Russians from Tomsk visited the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds (near-ish Boston) to see how it’s done, reports the Daily News Transcript.
bq. Yelena Boltanova, a Tomsk State University law professor who was on the visit to Dedham, said her region didn’t open a land court until 1998.
Speaking to a reporter through a translator, she said the visit will help her professionally, so she can describe what she learned of the American system to her students. She said the visit will also help her region improve its still young land court system.
“This will help our experts in real estate draft new laws,” she said.
They spotted some weaknesses in the system at once:
bq. In explaining the local system, Norfolk County Land Court attorney Glen Buscher said in many of the older records, a property border was detailed by a scrivener, listing what bordered the property from each direction, such as a line of trees to the west or another property to the east.
“What happens if you cut down the trees?” asked one of the Russian visitors.
Here’s an article with some excellent illustrations explaining why digitizing the Index Map in the UK does not mean creating a cadastre. (Kataster in German Wikipedia)