Condominium Law

New Fannie Mae Condo Rules Over Pending Litigation Make Condos Harder To Sell

by Rich Vetstein 03.18.2011 Condominium Law
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Litigation Over Condominium Construction Can Derail Financing It’s always humbling to be quoted in a major real estate publication such as Inman News. Last summer, I wrote about the nasty effect of the newer pending litigation Fannie Mae condo rules. Steve Bergsman, from Inman, was gracious enough to retell a story about how these rules [...]

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Massachusetts Real Estate Law Year In Review & Outlook For 2011

by Rich Vetstein 12.27.2010 Condominium Law
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It’s that time again for our annual review of hot topics and top posts for the last year, 2010. #5. The Great Flood of 2010. Ah, who can forget the flooding in the spring of 2010. I sure remember bailing out my flooded basement every 30 minutes through the night, into exhaustion. Good times… FEMA [...]

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First Snow Brings Questions On Change In Snow Removal Law

by Rich Vetstein 12.21.2010 Condominium Law
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Property Owners Need To Clear Snow & Ice After Storms As I was slipping and sliding in the first real snow yesterday, this blog got a spike in traffic about Massachusetts snow removal law. Back when we were sunning in 80 degree weather, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overruled 125 years of snow removal law [...]

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The Great Condominium Smoke-Out: Associations Enacting Anti-Smoking Bans

by Rich Vetstein 11.23.2010 Condominium Law
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A Man’s Condo Unit May Not Be His Castle For Smoking… As anti-smoking restrictions become increasingly widespread, smokers find the last place they can indulge freely is within the confines of their home. However, the saying that a man’s home is his castle may not extend to condominiums where condo associations are enacting bans against [...]

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

by Rich Vetstein 07.21.2010 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 05.12.2010 Closings
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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

by Marc Canner 05.11.2010 Condominium Law
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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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The Condominium HO-6 Insurance Policy: Fannie, Freddie & FHA Required

by Rich Vetstein 04.06.2010 Condominium Law
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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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10 Questions To Ask Before Buying A Massachusetts Condominium Unit

by Rich Vetstein 03.27.2010 Condominium Law
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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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Update: Jury Sides With Realtor Over Second-Hand Smoking Disclosure Case

by Rich Vetstein 02.17.2010 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 02.16.2010 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 02.10.2010 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 12.28.2009 Closings
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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

by Rich Vetstein 12.21.2009 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 12.09.2009 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 12.07.2009 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 11.21.2009 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 11.17.2009 Closings
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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

by Rich Vetstein 11.10.2009 Condominium Law
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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

by Rich Vetstein 10.28.2009 Condominium Law
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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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