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MA Real Estate Law Questions and Answers

Topic	Replies	Created	Last reply
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 10 weeks ago by Angry man	1 year 10 weeks ago by admin
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 10 weeks ago by wnymary	1 year 10 weeks ago by jamesdecoulos
Can a person who is not on the title or the deed approve changes/modifications to a property? Can my soon to be ex-wife, who is not on the title or deed to the property approve changes to the property. For example, can she allow the neighbors t...	0	1 year 10 weeks ago by michael123	n/a
Backing out of signed P&S... We are a little over a week from closing on a house and we want to back out of the P&S. As I understand it, the loss of the 5% down is the only penalt...	1	1 year 9 weeks ago by napoleon1815	1 year 9 weeks ago by The Editor
How long can the closing attorney hold onto the funds before distribution to seller? My property was sold two weeks ago and the attorney handling the closing for the bank has not yet released the distribution. The property was joinly ...	1	1 year 9 weeks ago by frustratedseller	1 year 9 weeks ago by jamesdecoulos
Landlord and tenant want to break lease Hello, after doing battle with my landlord for three months about code violations in the apartment, she has agreed to let me get out of the lease even...	1	1 year 8 weeks ago by Brightlight	1 year 8 weeks ago by The Editor
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 7 weeks ago by meanders3	1 year 6 weeks ago by admin
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 7 weeks ago by FedUpCondoOwner	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 6 weeks ago by napoleon1815	1 year 5 weeks ago by napoleon1815
Is a real estate buyer required to have a broker? I have always made offers on real estate without a broker, and often I can negotiate the price down based on the fact that the seller's broker will no...	1	1 year 6 weeks ago by LarsErickson	40 weeks 8 hours ago by TheLawyerKnows
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 6 weeks ago by bostong79	n/a
Condominium Association and use of common areas Can the board of directors of a small condominium association (21 unit owners) permit adjacent landowners to come across the common element property t...	7	1 year 5 weeks ago by ataraj	41 weeks 5 days ago by hunted
adverse possession against government or city My house has a very small corner of it that sits on town property. It has been there continuously for over 100 years. Does prescriptive easement apply...	1	1 year 5 weeks ago by nancyanthony55	1 year 5 weeks ago by admin
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 4 weeks ago by Bitterbal	n/a
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 4 weeks ago by massconfusion27	1 year 4 weeks ago by The Editor
HOA dispute over Roof Deck Here's the facts: condo building consisting of 3 units converted in 2002. A year or so goes by and one of the unit owners builds a patio deck on top o...	1	1 year 3 weeks ago by rhenryscott	1 year 3 weeks ago by The Editor
Inspector missed EVERYTHING! My mother bought her first home in 2009, we were looking at mild fixer-uppers because that was the best her budget could afford. Long story short is t...	1	1 year 3 weeks ago by Ih8existence	1 year 3 weeks ago by The Editor
Very odd/strange deed-rider clause dependent on Jenna Bush I was reading the standard deed rider for the Boston Inclusionary Development Program (IDP) and found this odd clause (below) dependent on the deaths ...	0	1 year 2 weeks ago by nearly_blind	n/a
Variance in Massachusetts Hi. I need to build an addition to my house to accommodate more children but the only place that I can put the addition, because of some nearby wet...	1	1 year 1 week ago by JimDG	1 year 1 week ago by The Editor
Adverse Possession I purchased my home 12/11/1978. When I bought the property the sloped land on the right of my house.I maintained, mowed the grass, planted, cut trees ...	1	1 year 1 week ago by homeowner1	1 year 1 week ago by The Editor
Use of common areas Hello, I am the head of a condo association comprised of 2 units in a single building. Our basement is officially designated as a "common area" in ou...	1	1 year 1 week ago by LisaF	1 year 1 week ago by admin
