice; it was a limit set by the building designers from the beginning. Here are some consequences of that:

Closings at the Registry - The common (but diminishing) practice of doing closings at the registry of deeds will be marginally available but not necessarily practical.  At Superior Court, we had a large room filled with tables and chairs (the “closing room”) that made it convenient to conduct closings there. But that was not always the case. When I first became Register of Deeds that room was our Plan Department. It was filled with plan storage cases, reproduction equipment, and four employees worked there. To do closings, lawyers would try to snag one of the tables outside the second floor criminal courtroom or settle on a table amidst are oldest record books in the unfinished courthouse basement.  

When I asked the Justice Center designers about closing rooms, they responded “there are more public conference rooms in this building than in any courthouse ever constructed in the Commonwealth.” That is true, as far as it goes. Each of the 19 courtrooms in the building has two conference rooms immediately outside it. These conference rooms are supposed to be available for anyone to use so a closing could conceivably be conducted in one of them. However, there are some practical problems: the conference rooms are scattered throughout the building and there’s no way to “reserve” one, so only when you get to the building will you be able to find one that you can use to do your closing.

Mailing or Couriering Documents Addressed to a Third Party to the Registry. We have long had a policy to refuse to sign packages brought by UPS, Fedex, or couriers which packages were addressed to a third party in care of the Registry of Deeds. We will not change that policy in the new space. Anyone sending documents in this manner will assume the risk that the package will be refused and returned to the sender. This means that your closing documents could be locked in some Fedex depot when you need them to do your closing. FIND ANOTHER WAY TO RECORD YOUR DOCUMENTS.  

Research/Computer Use at the Registry - All recorded and registered documents and plans are on the Middlesex North portion of the Masslandrecords.com website. If you can’t find what you are looking for there, call us or email and we’ll add what you need to the website (or upload a clearer copy if that’s the issue). Original record books and plans have not been available for public viewing since 2007 (except in rare circumstances). There is no “research room” with registry-supplied computers at the Lowell Justice Center. There are four “run down” terminals that are available solely for pre-recording rundowns. These four computers are directed to the Masslandrecords.com website, not to the legacy Search application. 

That’s it for now. Please check back to this site each day for the latest registry news.