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…
The lower mortgage rate and more stable inventory in the Massachusetts real estate market has several sources, including the real estate website Zillow, predicting that millenials will be the largest group of homebuyers this year. One young woman claimed that a major motivation for her decision to buy a home…
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…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is initiating changes in lending rules that would allow more potential buyers to qualify for home mortgages, especially in high-demand markets like Massachusetts. These changes should enhance buyers’ ability to participate in the housing recovery. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not…
Major storms Katrina and Sandy have made catastrophic hurricane damage in the United States a reality, and there are significant lessons that need to be applied to protect our shorelines in the future. There are specific vulnerabilities the city of Boston will face in the event of sea level rise, and there…
If you purchase or rent out residential property in Massachusetts where young children live or may live, you need to be aware of the requirements of the Massachusetts Lead Law, 105 CMR 460.00, and in particular CMR 460.100, Duty of Owner(s) of Residential Premises. Lead poisoning is a hazard to…
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…
Home prices rose in May by the greatest margin in more than six years as the housing market recovery gains momentum. The S&P/ Case-Shiller index climbed 12.2 percent from May of 2012, marking the biggest twelve month gain since March of 2006. Record low borrowing costs, short supply and an…
The number of signed contracts to buy homes rose in March to the highest level in three years. The National Association of Realtors stated its seasonally adjusted index for pending home sales rose 1.5% to 105.7, the highest since April 2010. It is also above February’s reading of 104.1. Signed…