Can I purchase or rent part of condo common area basement? We are in need of more space and are considering using part of the unfinished basement common area in our 6 unit condo building. Option 1: We buy ...	1	1 year 3 days ago by snoonan	1 year 2 days ago by The Editor
Town land abuts my property I recently bought a home. I was told that the land to the left of my property was known as a "paper" street and is town property and is mostly wooded ...	2	52 weeks 18 hours ago by Jmarine311	51 weeks 6 days ago by Jmarine311
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	51 weeks 1 day ago by jcam	14 weeks 2 days ago by admin
Buying foreclosed home on affordable housing land Hi, I have been in the process of purchasing a foreclosed home since the beginning of May. Everything went smoothly until about a week before the...	0	50 weeks 4 days ago by Chip15	n/a
Illegal spite fence Hello. My neighbor and I have been going at it like the Hatfields and the McCoys for over five years now, since the day I moved in next door with my ...	1	50 weeks 4 days ago by Madneighbor9	50 weeks 2 days ago by The Editor
Exemptions to homestead law and condominium association dues Hello, Can a condo association seize a condo for unpaid condo fees if the condo in question is homesteaded? Thank you	1	48 weeks 6 days ago by jharold	48 weeks 6 days ago by The Editor
Email as a binding contract in Massachusetts A fascinating opinion dealing with email communications in real estate negotiations came out of one of our Superior courts recently. In Feldberg...	0	48 weeks 5 days ago by The Editor	n/a
Tall Bushes Obstruct View When Leaving Driveway My neighbor has planted bushes next to my driveway that run from the sidewalk back to the front of his house. They have gotten so tall that when I am...	1	48 weeks 3 days ago by coaster	48 weeks 3 days ago by The Editor
Condo Rules Waiver Right now my condo board is fining me for unapproved modifications that were made nearly two years ago. I read on another site that there is such thin...	1	47 weeks 1 day ago by condohelp1234	47 weeks 9 hours ago by The Editor
Purchase and sale agreements favor buyer or seller? Hi and thanks for providing this forum. My wife and I are looking to purchase our first home. We almost purchased a condominium unit in Massachusett...	1	45 weeks 9 hours ago by David Bell	45 weeks 8 hours ago by The Editor
Too many condo units rentals, can we change something? I live in a 12 unit condo building. The original owner of all 12 units never sold the basement 4 units and has them as rental units. This is making it...	1	41 weeks 5 days ago by lola8	40 weeks 2 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Expensive Roof, Board taking advantage of residence I really need some helpful advice! I moved into my condo 6 months ago but was never informed of the new roofs the association planned on fixing until...	0	41 weeks 2 days ago by jess5312003	n/a
Refinancing Do I need a lawyer when refinancing my home mortgage?	2	40 weeks 5 days ago by kapuzjr	40 weeks 4 days ago by The Editor
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	39 weeks 4 days ago by zippy353	39 weeks 2 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Foreclosure of liens on personalty Hi all, I recently ran across a law ["O.C.G.A. 44-14-550"] that is from the Georgia code, and it pertains to what I am trying to do here in Massach...	0	38 weeks 6 days ago by moorish_council7	n/a
Condo deeded parking-property line in june moved into a 6 unit building with assigned parking. the spots are side by side, and 2 spots at the far right do not belong to my building, an...	0	37 weeks 6 days ago by annamal00	n/a
Will Condo Docs need to be rewritten or amended? Hello I am 50% owner of a 2 Unit Condo. Since purchasing my condo there is a new owner to the other unit. The original condo docs (Declaration of Tr...	1	37 weeks 5 days ago by H20Chauncey	25 weeks 1 day ago by TheLawyerKnows
What rights do the public have to private roads I live in a small closed neighborhood, where all the roads are private. We do not have a gatehouse. Recently, an very unkempt person with obvious psyc...	1	37 weeks 1 day ago by capeartist	36 weeks 6 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Home inspector quoting repair costs? Hi, We are selling our home and got an offer on it. Our real estate agent let the perspective buyer know that the house needs new windows. On the h...	1	36 weeks 5 days ago by Wbfdlt	36 weeks 5 days ago by The Editor
