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MA Real Estate Law Questions and Answers

Topic	Replies	Created	Last reply
Lien on Massachusetts driver’s license 15-Jun-2008 12:11 AM -- Boopinmini Is there statue of limitation? 11 years ago (week after his 18th birthday), my son got into an accide...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Likely Ethics Violations We sold our condo in November of 2009. We had a new house lined up-offer was accepted (per our realtor) after a little negotiation, had the home insp...	5	2 years 42 weeks ago by flyers559	2 years 36 weeks ago by bankruptcyattorney
listing sheet incorrect 23-Feb-2008 8:02 AM -- acloutier I recently purchased a new house. The listing sheet read that the dryer was "gas". The heat and stove a...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Living area calculation for MLS listing My wife and I bought a contemporary tri-level home in Massachusetts in 2000. We are putting our home up for sale this year. When we bought the hom...	1	3 years 18 weeks ago by Craig48	3 years 18 weeks ago by The Editor
Living in a property owned by my parents...address to mail? Situation: I will be moving in a condo owned by my parents (mortgage in their name). The plan is for me to pay the condo fee, mortgage, utilities all ...	0	1 year 31 weeks ago by ftown34	n/a
loan modification documents Do loan modification documents that change interest, principle, and duration need to be filed at the Registry of Deeds?	0	4 years 19 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
loan modification of mortgage I worked out what I thought was a fair modification with my bank. I was 6 months behind, they added the interest to my loan, and my new payment amount...	1	4 years 25 weeks ago by Anonymous	4 years 25 weeks ago by The Editor
Locked out of Condo Good Afternoon all, I have a sticky situation I am trying to deal with and would like some advice or opinions on how to proceed. My sister owns a...	0	4 years 17 weeks ago by rcaira	n/a
lot line dispute My neighbor and I are disputing our shared lot line. We know our survey is correct yet he feels his is correct as well. Is that possible? and if so,...	4	1 year 27 weeks ago by MA-41	1 year 4 weeks ago by Molly4
MA Adverse possession? Does adverse possession in MA require continuity of ownership for either/both properties/owners? For example, for 20 years the owners of property A u...	1	3 years 7 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 7 weeks ago by The Editor
MA College questions regarding room entry The state school I go to has recently decided on weekly 'housing inspections'. On a regular schedule, they walk through the dorm to ensure proper cond...	0	4 years 31 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
MA Condo Association not making repairs to common area damage to individual unit I have owned my condominium for 20 years and have had water problems causing damage to my ceiling for 19 years. Over the years the association has mad...	1	4 weeks 2 days ago by gail53	4 weeks 1 day ago by The Editor
MA Condo Association Trustees Is it legal for a non-unit-owner to be on the board of trustees? Currently live in a small condominium where 2 of the 3 Trust members are not deeded ...	0	3 years 34 weeks ago by cpank	n/a
MA Condo Associations levying fines I read a posting dated 8/15/2008 14:27 that answers the question can a Condo Association levy fines. The post says they cannot unless the fines were d...	1	3 years 15 weeks ago by snoopy	3 years 15 weeks ago by The Editor
MA Deed Transfer/Stamp Tax ? Is this tax (0.456% in most counties) only due (to be paid by seller) if financial consideration $$ is paid for the property? If title to a property ...	1	3 years 40 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 40 weeks ago by Peter Bernardin
MA Solar Access Laws I am interested in opinions as to how to interpret the language in the MA Solar Access Law. Specifically in regards to the voiding of restrictive pro...	6	2 years 47 weeks ago by Anonymous	2 years 43 weeks ago by BostonSolarInstaller
Management Company Sold My Apartment Building Hello, I have been living in a property company managed building in Boston for the last 3+ years. About 3 months ago, they let us know that they ha...	0	1 year 23 weeks ago by grimmylina	n/a
Mass General Law 266_120B: What if permission is granted but the landowner wants to delay the repair as it creates a hardship If a landowner agrees that the abutter may come onto the property to repair a wall but feels that the schedule is a hardship and wants to them delay t...	0	2 years 51 weeks ago by et-b	n/a
