Norfolk County Register of Deeds William P. O’Donnell testified in support of legislation that would promote mortgage transparency for consumers before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in a hearing held at the Massachusetts State House.

Register O’Donnell testified before the State Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of Senate Bill #1060 and House Bill #1576. This legislation is designed to increase mortgage transparency by requiring lending institutions to record mortgage assignments at the relevant Registry of Deeds office within 30 days of its execution.

“Passing this legislation into law,” noted the Register O’Donnell, “guarantees that a homeowner would know when a third party has been assigned that homeowner’s residential mortgage, since the mortgage assignment must be forwarded to the appropriate Registry of Deeds office for recording. Additionally, consumers facing foreclosure or looking to record a mortgage discharge would benefit as the legislation provides a permanent source of reference to the homeowner as to who is holding that homeowner’s mortgage.”

Register O’Donnell pointed out to the state legislators the following, “Senate Bill 1060 and House Bill #1576 are designed to accomplish a goal of providing greater consumer transparency to homeowners when it comes to tracking their mortgage assignments.  Another goal of this legislation is to allow Registries of Deeds across Massachusetts to unify their recording practices when it comes to mortgage assignments.”

Register O’Donnell concluded, “I am hopeful the Joint Committee on the Judiciary will report the legislation favorably out of committee. This legislation benefits homeowners across Massachusetts as it will eliminate uncertainty as to which lending institution is the mortgage holder of record.  If this legislation becomes law it would give the homeowner a transparent and easy way to track what entity holds their residential mortgage.”

Please contact your local State Representative and State Senator urging them to support House Bill #1060 and Senate Bill #1576.  It would also be helpful if the members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary are also contacted and told to report these bills out of committee favorably.

To learn more about these and other Registry of Deeds events and initiatives, like us at facebook.com/NorfolkDeeds or follow us on twitter.com/NorfolkDeeds and Instagram.com/NorfolkDeeds.

The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds is located at 649 High Street in Dedham. The Registry is a resource for homeowners, title examiners, mortgage lenders, municipalities and others with a need for secure, accurate, accessible land record information. All land record research information can be found on the Registry’s website www.norfolkdeeds.org. Residents in need of assistance can contact the Registry of Deeds Customer Service Center via telephone at (781) 461-6101, or email us at registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org.

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