Condo ownership percentage I have a question about Condo laws. My Condo association consists of 3 units. one with 54% interest and 2 each with 23% interest in the common areas....	1	36 weeks 5 days ago by appletonst	34 weeks 4 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Can my neighbor fill in a ditch that would cause my property to flood? I have been maintaining a drainage ditch that existed long before we bought our house 13 years ago. Without regular clean out my back yard floods ever...	1	36 weeks 4 days ago by Ditched	36 weeks 4 days ago by The Editor
Can Chapter 40B units be change to equal ownership in the Master Deed? Hello, I purchase a 40B condo in a new development in 2006. We have 3 40B units with approximatley 4.8% ownership and all others have about 9% owner...	1	32 weeks 6 days ago by Denise C	26 weeks 1 day ago by jonasjacobson
Weak HOA. What can be done to help? Hi, The condo I lived in consist of 2 building with 30 units. It comes to a point where about 50% of the units are rented out. I feel that the tr...	2	32 weeks 5 days ago by peterw617	30 weeks 4 hours ago by peterw617
Withholding rent from Landlord while violating lease. So I live in a house in District 14 of Boston. My roommates are considering withholding rent from our landlord as he has not replaced the locks on our...	1	31 weeks 9 hours ago by TonySeal	31 weeks 8 hours ago by admin
Received notice to quit, can I reinstate tenancy? I have resided in an apartment in a 3 family home for almost 10 years. In late August I was notified from the owner that they sold the house to a prop...	1	30 weeks 6 days ago by rgriff	30 weeks 5 days ago by admin
Can a MA homeowner's association revoke members' voting rights? My homeowner's association is trying to revoke the voting rights of members in arrears. I'm current, but we are all only one car accident away from a ...	1	30 weeks 4 days ago by mschwa1967	30 weeks 4 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Fallen trees Due to the recent storm, two trees fell on my property. It was my belief that the trees belonged to my neighbor and I expressed this to him. He hired ...	7	30 weeks 3 days ago by lvella	30 weeks 1 day ago by lvella
Who owns shared fence now under MA law? Eight years ago, my parents and neighbor split the cost of a fence which is on my parent's property. MY parents then sold their house. The new owner a...	3	30 weeks 1 day ago by Camster56	12 weeks 4 days ago by The Editor
Who is responsible for Condo Skylight Repair under MA law? We're a 4 unit association in the South End & have had two roofing projects completed to deal with various water leaks from the top down. There is...	3	28 weeks 5 days ago by robertz120	28 weeks 4 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Responsibility of MA condo association plumbing repairs Hello, new to the site but from reading others questions and answers I'm anxious to post. My fiance and I moved into a condo in MA in August of 2012, ...	1	27 weeks 5 hours ago by marinabaySA	27 weeks 3 hours ago by The Editor
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	26 weeks 5 days ago by roger136913	25 weeks 1 day ago by TheLawyerKnows
Do Condo Trustees in MA have the right to hire a lawyer If a trustee might be breaking a condo rule does a trustee have the right to have a lawyer paid for out of condo fees? It stats in the by-laws a trust...	3	26 weeks 4 days ago by roger136913	26 weeks 4 days ago by admin
Home Estate Planning Tool? My parents 2007 life estate needed correcting and clarifications.For example:That 2007 document's ownership was interpreted differently.One way was,I ...	1	25 weeks 5 days ago by middle-aged	25 weeks 5 days ago by The Editor
Deed Of Trust or Mortgage Agreement under MA law In Massachusetts, is a Deed of Trust used to secure a private loan or is there another form to use? I am getting conflicting information from Rocket L...	1	24 weeks 3 days ago by chalawan	24 weeks 3 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
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	23 weeks 6 days ago by 4isorr	23 weeks 4 days ago by 4isorr
