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MA Real Estate Law Questions and Answers

Topic	Replies	Created	Last reply
Skylight - roof or window? 29-Jul-2008 9:21 AM -- JeanH My Master Deed states that my unit stops at the lower surface of the roof rafters. It also states that uni...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Snow Falling From Adjacent House Onto My Driveway I have been living in my house since 1994. Shortly after every snowfall the snow that has accumulated on the neighboring house's roof slides off and ...	1	2 years 15 weeks ago by Anonymous	2 years 15 weeks ago by The Editor
Spite Fence My neighbor's fence is about seven feet high, and butt-ugly. Isn't that an illegal 'spite fence'?	1	4 years 15 weeks ago by madneighbor	4 years 15 weeks ago by The Editor
Squatters rights in Massachusetts? There's a house in my neighborhood that has been abandoned for several years. I've never seen anyone there. There is no issue of problems with upkee...	1	2 years 33 weeks ago by Green	2 years 33 weeks ago by The Editor
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...	0	2 years 11 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Structural Issues with Condo I bought my condo in May 2005, and not long after, I noticed something black on my ceiling. I called the contractor's attorney (he was the point of co...	0	4 years 29 weeks ago by Tamar829	n/a
Sue home inspector in Massachusetts? I closed on my first home in May and since then I've found a number of things that are not right with the house that I think my home inspector should ...	2	1 year 49 weeks ago by DeMint	1 year 49 weeks ago by admin
Sueing a Condo Board Member I own a condo in an association that only has two other members (it is a three unit building). Both myself and one other member are recent additions ...	0	4 years 16 weeks ago by eclark	n/a
Suing past roommate for their share of rent Hello, I have a question. Several years ago I signed a lease on an apartment in Boston with another person. Both of our names were on the lease, and...	3	4 years 21 weeks ago by jamestaylor	4 years 21 weeks ago by The Editor
Tacking and adverse possession in Massachusetts About ten years ago I bought my home from my dad who is still alive. He had built a garage many (25) years ago and part of it was built on a neighbor...	2	3 years 16 weeks ago by Anonymous	1 year 46 weeks ago by campease
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	2 weeks 5 days ago by flowerchild	2 weeks 4 days ago by flowerchild
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	47 weeks 3 days ago by coaster	47 weeks 3 days ago by The Editor
TAW's and Rent Withholding in a Bank Repo 28-May-2008 1:31 PM -- Sara I was recently asked to manage a multi-family home that is in forclosure. There are residents in the buildin...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	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...	0	2 years 13 weeks ago by Anonymous	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	0	4 years 14 weeks ago by peter	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 ...	0	3 years 31 weeks ago by franklin	n/a
Tenancy by the Entirety in MA Closing on a house next week (hopefully) and the closing attorney said something about tenancy by the entirety. Is that a Massachusetts legal term, or...	2	4 years 25 weeks ago by Lunchman	1 year 37 weeks ago by RIckM10
Tenancy In Common and Probate Hi, I would like to own unequal share of property by tenancy in common. I heard if one of us were to die that portion would go into probate. I t...	1	4 years 5 weeks ago by lilgeng	4 years 5 weeks ago by The Editor
Tenant at will - Termination of Tenancy Statute 11-Aug-2008 10:02 AM -- louisj23 I know that a notice terminating a tenancy at will must terminate the tenancy on a rent day. It is not ...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	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...	0	1 year 25 weeks ago by scarming	n/a
Tenant changes apartment locks after judgement HelpinWorcester 1 post 7-Jul-2008 2:37 PM Our tenant changed the apartment door locks to his ap...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
tenant changing locks 27-Jul-2008 9:40 AM -- me2121 My tenant has changed the locks on the apartment and refuses to allow entry to fix leaky pipe under sink, ...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Tenant Dies No Family Stepping Forward 29-May-2008 1:14 PM -- Kris We had an elderly tenant pass away 2 weeks ago. We, as well as the MA state police have been unable to get ...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Tenant Law: Security Deposits & Partial Damages BahstonJS 1 post 5-Aug-2008 1:25 PM Sorry for the long post - wanted to get the details out the...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Tenant violating condo association rules Hello, I am renting my condo to a couple who has a dog. They have twice allowed the dog to "do it's business" on the property and have not cleaned i...	1	1 year 14 weeks ago by mnmMA	1 year 14 weeks ago by The Editor
