Death and Taxes: Estate Sales & Probate Issues In Massachusetts Real Estate...
Benjamin Franklin once said famously that “the only certainties in life are death and taxes.” That’s certainly true in real estate practice. Today, I will go over how real estate passes when the owner...
View ArticleUpcoming Free Webinar (Nov. 1, 11:00AM): An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth A...
Realtors, are you using the most current contingencies and language in your Offers? Do you know the most current Fannie Mae/FHA condo rules and how they will impact your condo sale? Want to know the...
View ArticleElectronic Signatures Gaining Acceptance and Popularity In Massachusetts Real...
Compliance Concerns Unwarranted Electronic signature technology has been quickly gaining steam throughout the U.S. real estate community, and has now arrived in earnest in Massachusetts. Electronic...
View ArticleFrom Asbestos to Radon: The Massachusetts Home Inspection Process, A Legal...
The home inspection is one of the most critical aspects of every Massachusetts real estate transaction. Virtually every buyer in a standard purchase transaction (meaning not a short sale, foreclosure,...
View ArticleNew Trends Emerging In Massachusetts Short Sale Legal Practice
The Offer to Purchase Has Become Much More Important With a glut of distressed property still on the market and lenders realizing foreclosures aren’t very cost-effective, analysts are predicting a...
View ArticleBuyer Loses $31,000 Deposit After Refusing To List Current Residence For Sale...
Standard Mortgage Contingency Language At Issue I recently came across a very interesting and scary case from the Appeals Court, Survillo v. McDonough No. 11–P–290. Dec. 2, 2011. (It’s technically an...
View ArticleCash Is Just As Good As Money: Massachusetts Cash Real Estate Purchase Advisory
Tips For Massachusetts Real Estate Cash Buyers & Sellers As Yogi Berra once humorously said, “cash is just as good as money.” This is especially true in real estate transactions where a cash buyer...
View ArticleThink Before You Hit Send: Emails May Constitute Binding Real Estate...
Feldberg v. Coxall: First Case To Apply New UETA (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act) To Real Estate Transactions “This case involves the intersection between the seventeenth century Statute of Frauds...
View ArticleWorcester Catholic Church Pulled Out of Mansion Sale To Prevent Gay...
Worcester Diocese Allegedly Pulled Out of Deal Over Possibility Of Gay Marriages at Mansion James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, married business partners from Sutton, had been searching for the perfect...
View ArticleAvoiding The Money Pit: Advice For Buying New Construction
With the economy and housing market on the upswing, builders are finally building again. I’ve seen a definite uptick in new construction purchases. Buying a new construction home, however, is very...
View ArticleEmails May Come Back To Haunt Agents — Realtor Magazine Feature Article
I wanted to share a recent article I authored for Realtor Magazine which was published in their January/February 2013 edition. The article is based on the Massachusetts court opinion in Feldberg v....
View ArticleEmail Disclaimers: Toothless, Useful, Or A Little Of Both?
A Simple Email Disclaimer Cannot Hurt & Can Only Help Boilerplate email disclaimers at the bottom of messages are so ubiquitous that most of us hardly notice them anymore. They certainly take up a...
View ArticleEscrow Holdbacks: A Lifebuoy For A Troubled Closing
You have been eagerly awaiting the closing of your new construction home, but alas, the builder has not been able to complete the landscaping, walkway and driveway by the closing and there is a two...
View ArticleMass. Bar Counsel Advises Real Estate Attorneys To Closely Manage Transactions
Bar Counsel Tightening Ethical Standards and Expectations On the second anniversary of the SJC’s important ruling in Real Estate Bar Assoc. (REBA) v. National Real Estate Information Services (NREIS),...
View ArticleMassachusetts Purchase and Sale Agreement Tips: Modifications of Paragraph...
Overview of “Standard” Changes to the GBREB Form Purchase and Sale Agreement Missing mortgage discharges, problematic probates, “Ibanez” foreclosure issues and other title defects are always an...
View ArticleDon’t Get Stuck With A Lemon of a Condo: Massachusetts Condominium Purchase...
Do Your Due Diligence! Condominiums remain hot in the Greater Boston area, often the new starter home for the young professional buyer. I am also seeing quite a lot of two and three family homes in the...
View ArticleIncluded In the Sale? Surround Sound Speakers, Decorative Mirrors, and Other...
I had a interesting situation come up the other day during a pre-closing walk-through. Unbeknownst to me or the listing agent, the seller had removed wall-mounted speakers from the living room, leaving...
View ArticleSellers Hit With $500,000 Judgment For Torpedoing Closing
Attorney’s Obnoxious Conduct At Closing Factor in Large Award Every now and then I have a contentious deal where I should be wearing a black and white referee’s shirt instead of a shirt and tie. I’m...
View ArticleNever Fear, The Use and Occupancy Agreement Is Here!
Like Superman, A Use and Occupancy Agreement Can Save the Day, But Be Aware of the Risks! Tom and Mary Ryan, and their two little kids, Abigail and Jake, are relocating from California to the Boston...
View ArticleTRID Rules Expected To Delay and Disrupt Closings
Major Change To Current Practices | Expect Delays and Bumpy Road Starting Oct. 1 I just finished yet another closing where a national lender issued the closing package and HUD approval the morning of...
View ArticleBest Practices In A New TRID World
Scroll Down For My Complimentary TRID Rider and Offer Timeline Cheatsheet I’ve been doing a lot of speaking, and more importantly, thinking and collaborating with loan officers and Realtors, on the...
View ArticleRealtors Say: Warm Winter To Usher In Hot Spring Real Estate Market
Or Will Low Inventory Bring Rain Showers? | The Spring Market 2016 Expert Panel Report Wow, what a difference a year makes! Last year we had one of the snowiest winters on record and a foot of snow on...
View ArticleOMG! Text Messages May Form Binding Real Estate Contract, Land Court Rules
Text Messages Enforceable As Written Contract, Court Rules With the proliferation of email and texts as the primary method of communications in real estate negotiations, it was just a matter of time...
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