From the category archives:

Condominium Law

Fannie Mae Advisory: Pending Condominium Litigation Can Derail Your Condo Financing

July 21, 2010
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If the condominium project that you are buying into is involved in any pending litigation over construction or its common areas, chances are you will not be able to obtain a conventional loan under newer, strict Fannie Mae condominium lending guidelines. This is not good for condominium buyers, lenders, unit owners desiring to sell and [...]

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Pre-Closing Walk-Through Tips & Strategies

May 12, 2010
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My Boston.com colleague, buyer’s agent Rona Fischman, has a great post today on walk-throughs, or pre-closing inspections. I’ve re-posted it here, along with my commentary (in italics) and my own tips. The walk through is the last thing that the buyer does before closing. The buyers, plus the real estate agents, walk through the empty [...]

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Massachusetts Purchase And Sale Agreement Basics

May 11, 2010
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As a real estate attorney, I always take the time to fully explain to our clients the intricacies of the Massachusetts Purchase and Sale Agreement. As my first blog post here, I thought this would be a great topic to start off with. The purchase and sale agreement is the governing contract between the Buyer [...]

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10 Questions To Ask Before Buying A Massachusetts Condominium Unit

March 27, 2010
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Buying a condominium unit can be more involved than buying a single family home. This is because you have to worry about both the unit itself and the condominium project as a whole. 10 Questions You Must Ask Before Purchasing A Condominium Unit To borrow from a famous phrase, not all condominiums are created equally. [...]

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The Condominium HO-6 Insurance Policy: Fannie, Freddie & FHA Required

April 6, 2010
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The recent flooding here in Massachusetts got me thinking about the importance of good insurance coverage. So I asked my friend Nadine Heaps, the owner of Purple Ink Insurance Agency, Inc. in Ashland, MA to give an outline of “HO-6″ condominium unit insurance policies, the requirements of which have changed in recent months. A HO-6 [...]

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Update: Jury Sides With Realtor Over Second-Hand Smoking Disclosure Case

February 17, 2010
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In the recent and well publicized case of the disgruntled condominium buyer suing her realtor over the disclosure of second-hand smoke, the jury today sided with the realtor. The Boston Globe reports today that the jury took less than an hour to deliberate whether a realtor was liable for allegedly not disclosing to a condominium [...]

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Massachusetts Lead Paint Law Advisory: Family Unfriendly Policies Can Get Landlords Into Big Trouble

February 16, 2010
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Breaking News (8/10/10): Two Local Real Estate Firms Fined By Mass. Attorney General For Lead Paint Housing Discrimination My Boston.com fellow blogger, buyer’s agent Rona Fischman, has fielded several questions recently regarding the Massachusetts Lead Paint Law. Prospective renters have called apartment listings only to be hung up on abruptly with a “It’s not deleaded!” [...]

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Lawsuit Against Realtor Over Second Hand Smoke Disclosure Raises A Stink

February 10, 2010
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Yesterday the Boston Globe reported on a controversial lawsuit by Alyssa Burrage, a condominium buyer, against a realtor over the disclosure of second hand smoke emitting from downstairs neighbors. Click for the story: Suit Over Second Hand Smoke Targets Real Estate Broker. As the hundreds of comments to the story indicates, this lawsuit raises a [...]

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Massachusetts Real Estate Law Year In Review: Top Posts Of 2009 And Predictions For 2010

December 28, 2009
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In the spirit of the New Year, let’s look back at the top legal issues of the past year and peer into the crystal ball for a glimpse at 2010. Top 5 Posts For 2009 #1.  The Catch-22 Impact of New Fannie Mae Condominium Regulations. In January, Fannie Mae was the first government agency to [...]

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RESPA Update: HUD Issues New Settlement Cost Booklet and Powerpoint Presentation

December 21, 2009
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With 11 days and counting until all lenders and closing attorneys must be in compliance with the new RESPA requirements and the new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 Settlement Statement, HUD has released two helpful documents: Shopping For Your Home Loan: HUD’s Settlement Cost Booklet. Loan originators are required to provide consumers with a [...]

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New FHA Condominium Guidelines: Financially Sound Projects = Better Investments

December 9, 2009
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I’m getting pretty tired of all the condominium developers and realtors out there claiming and clamoring that the new FHA condominium guidelines which went into effect this week are the next coming of the Apocalypse. The fact remains that the new guidelines will ensure that condominiums are financially sound and well-run, and that’s good news [...]

