If I have a deed do you need to go to the registry?
The simple answer is YES!
There are many factors that go into a boundary survey and without doing research many important details may be missed.
For example, a gravel road runs alongside your property, but you may or may not have rights to use it. Research can provide the necessary information to determine what rights properties have. It is also important to chase the deed back to its origin. Many times numbers can be transposed and then carried forward in subsequent sales. Surveyors can often find better descriptions of properties back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that can be helpful to determine the boundaries.
It is always important to match owner names in the deeds. If one deed calls for Thomas Brown as an abutter, one should research the abutter back to find what Thomas Brown owned and when he owned it.