Mass LLC fee, alternative state for Mass real estate LLC We own a small apartment rental in Boston in our name. The mortgage is paid off. We would like to transfer this property into an LLC. Could we form...	0	1 year 36 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Massachusetts Business Property Change hands If a property that a business is on changes ownership (in family to the current management of the business) does the building need to come up to code?...	1	18 weeks 6 days ago by Green Giant	18 weeks 3 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Massachusetts Condominium Laws I reside in the same condo complex as condodunce, my question is an extension of her question. Is it legal for the bank as primary owners of the prop...	1	4 years 15 weeks ago by buyerbeware	4 years 15 weeks ago by The Editor
Massachusetts Condominium Trustee renting unit should resign? I am a trustee of a condominium association. One of the trustees rents out his unit and no longer lives here. Just recently he put his unit up for sal...	1	4 weeks 2 days ago by lef2011	4 weeks 2 days ago by The Editor
Massachusetts Condominum Law My husband and I own a Townhous. The original builder was foreclosed upon. The lending bank took the property over at auction and now are "the condo...	1	4 years 15 weeks ago by condodunce	4 years 15 weeks ago by The Editor
Massachusetts Homeowners Association My HOA is not getting a quorum at their annual meetings, but falsely claiming they are. What can be done? Also, the BOD unilateraly changed the ...	1	1 year 30 weeks ago by mke039	1 year 29 weeks ago by The Editor
Massachusetts ownership of property--entirety vs joint tenancy Should my husband and I own our property as joint tenants with rights of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety? What are the pros and cons of eac...	1	1 year 15 weeks ago by donnap60	1 year 15 weeks ago by The Editor
Massachusetts Real Estate 24-Mar-2008 6:25 PM -- lau Hello, just a quick question to try to help out my grandmother...she signed an agreement today to sell her ho...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
MassHealth Renewal My mother is on Masshealth and living in long term nursing home care. She is up for renewal and Masshealth is looking for her share from the sale of h...	0	2 years 30 weeks ago by jcrandle51	n/a
Military Fence abutting residential property Good morning, I have two questions: 1. Is the military subject to any state or local laws regarding fences when they operate in residential area...	1	3 years 28 weeks ago by russww	3 years 28 weeks ago by The Editor
misrepresentation of property line by MA real estate agent I recently purchased a house and when i looked at the house the sellers agent showed us the property lines and walked the land with us. After going th...	2	2 weeks 4 days ago by homes1	18 hours 37 min ago by jonasjacobson
MLS listing expires, then offer accepted from third party - required to pay commish to listing broker? My house has been on MLS for a number of months and is due to expire soon. I've been contacted by a neighbor who has expressed interest in buying my ...	5	3 years 7 weeks ago by waywargu	3 years 7 weeks ago by scorpio11679
MLS listing said CITY SEWER/WATER... purchased home and found out today that I have a SEPTIC SYSTEM! When my toilet backed up this past weekend, I called a plumber... and low and behold our system is not hooked up to the street - it is a septic system...	1	1 year 22 weeks ago by Renucci	1 year 22 weeks ago by The Editor
MLS misrepresentation-Broker misrepresentation went to an open house for 3 unit condo complex,1 unit sold already. asked sellers agent about the fenced in yard. he told us it will be a common area ...	0	1 year 33 weeks ago by annamal00	n/a
Mold in our "new" house We just bought a house at the beginning of August. The sellers moved out in May and there was a lot of work done in that time frame by contractors thr...	1	35 weeks 4 days ago by zippy353	35 weeks 2 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
More on security deposits... 18-Jun-2008 11:15 AM -- amschnitt Hello, I paid my landlord a $900 security deposit in 3 installments of $300/each. I have copies of eac...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Mortgage Discharge Still trying to find out if a mortgage is set at a 5 year term and was paid but no release was filed. Is there a point in time that the mortgage expir...	3	3 years 32 weeks ago by WayneK	2 years 13 weeks ago by The Editor
Mortgage Expiration time This lien I have been talking about is actually a mortgage dated to be paid in 5 years. It was filed in 1983 and paid in 1986. Thee attorney who paid ...	0	3 years 37 weeks ago by WayneK	n/a
Mortgage on a home rights Anonymous Guest 0 post 6-Apr-2008 2:05 PM If my name is on a morgtage but i don't live there any...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Move out inspection? ths Guest 0 post 3-Jun-2008 2:22 PM I am getting ready to move out of my apartment in the next tw...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Moving out the same day lease ends 10-Jul-2008 11:58 AM -- gradstudent Hi, I appreciate any advice I could get on the following situation. The current lease I am on ends J...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Must an increase in Condo Fees be recorded at registry in MA? I own a Condominium in Massachusetts and several years ago my Condo fee was raised by a letter from the Trustees. I am fine with the condo fee amount ...	1	7 weeks 2 days ago by John Kimbell	7 weeks 14 hours ago by TheLawyerKnows