tenants at will My family rents an in-law apartment with the actual owner/landlord living in the main house, we are tenants at will.Last month we were told to start l...	2	2 years 44 weeks ago by kelleyhagen	2 years 43 weeks ago by kelleyhagen
Tenants at will 23-May-2008 9:56 AM -- Carla I would like to terminate a tenant at will lease - I am giving 60 day notice (I believe 30 days is the mini...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
tenants moving out. what is considered a fixture in home? a gas stove and a fridge with an icemaker...are those items able to be removed by the tenant when they are moving out or are they considered fixtures ...	1	3 years 41 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 41 weeks ago by The Editor
Tenants paying water bill mimi 1 post 5-Aug-2008 9:35 AM Can a single family landlord ask the tenants to pay for the wate...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Tennant threatening for sue for automatic triple damages for return of entire security deposit I am an out of town landlord. I own one condo that was rented for one year by five students in Cambridge. When the tenants left at the end of August,...	2	1 year 35 weeks ago by CambridgeLandlord	1 year 35 weeks ago by CambridgeLandlord
Terminating a lease prior to move-in desperateforhelp Guest 0 post 8-Jul-2008 7:33 AM I signed a lease one day before I was supposed t...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
terminating the lease and getting back the security deposit I am renting in the basement (converted into an apartment) of a house. The heating in the apt is not working properly, and despite several verbal comp...	1	4 years 23 weeks ago by romi	4 years 23 weeks ago by The Editor
Title Insurance - Attorney relationship? It was my understanding that for buyers title insurance, the buyer pays the premium fee, e.g. .375%/thousand and the insurance company then pays the c...	1	3 years 9 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 4 weeks ago by SigmanEsq
Title insurance and encroachments or adverse possession in MA My neighbor has had a shed that, apparently, has been sitting on my land for many years. He claims that the shed has been there since before he owned...	1	2 years 7 weeks ago by Edge	2 years 7 weeks 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	1 week 1 day ago by peterw617	n/a
Title Search Gone Awry... What happens when a title search done in 2010 on one's home reveals a lien dating back to 1957 that was not discovered when the home was purchased in ...	5	3 years 4 days ago by danfahey	3 years 3 days ago by admin
Title V (Title 5) for bank-owned or foreclosed property? Are there any Title V exemptions for foreclosed/bank-owned homes that are sold or auctioned? It's my understanding that the property transfer cannot t...	1	4 years 5 weeks ago by Anonymous	4 years 5 weeks ago by The Editor
Title V inspection when purchasing real estate from a family member When purchasing real estate (a house) from a direct family member (brother), does it need to pass a home inspection and TITLE V. We have been living i...	1	3 years 47 weeks ago by steveb	3 years 47 weeks ago by The Editor
Title vs deed When my husband and I purchased our house 20 years ago - our deed states that it was as Tenants by the Entirety. Several refinances later it appear...	1	1 year 18 weeks ago by donnap60	1 year 18 weeks 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	40 weeks 6 days ago by lola8	39 weeks 3 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
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	51 weeks 1 day ago by Jmarine311	51 weeks 16 hours ago by Jmarine311
Transfer house by deed without attorney My wife and I would like to use a deed we found on a website to transfer partial ownership of our home to our daughter. We would like to do this so t...	1	2 years 30 weeks ago by micheN	2 years 30 weeks ago by The Editor
Transfer Investment Condo into LLC with Mortgage but no Permission Hello, I am trying to transfer a piece of investment property into an LLC. The mortage company, IndyMac, has stated that they do not allow this. El...	1	3 years 30 weeks ago by Condo123	3 years 29 weeks ago by James M. Ermini Esq.
