The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts is expected to decide a case that will have a resounding impact on the way real estate is handled under Massachusetts law. The case, Monell, et al. v. Boston Pads, LLC, et al., will address whether the lower court judge properly exempted the real estate industry…
According to a prominent Boston news outlet citing to the mortgage giant Freddie Mac, earlier this month mortgage rates hit an almost two-year low of 3.73 percent. The volume of home sales are reportedly slightly lower than they were at this time last year. Despite the volume of actual home sales being lower, December sales…
The landmark decision reached by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Real Estate Bar Association (REBA) v. National Estate Information Services (NREIS), 459 Mass. 512 (2011), affirmed not only the mandatory presence of but the substantial participation and involvement of a Massachusetts attorney in real estate closing proceedings.…
Buying a new home can be an incredibly exciting and simultaneously stressful situation. It is not difficult to imagine the potential hassles that can arise when the property that you saved up for years to purchase, and continue to work hard to afford, begins to show signs of problems that…
Towns Assess Impact Fees on Developers to Fund Infrastructure If you are buying a home in a new development, your purchase price may reflect fees paid by the developer to fund the paving of the street in front of your house, and other municipal services. The developer may be able…
Massachusetts Real Estate Market Cooling Down The Massachusetts housing market, particularly in the Boston area, has finally started to cool down after a blazing hot summer that saw relentlessly rising home prices. Although the fall and winter are traditionally slow for real estate sales, this year is seeing an unseasonable reduction in home…
Closing a real estate transaction can be a difficult process. One or more of the parties may change their minds or try to sabotage the deal for various reasons. Trying to negotiate, even with a formerly trusted business associate or partner, may become an agonizing fiasco. In such a situation,…
A prospective purchaser of property may discover that there is an easement giving a non-owner, whether a person, company, or public entity, the right to use a portion of the property. An easement is usually a passageway between two properties, possibly for a driveway when one property does not have direct access…
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has taken an aggressive stance against using aerial drones – unmanned aircraft – for commercial purposes. The FAA has jurisdiction over U.S. airspace, which gives it the authority to prohibit anyone from flying drones for commercial purposes. This has brought the agency into conflict with farmers,…
As home prices have been rising, the number of underwater homeowners has dropped below ten million for the first time in more than three years. An underwater home is one in which the homeowner owes more on their mortgage then the home is actually worth. 9.7 million, roughly 19.8%, of…