Massachusetts General Laws ch. 185 sec. 57 – Dealings by owner; registration as act of conveyance
Section 57. An owner of registered land may convey, mortgage, lease, charge or otherwise deal with it as fully as if it had not been registered. He may use forms of deeds, mortgages, leases or other voluntary instruments, like those now in use, sufficient in law for the purpose intended. But no deed, mortgage or other voluntary instrument, except a will and a lease for a term not exceeding seven years, purporting to convey or affect registered land, shall take effect as a conveyance or bind the land, but shall operate only as a contract between the parties, and as evidence of authority to the recorder or assistant recorder to make registration. The act of registration only shall be the operative act to convey or affect the land, and in all cases the registration shall be made in the office of the assistant recorder for the district or districts where the land lies.
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 185 sec. 57
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.