Session Laws

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is, in part, to immediately clarify with regard to foreclosures of mortgages, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 70 of chapter 185 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Mortgages of registered land may be foreclosed in the same manner as mortgages of unregistered land; but in case of foreclosure by entry and possession, the certificate of entry required by section two of chapter two hundred and forty-four shall be filed and registered by an assistant recorder in lieu of recording.

SECTION 2. Chapter 244 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 1, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 1. A mortgagee may, after breach of condition of a mortgage of land, recover possession of the land mortgaged by an open and peaceable entry thereon, if not opposed by the mortgagor or other person claiming it, or by action under this chapter; and possession so obtained, if continued peaceably for three years from the date of recording of the memorandum or certificate as provided in section two, shall forever foreclose the right of redemption.

SECTION 3. Section 2 of said chapter 244, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Such memorandum or certificate shall after the entry, except as provided in section seventy of chapter one hundred and eighty-five, be recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district where the land lies, with a note of reference, if the mortgage is recorded in the same registry, from each record to the other.

SECTION 4. The first sentence of section 14 of said chapter 244, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "mailed", in line 30, the words:- at least.

SECTION 5. Said section 14 of said chapter 244, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the first sentence the following sentence:- Any person of record as of thirty days prior to the date of sale holding an interest in the property junior to the mortgage being foreclosed may waive at any time, whether prior or subsequent to the date of sale, the right to receive notice by mail to such person under this section and such waiver shall be deemed to constitute compliance with such notice requirement for all purposes.

SECTION 6. Section 15 of said chapter 244, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The person selling, or the attorney duly authorized by a writing or the legal guardian or conservator of such person, shall within ninety days after the sale, cause a copy of the notice and his affidavit, fully and particularly stating his acts, or the acts of his principal or ward, to be recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district where the land lies, with a note or reference thereto on the margin of the record of the mortgage deed, if it is recorded in the same registry; provided, however, that if within such ninety day period a notice of extension executed by the holder of the mortgage, or an officer thereof, stating that a foreclosure sale was conducted and setting forth the date of the sale, is recorded, with a note of reference thereto on the margin of the mortgage deed, such ninety day period shall be extended to one hundred and eighty days.

SECTION 7. Said section 15 of said chapter 244, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the third sentence.

SECTION 8. Sections one, two, three, six and seven of this act shall take effect on January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and shall apply to instruments recorded and judgments entered on and after said effective date. Sections four and five shall take effect on January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-one and shall apply to waivers executed or notices given, as the case may be, prior to, on or after said effective date.