Several attendees wondered if placing this notice in the registry was a requirement for "Statutory" status of a road association. Attorney Denison has told me, "Absolutely not!" Placement of a notice like this in the Registry of Deeds is at the discretion of each road association and has nothing to do with qualifying for statutory status.

Here is Attorney Denison's reply to four questions I asked her on the topic of "Registry Notice of Statutory Road Association". Also included are Attorney John Cunningham's comments on the same subject.

"In response your email earlier this week, I apologize if my including the Registry Notice caused any confusion among the attendees to the conference. It was included only as a possible template for road associations who wish to notify the world of their existence. I found the template at our local Registry and I thought it was a good discussion point. To answer your specific questions:

Question 1: Why was this Notice placed in the Registry?

Mary D's answer: It puts any future title examiner or real estate purchaser on notice that an organization exists to maintain the road and that each property owner will be obligated by its terms.

Question 2: Do you see benefits to the owners, or to the Statutory Road Association doing this?

Mary D's answer: It will help if any owners finance with a lender who requires proof of a road association to satisfy its mortgage requirements.

Question 3: Are there any risks or downside precautions for the owners or association involved?

Mary D's answer: It may need to be updated on occasion if names of officers or contact information changes for the organization – the cost to record an amendment would be $22 or so.

Question 4: Is this the first step in forming a Maine Registry for Statutory Road Associations?

Mary D's answer: NO. This step is completely discretionary and not required under the law."

John Cunningham's comments:

"I’d just add that now that associations are required to renew their liens regularly, that is another method of alerting title examiners of the association’s existence. So, it would be a good idea to make sure that lien forms include information about how to contact the association. A title examiner could just check for a recent lien to get updated contact information. That’s a very powerful tool when coupled with Mary’s recorded notice (if the notice is indexed in the names of all the lot owners)."