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MA Real Estate Law Questions and Answers

Topic	Created	Last reply
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...	5 weeks 1 day ago by Freethinker62	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...	33 weeks 1 day ago by annamal00	n/a
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...	34 weeks 1 day ago by moorish_council7	n/a
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...	36 weeks 4 days ago by jess5312003	n/a
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...	44 weeks 7 hours ago by The Editor	n/a
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...	45 weeks 6 days ago by Chip15	n/a
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 ...	50 weeks 22 hours ago by nearly_blind	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...	51 weeks 4 days ago by Bitterbal	n/a
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 ...	1 year 1 week ago by bostong79	n/a
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...	1 year 2 weeks ago by FedUpCondoOwner	n/a
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...	1 year 5 weeks ago by michael123	n/a
legal basis for breaking a lease My current living situation: Two of the tenants that where there when I moved in decided to move out at the end of August, the landlord choose who mov...	1 year 10 weeks ago by nash.h	n/a
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 ...	1 year 14 weeks ago by ilya980	n/a
Quit Claim on Deed or Not? This could be posted in another forum as it relates to an estate, but the question really is specific to the deed of the deceased. My father-in-law...	1 year 14 weeks ago by dcollins166	n/a
Condominium Fines I live in a 20 unit condominium in MA. Our Rules & Regulations State "Monies paid are first applied to fines then to assessments then to condo fess"....	1 year 15 weeks ago by Kizi001	n/a
Condominium association wants the right to review and approval any pitential buyers or renters My condo association wants to add a by-law that will give them the right to review and approve any potential buyer or seller. I don't agree and think...	1 year 19 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Tenant caused damage to outside of home.. who is responsible My boyfriend and I have lived in our apartment for almost three months. One of our light fixtures has not worked since we moved in and about a week a...	1 year 21 weeks ago by scarming	n/a
A relative trying to steal property ownership Hi,the story goes like this..... A blood related relative was living in my parent's house for many years. while living at my parent's house, my par...	1 year 22 weeks ago by bakachanxxx	n/a
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...	1 year 22 weeks ago by grimmylina	n/a
Interpretation of MGL Chapter 183A, Section 7 I would like to find out thoughts regarding Chap. 183A, Sec. 7. Which states, "No unit owner may exempt himself from liability for his contribution t...	1 year 24 weeks ago by benemack	n/a
using home insurance money from fire to buy new property Hi- I'm not sure if this should be in the real estate forum or tax forum... I own a house in Worcester that was recently severely damaged by fire and...	1 year 25 weeks ago by puzzledlandlord	n/a
Quality of repairs billed from Property Mgmt to Condo owner Hello- My condo association's property management company entered my unit (with notice) and performed what I consider to be non-satisfactory repair...	1 year 26 weeks ago by uggh	n/a
Lake property Hello, I own lake-front property on a private lake and belong to a Lake Association which pays to treat weeds and maintain a dam and a small beach. ...	1 year 27 weeks ago by SW9219	n/a
Quick question on violation of lease from "an unapproved person living in the apartment." Thanks! Hey all, thanks so much for the help in advance. I am looking to move in with my girlfriend, and of course I stay with her sometimes. My primary ad...	1 year 29 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
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 ...	1 year 30 weeks ago by ftown34	n/a
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 ...	1 year 33 weeks ago by annamal00	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...	1 year 35 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
As Built Condo Plans vs. Actual Plans The facts: 1. The Wooden Deck is not shown on the as built plans. A brick deck is shown on the filed plans with the deed from the developer. 2. The ...	1 year 41 weeks ago by KWV	n/a
Conflicting property markers from different engineers We live in an area that has been affected by hurricanes, and as a result, the property lines are often a challenge for engineers. We had our land sur...	1 year 43 weeks ago by frustratedneighbor	n/a
Water rights for lakefront property owners We own lakefront property on a private lake. We joined the lake association prior to moving in and paid annual dues for several years. Personal circum...	1 year 43 weeks ago by suzayaya	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 ...	1 year 45 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
