- Apr 28, 2020
- 2 min read

April 28, 2020

Maine order extended to May 31 with with 4 phases of releasing restrictions

Governor Mills announced today that she will extend the State’s stay-at-home order in the form of a new “Stay Safer at Home” Executive Order. The new Order, which she will issue by Thursday, will continue to have Maine people stay at home with limited exceptions

for already permitted activities, such as grocery shopping or exercising.

However, the new Stay Safer at Home Order will also allow Maine people to visit businesses or participate in activities that are deemed safe to open under Stage 1 of the reopening plan. The Order will extend through May 31, 2020 but is subject to change.

Massachusetts Now Allows Remote Notarization

On April 27, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law an emergency measure to authorize Massachusetts notaries public to use real-time electronic video conferencing to perform “an acknowledgement, affirmation or other notarial act” during the COVID-19 crisis. See: An Act Providing For Virtual Notarization To Address Challenges Related to COVID-19.

The person signing the document and witnesses (hereafter collectively “principal”) and notary public need not be in each other’s physical presence; however in addition to the audio and video recording (retained for 10 years):

The notary public must observe each principal’s execution of a document
The notary public and each principal must be physically located in Massachusetts
The principal must deliver the executed document to the notary public
With respect to any document “involving a mortgage or other conveyance of title to real estate,” the notary public and each principal are both required to engage in a second video conference during which each principal verifies that the document received by the notary public is the same document executed during the initial video conference
The principal must make disclosure of any person present in the room and make that person viewable to the notary public
The notary public must provide an affidavit that must be retained for 10 years

A number of other conditions must be met and are set forth in the Act. The notary public may notarize the document when received (delivered) if all conditions are met.

Upcoming Events and Learning Sessions

April 29 – Entering and Editing MREIS Listings with Kasey Levesque 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
May 5 – Winning the Listings (Listings Part 1) Takeaway 1:00 – 2:00 pm
May 6 – Boosting Your Listing with Courtney Dunnell 10:00 – 10:30 am
May 8 – Distinctive Collection with Melissa Lake 10:00 – 10:30 am
May 12 – 5 Creative Ways to Sell Your Listing (Listings Part 2) 1:00 – 2:00 pm
May 13 – Customizing your websites with Kasey Levesque 10:00 – 10:30 am

Remember to go to https://www.tmgcareers.com/covid-19-guidance to view the upcoming learning sessions. This is also where we will post links to recordings of past learning sessions as soon as we have them.

Look for the calendar toward the top of the page. It looks like this:

Click here to get started: https://arthurgary.theceshop.com/

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.”

– John Muir

Photo courtesy of Diane Jenkins