Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Real Estate Recordings topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Plymouth County register reports flat deed activity, fewer foreclosures and urges fraud-alert sign-up
Summary
Plymouth County Register of Deeds John Buckley said May deed recordings were essentially flat, foreclosure deeds fell to five in May, and he urged property owners to enroll in a free fraud-alert email service at plymouthdeeds.org to detect unauthorized recordings.
Plymouth County Register of Deeds John Buckley reported on his monthly Registered Report that the office recorded 598 deeds in May, up from 532 in April but down roughly 10 percent from last May’s 665 deeds, and that year-to-date deed recordings remain about 9 percent lower than the prior year.
"There were 598 deeds recorded in May," Buckley said, calling the countywide average sale price $709,204 and noting that recorded activity varies widely across wealthy and working towns in the county.
Buckley said mortgages remained somewhat higher than deed activity, and he flagged foreclosure figures as a sign of household distress: "There were only five foreclosure deeds in May, less than the 18 in April," he said, adding that foreclosure deeds are when title passes back to the lender.
He distinguished foreclosure deeds from foreclosure notices — the registry's earliest filing that signals trouble — reporting 28 foreclosure notices in May compared with 46 in April and a 23 percent year-to-date decline in notices.
To help property owners guard against deed fraud, Buckley urged residents to sign up for the registry's free fraud-alert service: "If you go to our website, plymouthdeeds.org, go to resources and you'll see fraud alert. If you enter your name and your email, anything that gets recorded in your name, you'll get a notice and you can take action," he said.
Buckley also warned residents to avoid commercial mailers that charge high fees for deed copies. "You can get a copy of your deed for a dollar at one of our satellites, Plymouth, Brockton, or Rockland. Or if you call our customer service, they get you a copy of your deed for $5," he said.
The Register did not announce any formal policy changes or motions on the broadcast; the segment was an informational report of recorded data, outreach resources and county-level patterns. Buckley recommended that owners facing foreclosure contact a federal housing counselor or nonprofit groups such as NeighborWorks for assistance. The office’s fraud-alert sign-up page and satellite-copy options provide immediate steps for residents worried about unauthorized recordings.