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FHA Condominium Lending Rules Go Into Effect Today: Today’s Hurt Is Tomorrow’s Gain

December 7, 2009
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Today, the controversial Federal Housing Administration (FHA) condominium mortgage rules go into effect. I’ve written about them extensively on this blog here. The new FHA rules, in summary, require that condominiums undergo a much more rigorous financial review prior to being accepted into FHA mortgage programs.  Sort of like a cardiac stress test for condominiums. [...]

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Final (Hopefully!) Revised FHA Condominium Lending Guidelines Issued

November 21, 2009
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After several revisions and delays, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has finally issued major changes to its revised guidelines on mortgage insurance requirements for condominium projects. FHA first proposed the revisions back in June (under Mortgagee Letter 2009-19). The new guidelines are effective December 7, 2009; however, some of the requirements are phased in through January 31, 2010. [...]

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Are You Ready For Some RESPA Reform? Part I, An Overview Of The New Regulations

November 17, 2009
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New, sweeping changes regulating how lenders, closing attorneys and title companies disclose loan and closing costs are set to go into effect January 1, 2010. The new regulations are part of a long awaited reform to the 30 year old Real Estate Settlement Practices Act known as RESPA aimed at providing greater transparency and fostering [...]

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FHA To Ease New Condominium Guidelines–Spot Loan Approval Extended Until Feb. 1

November 10, 2009
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Update: 11/10/09–FHA Issues Final Revised Guidelines–Spot Approvals Extended Until Feb. 1, 2010 With an eye on the “volatility” of the condo market, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has backed off some of the stingy new rules for condominium lending set to be implemented Dec. 7. After a meeting with the Mortgage Bankers Association last week, [...]

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A Quick Question & Answer Session On Massachusetts Condominium Law And Liability Issues

October 28, 2009
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Rona Fischman, a buyer’s agent and co-author of Boston.com’s Real Estate Now Blog asked me to answer a couple of questions regarding condominiums on her Boston.com blog which I’ve reprinted here: Is an individual unit owner liable if someone gets hurt in the condominium’s common areas? The answer is most likely not. This is good [...]

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The Catch-22 Impact Of New Fannie Mae (FNMA) Condominium Lending Regulations

July 1, 2009
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Recent Fannie Mae (FNMA) condominium lending regulations are beginning to live up to the hype as having an onerous impact on condominium sales and project development. The changes, made in January 2009, were part of an effort by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to limit risky lending in a segment of the housing [...]

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New Stricter FHA Condominium Lending Regulations and Guidelines Sure To Slow Financing And Chill Sales

October 6, 2009
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Update: 11/10/09–THESE RULES HAVE CHANGED. Please see my post: FHA Issues Final Revised Guidelines–Spot Approvals Extended Until Feb. 1, 2010 Update: 10/26/09–The FHA Has Delayed Implementation Of New Rules Until December 7, 2009 Under revised guidelines which were to be effective October 1, 2009 but now delayed until November 2, 2009, the Federal Housing Administration [...]

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There’s Nothing “Standard” About The Massachusetts Standard Form Real Estate Purchase And Sale Agreement

August 21, 2009
Standard Form Massachusetts Real Estate Purchase Sale Agreement

Although home buyers sign a never ending pile of legal documents to purchase a home, arguably the most important document in the entire transaction is the purchase and sale agreement. In Massachusetts, the purchase and sale agreement most often used is the so-called standard form agreement supplied by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board or [...]

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The Massachusetts Offer To Purchase Real Estate: A Binding Contract

September 8, 2009
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Tax Credit Deadline Is April 30th–Is A Signed Offer Sufficient To Qualify? The first step in purchasing or selling Massachusetts residential real estate is the presentation and acceptance of an Offer To Purchase. Most often, the buyers’ real estate broker prepares the offer to purchase on a pre-printed Greater Boston Real Estate Board standard form [...]

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Community Associations Institute Weighs In Against New FHA and Fannie Mae Condominium Regulations

October 5, 2009
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IMPORTANT UPDATE: 11/16/09:  FHA Issues Final Revised Condominium Lending Guidelines As a follow up to my post on the new FHA condominium regulations, I received word from my friend Seth Wills at XLT Property Management, that the Community Associations Institute — the leading condominium and homeowner’s association trade group — recently sent a bulletin to [...]

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