4.4 Title & Closing Procedures

Massachusetts Is an Attorney-Closing State

Unlike "escrow states" where a title or escrow company runs closing, Massachusetts requires a licensed attorney to conduct the closing, prepare or review the deed and mortgage, run/certify title, and disburse funds. A 2011 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision (Real Estate Bar Ass'n v. NREIS) confirmed that conducting a closing is the practice of law. Real estate agents may attend but cannot perform legal closing functions.

The Registry of Deeds and Recording Priority

Real property documents are recorded at the county Registry of Deeds. Recording gives constructive notice to the world. Massachusetts is a notice jurisdiction under M.G.L. c. 183, § 4: an unrecorded deed or mortgage is valid between the original parties but is void against a later good-faith purchaser for value without notice.

Exam correction: Because recording is what creates notice, the practical rule is "record promptly to protect your interest." The protected party is the bona fide purchaser without notice — recording is how a buyer both gives and avoids notice.

Registered Land vs. Recorded Land

Massachusetts uniquely maintains two systems. Most land is recorded land. A minority is registered (Torrens) land, handled by the Land Court, where a Certificate of Title is the conclusive record of ownership and most claims must appear on the certificate to bind a buyer. The exam may ask which system gives a state-guaranteed certificate — that is registered/Torrens land.

Title Insurance

Title insurance is a one-time premium paid at closing that protects against defects existing before the policy date. There are two policies, and the exam tests who each protects.

The Deed Excise (Transfer) Tax

Massachusetts taxes the transfer of real property through the deed excise. The rate is $4.56 per $1,000 of consideration — about 0.456% — and by custom the seller pays it when the deed is recorded.

Worked Calculation

For a $500,000 sale: $500,000 ÷ $1,000 = 500 units; 500 × $4.56 = $2,280 deed excise. (Barnstable County adds a small county surcharge; the statewide base rate is $4.56/$1,000.)

Lien Priority

Generally liens rank by recording date ("first in time, first in right"), but some jump the line by statute. Municipal real-estate tax liens are superior to nearly everything, including a recorded first mortgage.

TRID Disclosure Timing

The federal TRID rule (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure) governs disclosure timing on most residential mortgages.

Trap: Certain last-minute changes (a higher APR, a prepayment-penalty addition, or a product change) restart the 3-business-day CD waiting period and can delay closing.

The Closing Day Sequence

On closing day the attorney confirms clear title from the updated rundown, collects the buyer's funds and the lender's loan proceeds, has the parties sign the deed, mortgage, and note, disburses payoffs to existing lienholders, and then records the deed and new mortgage at the Registry. Recording is the moment the buyer's ownership becomes public and protected — which is why the attorney's first errand after the table is the Registry, not the celebration.

How the Pieces Connect

Massachusetts closing questions reward a clear mental model: a licensed attorney runs the closing; the Registry of Deeds is where interests become public under a notice statute; title insurance backstops hidden pre-existing defects; the deed excise of $4.56 per $1,000 is the transfer tax (seller pays by custom); and TRID governs the 3-day disclosure clocks.

If a question hinges on who gets paid, who has priority, or who is protected, trace it back to recording and notice — the party who recorded first without notice almost always wins, and the lender's required policy and the attorney's certification exist precisely to guarantee that outcome.