| Public Records | | | | property. There is also a grantee index listing who or |
| I receive lots of emails similar to this: "Can I see real | | | | what is receiving the interests transferred by or |
| legal evidence of my home's prior transactions, | | | | taken from a grantor. |
| instead of just anecdotes from my agent and maybe | | | | The indices list the parties to the transactions, the |
| from the owners? What do I have to do become | | | | date a document was filed, the type of document |
| authorized to see existing records?" | | | | filed, a reference number telling where a copy of the |
| Hmmm - read this brief summary: | | | | document can be located and a brief description of |
| PUBLIC records are maintained by the government. | | | | the property affected by the transaction. Record |
| They primarily consist of two types of records. | | | | books contain copies of the documents which can be |
| Documents such as deeds, mortgages, easements, | | | | read and photocopied or summarized by the title |
| leases and liens are filed with the Registry of Deeds. | | | | searcher, OR BY ANYONE!!! |
| The other type of records deal with Probate and | | | | You do not need special authorization to access |
| Family Court issues, which I'll not discuss in this short | | | | these records. Registry employees will usually be |
| article. | | | | happy to help you find the information you are |
| Records in the Registry of Deeds are usually | | | | seeking. A little bit of time spent researching the |
| organized chronologically and alphabetically. There is a | | | | PUBLIC history of your prospective home and |
| grantor index listing transactions by a person selling | | | | neighborhood can possibly save you thousands of |
| property, giving a mortgage secured by property, | | | | dollars and reveal information about easements and |
| granting an easement or other rights regarding the | | | | or use restrictions. |