[MassHistPres] Title insurance & historic disclosure

[Dennis De Witt]

Chris

It is a requirement for an LHD plan to be filed in the courthouse, otherwise the LHD is not enforceable.  And it was my impression that there are reference indexes for filed plans identifying the affected properties or streets.  Thus, a diligent title examiner would look for any filed plans possibly affecting the property and would therefore make the connection to the LHD.  That has been my experience re properties I have researched in several Mass. counties.  Can someone with title examining experience speak to that point?

Dennis De Witt


On Feb 2, 2010, at 10:28 AM, Chris Skelly wrote:

> Ralph,
>  
> I wouldn’t expect a title exam to determine whether a local historic district exists. 
>  
> Like zoning, subdivision control, demolition delay, wetlands protection and so on, local historic districts are not recorded at the registry of deeds by each property owner’s name so a title exam researching a chain of ownership isn’t going to discover the establishment of a local historic district. 
>  
> Ultimately, it is up to the buyer to research municipal regulations at the appropriate city or town hall. 
>  
> Of course, we’d all like to avoid any surprises so I encourage plenty of public education to homeowners, outreach to the real estate community and entering local historic district signage at all major entrances.  There is nothing like some well-designed signage to let everyone know they are entering a local historic district.  Chris.
> Christopher C. Skelly 
> Director of Local Government Programs 
> Massachusetts Historical Commission 
> 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125 
> Ph: (617) 727-8470 / Fax: (617) 727-5128  
> Christopher.Skelly at state.ma.us 
> http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcidx.htm 
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> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu [mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of slater at alum.rpi.edu
> Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 12:50 PM
> To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
> Subject: [MassHistPres] Title insurance & historic disclosure
>  
> Does anyone know of any cases where title insurance has been used to compensate a homeowner for problems stemming from a title search that did not turn up historic district status?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Ralph Slate
> Springfield, MA
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