Must broker or real estate agent convey all offers to seller? My home has been on the market for months without an offer and I know the market is bad but I'm beginning to lose faith in my broker (I think I'm actu...	1	3 years 41 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 41 weeks ago by The Editor
Must home seller accept full price offer in MA? Hello, I am trying to sell my condo. My neighbor upstairs has a similar property but is doing a short sale through the bank, selling the unit for $146...	1	2 years 8 weeks ago by themaddog	2 years 8 weeks ago by The Editor
Mutual Termination of Lease 20-Feb-2008 4:26 PM -- Samanthasue17 Hi, I have a lease with my landlord until June 30th. We have been having TONS of problems with them ever since we...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
my ex boyfriend of 15yrs.living in my house I Bought this house in '96.. and lived there until 10/08 with boyfriend...we shared bills...I moved out and he is living there giving me money for the...	2	4 years 27 weeks ago by earthyt	4 years 27 weeks ago by earthyt
My rights on my own land as allowing neighbor to dig up my property to improve his Live in single family home. My property goes within 6 inches of neighbors. My driveway is only 10 feet wide and 20 feet long. The only parking I ha...	1	4 years 4 weeks ago by rh	4 years 4 weeks ago by The Editor
Negligent Board and Property Manager The Board of Trustees of BH1 are neglectful and unresponsive to the unit owners needs. It has become apparent that the property manager (who lives in...	1	4 years 26 weeks ago by BH1Resident	3 years 3 weeks ago by lawyer1
Neighbor blocking my view I've lived in the same house in western Massachusetts for nearly 20 years and have always enjoyed great views of the mountains from my front porch. No...	1	1 year 42 weeks ago by MartaG59	1 year 42 weeks ago by The Editor
Neighbor not maintaining his land I own a house on a plot of land next to a vacant plot of land. The vacant plot of land is declared "unbuildable" by the town assessor(Wakefield). I ...	1	2 years 10 weeks ago by maace	2 years 10 weeks ago by The Editor
neighbor paved part of my land and also parks boat near my tenants window I bought a house in 2009 in another town as an investment. The neighbor, who has owned his house for many years, was friendly and mentioned he "plows ...	1	1 year 39 weeks ago by puzzledlandlord	1 year 39 weeks ago by The Editor
Neighbor tresspassing I have a fence which borders the property line of a neighbor. The ownership of the fence has recently come into question. I have lived at this propert...	1	2 years 6 weeks ago by Anonymous	2 years 6 weeks ago by The Editor
Neighbor's driveway on my land I'm going to sell my home in the next year of so. I've known for three or four years now, since he put it in, that my neighbor's driveway is on my la...	1	2 years 38 weeks ago by Swimming	2 years 38 weeks ago by Kevin Gaughen Sr.
Neighbors and trees My neighbor has an enormous Norway maple which is more then 4 stories high and whose canopy spans over several backyards. A large limb from this overg...	9	2 years 2 weeks ago by Tosa	1 year 35 weeks ago by Tosa
Neighbors Fence / Retaining wall collapsing My neighbors fence / retaining wall is collapsing onto my property. The town says this is a civil issue while I believe it's something that the town ...	2	4 years 13 weeks ago by skimo0412	4 years 13 weeks ago by skimo0412
new mortgage relief help I have just read about a program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. It says that it will drop payments to 38% of income but only for Fannie Mae and...	1	4 years 27 weeks ago by Anonymous	4 years 27 weeks ago by The Editor
New Oil safety law in Massachusetts Hi. I have a two family home in Massachusetts and heard on the radio about some new law that requires homeowners to change their oil heating system i...	1	1 year 16 weeks ago by Grimm4	1 year 16 weeks ago by The Editor
New person has bought the private road and property next to us, squatters rights in question. I am concerned. We have lived at our home since September of 1991. We live along a private road with property at the end of it, and have always had ac...	1	1 year 23 weeks ago by lnama	1 year 23 weeks ago by The Editor
New Rules and Regulations ? I received notice from the trustees of a new move in / move out policy which charges for every move in and every move out. The problem is that I thin...	0	2 years 21 weeks ago by drez	n/a
No current signed lease, can I leave? 11-Jul-2008 6:45 PM -- apuetz19 I had a 1 yr lease expire recently. Upon the expiration, I was to renew the lease per an ad that they p...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
No Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification Form before P&S signed We are buying a house and the seller did not provide the Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification form before signing the P&S. The sellers' attorney ...	2	3 years 28 weeks ago by Grounded2	3 years 27 weeks ago by Grounded2
Noise / Damaged Property Rights 13-May-2008 1:12 PM -- Anonymous My husband, 2 children and I live in an older, run down apartment building in Taunton that was recently...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Noisy Neighbors Part II My question is in regards to a previous post titled: Noisy Neighbors In that forum someone said, "I moved into a house that was made into two apar...	1	4 years 18 weeks ago by amjones	4 years 18 weeks ago by The Editor
Non-Disclosure of Faulty Kitchen Installation/Plumbing Hello, In 2006 I purchased a condo in Franklin, MA with a view to using it as a rental property; the previous owner was (and still is) a local real...	2	1 year 23 weeks ago by Catherine68	1 year 22 weeks ago by Catherine68
Normal deed type for home sale? From the standpoint/interest of a BUYER, what type of deed is offered in most single-family real estate sales (quit-claim, grant, warranty )? How doe...	1	3 years 30 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 30 weeks ago by The Editor
notice from tenant to vacate property My tenant is on a month to month lease. The rent is due the first of every month. I received a notice from my tenant stating that they are going to va...	3	47 weeks 1 day ago by jcam	10 weeks 3 days ago by admin
Notice to quit due to violation of no pets clause I have some pets that are not allowed by my lease. I've received a notice to quit because of this. Is this the same as being evicted? Also, if I choos...	1	4 years 38 weeks ago by Anonymous	4 years 38 weeks ago by The Editor
Number of keys in condo Hi, The person who manage the condo is changing the locks for the main entrence and is giving out 2 keys to each unit. she says each unit is only ...	1	4 years 16 weeks ago by wanttoknow	4 years 16 weeks ago by The Editor
Obtaining MA real estate license with felony convictions Recently I took the 40-hour pre-licensure MA real estate sales course and would like to get my real estate license. However, several years ago I was ...	0	1 year 2 weeks ago by bostong79	n/a
Occupancy Rent kimsta 2 post s 7-Jul-2008 1:32 PM My landlord sent me a notice to quit in May ending the tenanc...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Offer to Purchase We signed Short Sale document and Listing agreement with our realtor on July 8th. He did not submit them to the bank until August 23rd (3 days before...	2	2 years 38 weeks ago by Anonymous	2 years 37 weeks ago by scorpio11679
offer to purchase additional terms with estate sale Hi everybody. I am trying to make an offer on a house, which is an estate sale. As I understand, the executor of the will has a duty to accept the ...	0	1 year 15 weeks ago by ilya980	n/a
oil in tank/move in 13-Aug-2008 5:07 PM -- bostongirl423 can the landlord leave the oil tank empty. just moved in I pay for oil.	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Old and rotten tree on my property I have a very old tree on my property that is rotten in one or two places. I don't think the thing is going to fall, but who knows. I like the tree....	1	3 years 5 weeks ago by ElanMc	3 years 5 weeks ago by The Editor
Overcharging of Condo Fees I live in a condo complex in Norwood, MA. Back in the beginning of 2010, the Board of Trustee raised our condo fees by 4% but when we received our ind...	0	1 year 3 weeks ago by FedUpCondoOwner	n/a
Ownership of right of way under MA law I have a right of way problem. I own the 20 foot wide right of way that gives access to my neighbors property. I take care of the right of way(cut the...	3	2 years 17 weeks ago by crzegocki	2 years 11 weeks ago by The Editor
OWNERSHIP OF UNDEVELOPED RIGHT-OF-WAY I abut an undeveloped road right-of-way in a development in Massachusetts that was subdivided in 1956 and that is now completely developed. The ro...	1	1 year 36 weeks ago by Peter Armstrong	1 year 36 weeks ago by TLF (not verified)
Ownership Under Nominee Trust My father and mother established a nominee real estate trust, giving my mother a life estate and naming me as remainder beneficiary. My father, the t...	1	1 year 6 weeks ago by wnymary	1 year 6 weeks ago by jamesdecoulos
parking easement - can you sell it? rlb41766 1 post 1-Feb-2008 3:02 AM I am looking to purchase a property that has an easement for...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Parking space repainted, my spot moved Recently our parking lot for a 30 unit townhouse complex got repaved . Before the repavement started there was a proposal by the board to move some of...	0	1 year 1 day ago by Bitterbal	n/a
Partial Payment of Security Deposit 16-Jul-2008 11:42 AM -- guest My landlord returned only a partial payment of my security deposit without listing the reasons for withhol...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Passing off a new Association We bought a unit in a new construction of 4 units. Three units have been sold and occupied for at least a year, including ours. All this time the or...	0	2 years 15 weeks ago by Apple 3.141	n/a