transfer of estate property I was named as executor of my father's estate, and later my brother was added. Do I need to have his signature as co executor to transfer or sell real...	1	2 years 12 weeks ago by capeartist	2 years 12 weeks ago by The Editor
Trees My neighbor's trees are overhanging onto my property. One of them is knocking over part of our fence, and a dead one is in danger of falling on our h...	3	3 years 5 days ago by kwinslow	3 years 4 days ago by admin
Trees bordering property My neighbors have 5 very tall pine trees that border my property. They are taking over our yard, house and vehicles. They are ruining my garage roof...	1	2 years 10 weeks ago by sue g	2 years 10 weeks ago by admin
Trespass to make Fence Repair We have a fence that sits just inside the propertly line which is in need of repair/paint. We've hired a contractor to do the work for us. Our neighbo...	1	2 years 1 week ago by nsmith	2 years 1 week ago by The Editor
Triple Net Lease I have been in a building for 20 years. First 8 years I had a straight lease. Just paid $1000 a month that included everything but electric. Then a...	0	4 years 32 weeks ago by rh	n/a
Trustee Involvement and Participation Hi, I'm a trustee (owner) of a condominium in Somerville MA that has a total of 5 units. We all bought a building under construction and the seller...	0	4 years 17 weeks ago by Michael Pratt	n/a
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	14 weeks 4 days ago by whattodo	13 weeks 5 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Undue influence in signing quitclaim deed? Less than six months ago I purchased a property with my boyfriend. During the process of procuring the home in their name, my boyfriend hit a roadbloc...	1	3 years 31 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 31 weeks ago by The Editor
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 ...	0	2 years 15 weeks ago by Zhengjia7165	n/a
unit owner assessed unjustified common expenses MA Condo Law - I am a unit owner and Board of Trustee are bunch of crooks with ripping off condo account. I voice my opposition and they do not like ...	1	2 years 33 weeks ago by psinghal0	2 years 33 weeks ago by The Editor
Unlawful Entry? 11-Aug-2008 8:58 PM -- Jake I recently left my Apartment for 12 days for a trip to Florida, in which I left my windows open by accident....	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Unmarried persons purchase property If two unmarried persons buy property jointly, and both have their names on the deed, what happens to the property when one person dies. Both persons ...	1	2 years 43 weeks ago by Melissa	2 years 43 weeks ago by The Editor
Unoccupied property next door - What are the options? The house next to mine has been unoccupied for more than 30 years, is boarded up and the property is completely unmaintained. There is recent sign of ...	1	1 year 14 weeks ago by bobwat34	1 year 14 weeks ago by The Editor
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	22 weeks 3 days ago by Cpauger	21 weeks 4 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
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 3 days ago by LisaF	1 year 3 days ago by admin
Use security deposit for furniture removal 10-Aug-2008 7:19 AM -- patR Tenant left furniture after his lease ended and refused to remove it saying he doesn't have the time.Can the...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
Using condominium common areas as storage We have a 6 unit condo association. One member has built a floor to ceiling bookcase in a common hallway. 4 out of the 6 units have agreed to sign a l...	3	2 years 21 weeks ago by laxmark	2 years 21 weeks ago by The Editor
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...	0	1 year 29 weeks ago by puzzledlandlord	n/a
Using Quitclaim Deeds in Massachusetts My financial advisor told me I should set up a trust and use a 'quitclaim' deed to convey some property I own to the trust (the property is in Massach...	1	4 years 23 weeks ago by Ginger	4 years 23 weeks 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	6 weeks 4 days ago by WVWanderer	6 weeks 2 days ago by WVWanderer
Vacation Rental problems in MA Two weeks ago we returned from the vacation rental horror story down on the Cape. The place was dirty when we moved in so we had to spend time cleani...	1	3 years 42 weeks ago by Tiara	3 years 42 weeks ago by The Editor
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 6 days ago by JimDG	1 year 6 days ago by The Editor
Verbal offers for real estate in Massachusetts I read on a real estate blog that it's OK in Massachusetts to have verbal offers and counter-offers to purchase a house. I'm confused by this because...	1	1 year 15 weeks ago by Connie4	1 year 15 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 1 week ago by nearly_blind	n/a