bribery within a condo association I live in a 4 owner condo association. Two owners wanted to build an unnecessary improvement that required majority approval if the improvement was to...	1 year 46 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Condo Right of First Refusal If a Right of First Refusal is added as an amendment to a condominium associations documents/by laws does that make the ROFR a servitude that can surv...	1 year 47 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Water Damage and repair I have had water damage inside my unit multiple times due to the Assoc. failure to repair faulty roof . The Associations insurance company has paid th...	1 year 51 weeks ago by rmac01503	n/a
Can a home owners association legally shut the water off to one of it's members for non payment of its dues for a shared well One member owes back fees of over a thousand dollars for their part of a shared well ,can the water use be legally shut off to them for non payment by...	2 years 7 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
statutory exemptions My mother currently owes back property tax for a few years and just found out that she can apply for a statutory exemption. My question is does the s...	2 years 7 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Condo Association Submission Address We recently changed managing directors in our condo association and I need the address to mail the change to in Massachusetts.	2 years 7 weeks ago by Wayne P. Rindone	n/a
Joint tenancy and one takes mortgage My client and her father were deeded a home as joint tenants. A few years later, the father took a mortgage on the property. Under title theory this...	2 years 9 weeks ago by pjm6321	n/a
Tax Foreclosure Sale When a city forecloses on a property for past due taxes and places it up for auction, does any right to first refusal still hold? At that point when...	2 years 10 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Roof Damage caused by Fire at Neighbors Home My neighbors home was destroyed by a fire. My home experienced damage to my roof and exterior siding. My home owners insurance is prorating my roof re...	2 years 10 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Right of Way and Who Can Access It? I have a right of way on a portion of my property for my neighbor to access his garage and a small parking area. The neighbor does not have a separate...	2 years 10 weeks ago by concerned76	n/a
Condo Right to First Refusal I asked this question before but didn't get any answers so I figured I try again. I live in a 2 unit condominium complex where the owners of the ot...	2 years 10 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
unit interest percentage I live in a condo with very unbalanced interest percentage resulting the monthly condo fee between $100 and $800. We also have a few affordable units ...	2 years 11 weeks ago by Zhengjia7165	n/a
Joint Tenancy Division of Profits I have a question about the division of profits from the sales of a property owned by 2 joint tenants. Ten years ago, my father put me on the titl...	2 years 11 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Can Unpaid Credit Card Debt of 8-12K Cause Lien on Home w/ 3 Owners? Can we take Delinquent Owner Off Deed? Can Unpaid Credit Card Debt Cause Lien on a home that has 3 owners? My situation is this, my day step mom and I own a home in Mass and my father is ...	2 years 14 weeks ago by akyriakakis	n/a
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...	2 years 14 weeks ago by drtina	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...	2 years 15 weeks ago by Apple 3.141	n/a
Condominium Documents Is there a state managed web site that lists condominium associations and also has online content related to an association's condominium documents an...	2 years 15 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Responsibility for removal of fallen tree limb. I live in Boston. During the last storm (1/12/2011) a large limb from a tree on my neighbor's property fell into my yard. Though it caused no damage, ...	2 years 17 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
COnservator and Guardian necessity for real estate sales license? I am the conservator and guardian of my aunt and her estate. Do I need a license to sell her home? The state is requiring it. Also, where can I fi...	2 years 17 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
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...	2 years 20 weeks ago by drez	n/a
Discrimination by condominium association against families with children There was an interesting settlement recently between the United States Justice Department and the Stonecleave Village Association in Methuen, Massachu...	2 years 23 weeks ago by The Editor	n/a