Payment In Full 23-May-2008 9:26 AM -- poseyparker I recently paid someone 1/2 of their invoice and wrote PAYMENT IN FULL in the "For" section on the ch...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
pesticide My landlord wants to spray pesticide in my apartment. I understand that the landlord is responsible to keep the (multi-unit) building free of insects...	0	4 years 27 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Petition to Partition My sister and I inherited my mother's house. My sister wanted to sell, but I didn't. She filed a Petition to Partition. The case was heard by a judge ...	1	1 year 3 weeks ago by meanders3	1 year 2 weeks ago by admin
Petition to partition I own a two family house with another family member. We both live in the house. They want to move and we are not in a financial position right now to ...	3	1 year 6 weeks ago by Angry man	1 year 6 weeks ago by admin
Petition to Partition We are three folks that own a two family home as Tenants in Common. One of the owners lives in one of the apartments (the other apartment remains vac...	1	4 years 10 weeks ago by Anonymous	4 years 10 weeks ago by The Editor
Pets, tenant violating lease I have a tenant that is violating his lease by having pets, he currently has 6 dogs, some kind of pocket puppy. He lets them go to the bathroom prett...	2	3 years 21 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 21 weeks ago by kevingaughenjr@...
Please help need condominium law help I purchased a condominium in Essex county in 2005. The other day I had an electrician installing a new light in the ceiling and he said to me "do you ...	1	11 weeks 2 days ago by lef2011	10 weeks 5 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Please respond! 10-Jun-2008 12:26 PM -- ChaseMDuffin My brother, who is 13 is planning to stay home by himself for a day on school vacation, my parents ...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Possible Misrepresentation of a Home for Sale On the MLS listing for the property that I plan to purchase stated there was a sprinkler system. One reason I considered this property was the fact I ...	0	1 year 45 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Post bankruptcy and improper foreclosure I had my ch 7 bankruptcy discharged in September of this year. I just found out my investment property that I included in my bankruptcy was improperly...	0	3 years 22 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Post Closing Issues Question Hello! We moved into our new house almost two weeks ago. The sellers disclosed that in their 15 years living there they only had three basement water ...	2	1 year 2 weeks ago by napoleon1815	1 year 1 week ago by napoleon1815
Potential renter denied: false bkgrd check 30-Jun-2008 7:18 PM -- guest I'm trying to sublet my apartment, and found a person. When my apartment office called her previous apartm...	0	4 years 40 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Preconstruction Purchase We recently purchased a unit in a luxury high rise condominium, during the preconstruction phase. Upon completion, quality of the end product did not...	1	4 years 5 weeks ago by Question606	4 years 5 weeks ago by The Editor
Probate judgement We have been awarded a $200,000 judgement in a probate matter that has gone on for years. The execeutor of my mother's estate has been found to owe my...	1	1 year 1 day ago by massconfusion27	1 year 22 hours ago by The Editor
Problems after closing A week after closing my mortgage broker call saying his commission was short $2700 and I need to pay it. Do I have to? To follow up more, I asked my a...	0	2 years 15 weeks ago by drtina	n/a
Procedure for condo boards to change or amend rules in MA I have been a trustee for 5 years, and we have had our condo for just over 8 years. There has never been a vote, for any election. All members were bo...	1	22 weeks 6 days ago by roger136913	21 weeks 2 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Property Damaged by Fire on Neighbors Property My property experienced damage due to a fire at my neighbors property. How do I recover the difference between what my Insurance is willing to pay aft...	2	2 years 10 weeks ago by JD	2 years 9 weeks ago by JD
property in trust - how to convey Grantor of IR trust received parcel of land in return for transaction. Deed is into the trust. Beneficiary wishes to explore selling land to cease re ...	0	2 years 46 weeks ago by visitorjune	n/a
Property Lien Expiration time Does a lien on land expire after a certain time line.	2	3 years 38 weeks ago by WayneK	3 years 37 weeks ago by WayneK
Property line between condos I live in a condo unit in a two.unit building. Neighbor in 2 unit condo in next building believes the property line on the plot plan of the developer ...	2	20 weeks 13 hours ago by 4isorr	19 weeks 5 days ago by 4isorr