waiver of liability in case person climbing on roof is injured I don't know if this question belongs in the Real Estate or the Personal Injury forum. My neighbor is a handyman and would like to climb on the roof o...	2	1 year 36 weeks ago by puzzledlandlord	1 year 35 weeks ago by puzzledlandlord
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...	0	2 years 50 weeks ago by ginad	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...	0	2 years 3 weeks ago by rmac01503	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...	0	1 year 47 weeks ago by suzayaya	n/a
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	31 weeks 6 days ago by peterw617	29 weeks 1 day ago by peterw617
What are allowable damages for real estate misrepresentation under massachusetts law? We had a signed purchase and sale for a house which had multiple items that were supposed to be completed by the seller and a few of which had a weath...	3	3 years 10 weeks ago by mdshultz	3 years 4 weeks ago by admin
What damage is covered by home owner's insurance? I'm not sure if this is a question of Massachusetts law or just a contract situation where my policy controls, but what damage is covered by home-owne...	1	1 year 40 weeks ago by Bett78	1 year 40 weeks ago by The Editor
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...	0	3 years 2 weeks ago by danfahey	n/a
What is a deed in lieu foreclosure? My mother passed away last year leaving a small house that had a mortgage on it and no other assets or debts, other than a couple of small utility bil...	1	1 year 38 weeks ago by Donner	1 year 38 weeks ago by The Editor
what is a deed in lieu? 26-Feb-2008 6:34 PM -- shrlook I have been trying to work out a short sale for the past 6 weeks with my second mortgage bank. The offer ...	0	4 years 43 weeks ago by admin	n/a
What must a MA real estate broker or agent disclose to buyer? A year ago I bought a condo in MA and later discovered that the downstairs neighbor played loud music almost every night. Very loud. What, exactly i...	1	3 years 13 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 13 weeks ago by The Editor
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	36 weeks 2 days ago by capeartist	36 weeks 5 hours ago by TheLawyerKnows
What should Trustees do with non-payment of condo fees? I am the head trustee for a 10 unit condo building in Massachusetts. One of the units went into a short sale and since the current owner has not been ...	1	3 years 29 weeks ago by jkspup	3 years 28 weeks ago by Kevin Gaughen Sr.
When is tenant's personal property considered abandoned? I rented a room out to someone. He moved out in Dec 2008. I asked him over 20 times over 6 months to please come pick up all his personal property. He...	1	4 years 2 weeks ago by Mark G	4 years 2 weeks ago by The Editor
Who is responsible for alterations to common areas in Condo complex I moved into a condo complex in 2007. A prior owner had put down some patio bricks/pavers in the back yard of my unit on the common area. In talking t...	1	3 years 48 weeks ago by 1amcbiker	3 years 48 weeks 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	27 weeks 6 days ago by robertz120	27 weeks 4 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
Who is responsible for property supplies? In my lease it says we have to maintain the property, Does this mean that we are responsible for buying the supplies? (Shovels, rock salt, bags for ...	0	4 years 20 weeks ago by Anonymous	n/a
Who must pay to remove fallen tree under MA law? During the storm last week, a young and healthy tree fell into the neighbors yard and crushed a portion of his wooden fence. Two questions. Do I hav...	3	2 years 49 weeks ago by NGoff6	1 year 31 weeks ago by The Editor
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	29 weeks 2 days ago by Camster56	11 weeks 5 days ago by The Editor
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	3 weeks 22 hours ago by capell	3 weeks 20 hours ago by jonasjacobson
who's responsible for property maintenance? my neighbor put up a vinyl fence 6 inches onto their property. we have a no trespassing order against them. we weed wacked the 6 inch parcel of land &...	2	4 years 8 weeks ago by QUEENMM1	4 years 8 weeks ago by QUEENMM1
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	36 weeks 5 days ago by H20Chauncey	24 weeks 2 days ago by TheLawyerKnows
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	30 weeks 1 day ago by TonySeal	30 weeks 1 day ago by admin
Worcester County # of doors required on 1st floor of a new home How many doors are required on a new single family home? Is one door adaquite on the main living area?	1	3 years 46 weeks ago by Anonymous	3 years 46 weeks ago by The Editor