Unsold condo units being rented We bought our townhouse 5 years ago. Since then no other units have been purchased. The owner of the property started renting a couple units rather ...	1	23 weeks 2 days ago by Cpauger	22 weeks 3 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Condominium association duty to repair sewage backup We currently live in a 13 unit townhouse complex. Two units, including ours, are owner occupied, two are bank owned foreclosures, and all but one rema...	1	23 weeks 1 day ago by Cpauger	23 weeks 1 day ago by The Editor
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	22 weeks 5 days ago by Green Giant	22 weeks 3 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Condo Improvement do I need to pay We have a 3 unit condo association. Two units, owning 62.5%, hooked up to the sewer when it came down our street this past fall. I own 37.5% and voted...	1	19 weeks 6 days ago by endofcape	19 weeks 1 day ago by TheLawyerKnows
40B condo unit fees At present, our Association has 4 40B units in our complex. They pay a much lower condo fee than the other 12 units. Just came accross an article th...	1	19 weeks 23 hours ago by oaker	19 weeks 6 hours ago by admin
Easement by prescription I represent a group of property owners and local residents who have been using a private road to access the beach for well over 20 years. A new prope...	1	17 weeks 18 hours ago by Suzanne korf	17 weeks 7 hours ago by The Editor
Is the seller responsible for repairs on work they did? I moved into my new home 2 weeks ago and in the first week we had a water pipe break. The break occured when we lost power during a snow storm. Our ...	1	17 weeks 7 hours ago by mlawson25	17 weeks 2 hours ago by Kevin Gaughen Sr.
Selling Home need to evict tenant in MA Hi, My husband and I own a home in Massachusetts. The tenant in the home has a MONTH TO MONTH WRITTEN LEASE. He has been living there for aprox. 2 yea...	1	15 weeks 5 days ago by mloosh	15 weeks 5 days ago by The Editor
Trying to Avoid a Law Suit I am not a licensed sales agent. I used to be, but my license expired. I am now a full time, w-2 employee of a company where my boss has a inactive...	1	15 weeks 3 days ago by whattodo	14 weeks 4 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
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	15 weeks 1 day ago by lef2011	14 weeks 4 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Landlord not paying water/sewer and keeping security deposit I recently moved out of an apartment that I lived in for 3 years in Brigham Circle. The first year I lived there with my boyfriend (shared a room) and...	1	14 weeks 6 days ago by kn	14 weeks 5 days ago by admin
Return of last month's rent in Massachusetts My son needed to move out of his apartment before the term was finished. He had paid last month rent and security deposit--never late on a rent paymen...	4	14 weeks 5 days ago by Gen MacKenzie	14 weeks 3 days ago by admin
Removal of shared fence under Massachusetts law The Town recently removed the 8 foot tall chain link fence, almost 1000' feet long, between our land and the school next door. This fence has been in ...	1	12 weeks 4 days ago by Elvad	12 weeks 4 days ago by The Editor
House septic misrepresentation and sold without title 5 inspection We just purchased a home back in June of 2012 from HUD. This house was listed and represented as a Town Sewer. Turns out it is Septic. We did have an ...	1	12 weeks 3 days ago by leightsu2	12 weeks 2 days ago by The Editor
Condominium Trustees inspecting toilettes & Right of access Recently the board of trustees and managing agent informed all unit owners that due to high water usage all units must be inspected by a plumber on a ...	1	12 weeks 8 hours ago by lef2011	10 weeks 6 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
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	11 weeks 1 day ago by John Kimbell	10 weeks 6 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Extinguish Condominium View Easement My condo has a perpetual view easement over the land of an abutter. The condo board would like to extinguish the easement. Do they have the power to...	0	9 weeks 6 days ago by Freethinker62	n/a
Cannot sell my condos because I own more than 10% of units The current Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA, condominium regulations will not back loans for a condo if one owner in the condominium owns more than 1...	1	9 weeks 5 days ago by mnjg	8 weeks 3 hours ago by TheLawyerKnows
