Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · Massachusetts · Part III — COURTS, JUDICIAL OFFICERS AND PROCEEDINGS IN CIVIL CASES · Title IV — CERTAIN WRITS AND PROCEEDINGS IN SPECIAL CASES · Chapter 254

Section 7: Mortgages; invalidity of subsequent liens

375 words·~2 min read·/ma/part-iii/title-iv/chapter-254/7

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Section 7.
(a)No lien under section one shall avail against a mortgage duly registered or recorded unless the work or labor performed is in the erection, alteration, repair or removal of a building, structure, or other improvement to real property which erection, alteration, repair, removal, or improvement was actually begun prior to the recording of the mortgage.
(b)No lien under section two shall avail as against a mortgage duly registered or recorded to the extent of amounts actually advanced or unconditionally committed
(i)prior to the filing or recording of the notice of contract, and
(ii)after the filing or recording of the notice of contract but within twenty-five days after the last day of the period stated in an accurate duly executed partial waiver and subordination of lien in the form required by section thirty-two, except for the amount of retainage accurately stated in such partial waiver and subordination of lien.
(c)No lien under section four shall avail against a mortgage actually existing and duly registered or recorded to the extent of the amount actually advanced or unconditionally committed prior to the filing or recording in the registry of deeds of the notice required by section four.
(d)No lien under sections 2C or 2D shall avail against a mortgage duly registered or recorded prior to the filing or recording of the notice of contract if and to the extent that such lien relates to professional services performed before such mortgage was registered or recorded. If and to the extent that such lien relates to professional services performed after such mortgage was registered or recorded, such lien shall avail against such mortgage except to the extent of the amount actually advanced or unconditionally committed prior to the filing or recording of the notice of contract.
(e)No lien under sections 2, 2C, 2D or 4 shall avail as against a purchaser, other than the owner or person acting for or on behalf of, or with the consent of such owner who entered into the written contract on which the lien is based, whose deed or other instrument of title was duly registered or recorded prior to the filing or recording of such notices under said sections 2, 2C, 2D or 4.
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.