Convoluted Purchase with post-purchase flaws found We purchased a home over a year ago and to simplify the story, I've included a timeline - began negotiations in Nov/Dec of 2008, their realtor was ...	2 years 24 weeks ago by frankwin_47906	n/a
Condo Improvements Require Vote, but What If Paid For By Only Those Who Want It? Per our condo Declaration of Trust (and Mass. General Law), “improvements” to our condo require a 75% vote of unit owners for the expense to be pa...	2 years 25 weeks ago by Shans	n/a
County records indexing? I purchased a home 2 months ago (Middlesex county). After the closing I noticed that at the county real estate records website that several of the doc...	2 years 28 weeks ago by Anonymous	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...	2 years 29 weeks ago by jcrandle51	n/a
Shared Exterior Wall Responsibilty What MA laws pertain to the repair/maintenance of a shared exterior masonry roof wall between two homes? I'm trying to find out who should be respo...	2 years 31 weeks ago by Wallter	n/a
Annual Trustee Recordings - no change in trustees year to year.. I have a quick ( hopefully ) question. I’ve looked around the Mass Gov site and can’t find anything specific. I have several condo association...	2 years 34 weeks ago by rrichm999	n/a
Capital gains tax In 1996 I purchased a property from my parents and agreed to a life estate. At the time the property was worth $252,000. I purchased it for $160,000...	2 years 36 weeks ago by pongmaster21	n/a
Late Apartment Rental Fees Hey there. Not really sure where to post this but I was seeking some help on an issue. I live with a large group of guys and have rented an entire ...	2 years 38 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Can the Treasurer be held personally responsible? Our condo association is made up of 32 units. Admittedly only 5 people attend the meetings regularly and those are the people on the board. Recently t...	2 years 39 weeks ago by nightlifemp	n/a
Condo Association Repair Responsibilities Event: Toilet leaks in Unit A and causes some water damage to Unit B and common area of building (condo association). There was NO negligence on the...	2 years 40 weeks ago by bd	n/a
Condo - electrical/ac problem extends into common area/adjacent unit I am a condo owner (garden style unit) and my central air stopped working almost 4 weeks ago. I have had an hvac repair tech and electrician look at ...	2 years 40 weeks ago by cfrie	n/a
Foreclosure Title Hello, I just bought a foreclosure property from public auction sale. The property has two mortgage on this. The lender foreclosing the property is...	2 years 42 weeks ago by BruceBleg	n/a
Retaining Wall and Town use/abuse I live in a small condo building, and we have a retaining wall behind our building. The wall runs past two other buildings as well. On the other sid...	2 years 42 weeks ago by GlenG	n/a
property lines - extend into lake? I live on a lake, and my neighbor has anchored a floating raft that, if the wind blows my way, drifts over into water that abutts my property by about...	2 years 45 weeks ago by gibba1234	n/a
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 ...	2 years 45 weeks ago by visitorjune	n/a
Condo assocation repair costs I am a part of a 6 unit condo association. We are needing to do costly repairs to common areas. If we take out a loan on behalf of the condo associati...	2 years 46 weeks ago by kabslp	n/a
Water and Sewer termination by township The township is terminating my water service. I have not received prior notification they just posted notice to my door saying i had 12 days to pay i...	2 years 46 weeks ago by ginad	n/a
Landlord leasing apartment out from under me My 1 year lease is over on 8/15/2010. Last Wednesday, my landlord asked me if I wanted to stay. I told him I needed a week and he agreed. I called him...	2 years 48 weeks ago by mrstryke	n/a
What determines "ordinary" vs "extraordinary" expenses with a condo assn? A unit has a deck, and the condo docs say that unitowner is responsible for ordinary expenses associated with the deck but the association handles ext...	2 years 50 weeks ago by danfahey	n/a
Refusing to allow phone wires I own a condo on the third floor of a three story building. About a year ago Verizon Fios came in to feed the wires to the units for those of us that ...	2 years 50 weeks ago by fdbolt	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...	2 years 51 weeks ago by et-b	n/a
Developer foreclosure- no association exists I am the only person who bought in to a 4 unit building. The developer controls the association and is renting the other 3 units. He is being foreclos...	3 years 6 days ago by Anonymous	n/a
Homeowner's Insurance for nonmarried JTC? My fiance and I are closing on a house(cash no mortgage) next month as joint-tenants where we will both reside. I called my current insurance agent an...	3 years 1 week ago by Anonymous	n/a
dividing a single lot into two My neighborhood was originally divided into all 10,000 Sq. ft lots, I own a 20,000 Sq. ft lot which both ends of the property are each on a dead end s...	3 years 2 weeks ago by JMello78	n/a