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	8 weeks 1 day ago by gail53	8 weeks 1 day 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	8 weeks 1 day ago by lef2011	8 weeks 1 day ago by The Editor
Condo Bylaws and MA State Law re renting units At a recent Condo Assoc. meeting an owner wanted to rent his condo for the weekend which is in violation on the condo bylaws. The bylaws restrict rent...	1	8 weeks 13 min ago by John Johnson	7 weeks 6 days ago by The Editor
Vacation rental on Cape Cod Massachusetts My wife and I had signed a rental agreement for a week in the Cape Cod area last year for August 2013. Due to my wife's employer indicating any vacati...	2	7 weeks 3 days ago by WVWanderer	7 weeks 2 days ago by WVWanderer
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	6 weeks 4 days ago by homes1	4 weeks 1 hour ago by jonasjacobson
Landlord construction onsingle family house I moved in last Sept and landlord daughter lived next door. Her husband was "away on business" and I paid my rent on time and never had a issue. Well,...	1	5 weeks 3 days ago by jeffbiologist	5 weeks 3 days ago by admin
who owns what on private ways in MA? My question is does each owner of a private way own out to the middle of the street or do all neighbors own the street collectively. We do not pay tax...	1	4 weeks 2 hours ago by capell	4 weeks 1 hour ago by jonasjacobson
breaking lease in MA while on section 8 Hi I'm on section 8 in Massachusetts and broke my lease due to needing to relocate to help assist with a parent who fell I'll. I sent my 30 day notice...	1	3 weeks 6 days ago by cup11	3 weeks 6 days ago by The Editor
Taking video of MA apartment to show potential tenants or buyers My landlord is selling the building and a prospective buyer is coming to view the apartments. This person wants to take video of the apartments includ...	2	3 weeks 4 days ago by flowerchild	3 weeks 3 days ago by flowerchild
Is this a renewal clause? I have a 1 year apartment lease which ends May 31. The lease has a clause stating "30 day notice required on or before May 1 if tenant chooses to...	3	2 weeks 4 days ago by blue	2 weeks 4 days ago by The Editor
Title Insurance: Lender gets the most benefit? During closing, as recommend by my lawyer, I also bought a owner's title insurance. Recently, I found out that there is a defect on the property and ...	0	2 weeks 6 hours ago by peterw617	n/a
Are fee rights to land the same as easement rights? My neighbor sold me a house and she failed to reserve her rights to a abutting paper street/private way. She sold me the house under her name as indiv...	0	2 weeks 2 hours ago by Danielle	n/a
MA law on warranty deeds and amending warranty deeds 1. Is it illegal in the state of Massachusetts for recording offices to record warranty deeds? 2.Also, is there a state law in Massachusetts that s...	1	1 week 6 days ago by Tevans	1 week 5 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Commercial Tenancy with no lease, what are my rights? I entered into a 6 month commercial lease through a Realtor, the lease has since run its course. The Realtor told the landlord that my business was le...	1	1 week 3 days ago by HighEnergyVintage	1 week 2 hours ago by Boston Probate ...
Out of state will for MA estate of deceased person Hello, I am NOT an attorney and I am selling my property and buyer's attorney informed that a previous owner couple had tenancy in common. The guy di...	1	1 week 1 day ago by rguru	1 week 5 hours ago by Boston Probate ...
Buyer backing out of sale of Condo in MA If I listed my condo as a 1 bedroom that is 579 square feet and the condo association says it is a studio, but the building inspector says it is a leg...	0	1 week 1 day ago by larzo	n/a
Landlord isn't answering if we can renew I have a lease that ends on July 31 that specified that the tenants must give 60 days notice to renew or move out (June 1). Around May 25, we sent the...	0	1 week 1 day ago by renterfornotmuc...	n/a
Criteria for abandonment of a right of way under Massachusetts law There is a right-of-way through my parents land in MA that is 1/8 of a mile long and eight feet wide. This right of way has not been used in 30 years ...	1	1 day 6 hours ago by oldroad	1 day 2 hours ago by The Editor