It is closing day, finally! Where do we go?
If you are closing at “The Registry” in Cambridge for Southern Middlesex County (which is most of Massachusetts, it seems) then you are heading to:
Middlesex South Registry of Deeds – 208 Cambridge Street – Cambridge, MA
Parking
For parking, there is plenty of on-street permit parking with a City of Cambridge parking sticker and there are meters on the streets nearby. Be sure to get a 2 hour meter. While you shouldn’t expect to be at the courthouse as long as 2 hours, it is recommended that you pay your meter for that long.
There are also public parking garages nearby. The First Street Garage is at 11 Spring Street. There is also parking at the Galleria Mall on First Street.
Entering the Building & Security
the left of these steps at ground level.
The Registry is a grand, historic building, with a “secret entrance”. Enter at 208 Cambridge Street, at ground level, beneath the grand staircase. Walk through the gate to the left side of the stairs and enter that doorway.
Once inside, there is a security screening along the lines of “airport security” light.
You empty your pockets, send your things through an x-ray belt and walk through a metal detector. Don’t bring alcohol or weapons. The common weapons found are pocketknives, corkscrews and tape measures. Don’t bring a camera other than your cell phone.
Ideally, you might not want to bring a ton of things to closing. You typically only need three things. You need to bring a deposit check if you didn’t wire the deposit. A check book for changes at closing. And a photo id.
Arriving at Closing
Once you are through security. Head to the second floor. There is a staircase across the lobby from security or an elevator to the right, immediately after security.
Upstairs, closings typically happen in one of two rooms. Most often, people will look for each other in the main room under the domed ceiling. If you need to try to identify your parties….people go table to table asking for the property address. Anyone in this room is most likely doing a real estate closing.
under the “dome” or in a closing room to the side.