condo board recording requirements Our association had its annual meeting in January 2010. All Board positions expired at that meeting, and there was not a quorum present to legally ele...	3 years 5 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Protection of Property with Trust What is the best way to protect our home from law suits? We put a the homestead act on the property after we bought it. That only protects I think $50...	3 years 7 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
getting escrow money back I enetered into a short sale agreement last october, did inspections on home, everything was fine. The short sale was accepted by the bank the day our...	3 years 8 weeks ago by sapphire	n/a
40B Unit Owners on Board of Trustees If stated in the Deed Rider that 25% of Board Members shall be Affordable Unit Owners if they are willing. Can the Board remove them by a vote just be...	3 years 17 weeks ago by rmac01503	n/a
Are e-mails binding We intially accepted a loosly worded offer, via e-mail, to sell our intrest in a family home.(the other parties also agreed to the offer). We, however...	3 years 18 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...	3 years 21 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Burden to maintain easement? I'm interested in buying a home (B) that shares a driveway with two other homes (A & C). I looked at the plot plans and the common drive (w/easements...	3 years 26 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Temporary Turnaround The front of our property has a temporary turnround. What does this mean? It is on a private rd with restrictive covenants that give us the right to ...	3 years 27 weeks ago by franklin	n/a
Condo guest parking I rent in a developer- controlled condo building. The developer recently announced there is no more guest parking available. He will be using the only...	3 years 32 weeks ago by 33catches	n/a
I am an agent who is leaving my company but they owe me $$ I am a commercial real estate agent in MA. I plan on leaving my company this month, but still have outstanding commission receivables. These com...	3 years 32 weeks ago by rpmc79	n/a
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 ...	3 years 33 weeks ago by cpank	n/a
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 ...	3 years 36 weeks ago by WayneK	n/a
PSA Agreement Broker Liq. Damages clause? It seems that template PSA agreements commonly used in MA have a clause that says "If either party defaults under this contract, such party shall be l...	3 years 39 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Condo Assessments Can an assessment be placed against my unit by the association because of expenses they incurred due to a Fair Housing complaint by me?	3 years 40 weeks ago by lbk09	n/a
Condo Board of Harrassers Last year I filed a discrimination complaint against the Association/Board of Directors. They are trying to enforce rules that are discriminatory towa...	3 years 41 weeks ago by lbk09	n/a
Does Town have authority to inspect private property? Does the town have the right to inspect a house I rent, becuase i am a renter and not an owner ever year.	3 years 44 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
evictions appeal process district court claims an appeal has been sent but appeals court has no record yet Is this typically a long precess? I have no official court docs fr...	3 years 44 weeks ago by dpariseau	n/a
Fees a broker can collect Hello, I know that a real estate broker is only supposed to collect first, last, security and lock and key fees from potential tenants. However, if t...	3 years 44 weeks ago by epizani1	n/a
Easement My lawyer told me that the neighbor next door has a sewer line that runs across the front of my potential property in Worcester. He didn' tell me this...	3 years 50 weeks ago by spyderdo	n/a
Getting Deposit Back - $1100 Hello, My two roommates and I have yet to sign the lease for our apartment, but we would like to back out of the agreement for a variety of reasons...	4 years 6 weeks ago by Katabexine	n/a
SD and Last Month I own several properties that I collect security deposits. Do I need to create separate interest bearing accounts for the different properties? Al...	4 years 7 weeks ago by jameslebowitz25	n/a
Apartment deposit - didn't tell me the snow-covered yard was full of sharp rocks Hi-I have a large, elderly dog who has diffuclty walking and uses a canine wheelchair. I told the broker/"landlord's representative" this up front and...	4 years 9 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Condo Fees I own one unit out of a 36 unit condo complex of which on owner owns 32 units. The major owner has been increasing fees over the past few years by 66...	4 years 9 weeks ago by Ray	n/a
temporary construction easement am i entitled to compensation if the municipality wants to take a temporary construction easement on my property for roadway construction	4 years 10 weeks ago by peter	n/a