Purchase and Sale Agreements

Escrow Holdbacks: A Lifebuoy For A Troubled Closing

by Rich Vetstein 05.13.2013 Closings

You have been eagerly awaiting the closing of your new construction home, but alas, the builder has not been able to complete the landscaping, walkway and driveway by the closing and there is a two page punch-list of other incomplete work. You have already hired a moving company and packed all of your family’s stuff. [...]

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Email Disclaimers: Toothless, Useful, Or A Little Of Both?

by Rich Vetstein 02.02.2013 Commercial Real Estate

A Simple Email Disclaimer Cannot Hurt & Can Only Help Boilerplate email disclaimers at the bottom of messages are so ubiquitous that most of us hardly notice them anymore. They certainly take up a lot of text space and can be annoying to some, but are they legally effective or just plain toothless? In the [...]

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Emails May Come Back To Haunt Agents — Realtor Magazine Feature Article

by Rich Vetstein 01.21.2013 Condominium Law

I wanted to share a recent article I authored for Realtor Magazine which was published in their January/February 2013 edition. The article is based on the Massachusetts court opinion in Feldberg v. Coxall, which I wrote about previously in this post. The court ruled that under recently passed electronic signature laws, emails between agents or [...]

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Avoiding The Money Pit: Advice For Buying New Construction

by Rich Vetstein 11.29.2012 Closings

With the economy and housing market on the upswing, builders are finally building again. I’ve seen a definite uptick in new construction purchases. Buying a new construction home, however, is very different and much more involved compared to buying a previously owned property. In this post, I want to cover the various aspects of purchasing [...]

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Worcester Catholic Church Pulled Out of Mansion Sale To Prevent Gay Marriages, Lawsuit Says

by Rich Vetstein 09.10.2012 Condominium Law

Worcester Diocese Allegedly Pulled Out of Deal Over Possibility Of Gay Marriages at Mansion James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, married business partners from Sutton, had been searching for the perfect property for nearly two years when they discovered Oakhurst, an aging mansion on 26 beautiful acres in Northbridge. The former retreat center, which was affiliated [...]

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Think Before You Hit Send: Emails May Constitute Binding Real Estate Agreement Without Signed Offer

by Rich Vetstein 06.30.2012 Electronic Closings

Feldberg v. Coxall: First Case To Apply New UETA (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act) To Real Estate Transactions “This case involves the intersection between the seventeenth century Statute of Frauds and twenty-first century electronic mail.” –Justice Douglas Wilkins Massachusetts courts have been grappling with the question of “when is a deal a deal” for a long [...]

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Cash Is Just As Good As Money: Massachusetts Cash Real Estate Purchase Advisory

by Rich Vetstein 03.21.2012 Closings

Tips For Massachusetts Real Estate Cash Buyers & Sellers As Yogi Berra once humorously said, “cash is just as good as money.” This is especially true in real estate transactions where a cash buyer is often perceived as better and less risky than a mortgage financed buyer. (Please note that we often encourage buyers to [...]

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Buyer Loses $31,000 Deposit After Refusing To List Current Residence For Sale As Financing Condition

by Rich Vetstein 01.30.2012 Massachusetts Real Estate Law

Standard Mortgage Contingency Language At Issue I recently came across a very interesting and scary case from the Appeals Court, Survillo v. McDonough No. 11–P–290. Dec. 2, 2011. (It’s technically an “unpublished” opinion but it’s available to the public). The case underscores how carefully attorneys must craft the mortgage contingency to protect the buyer’s deposit [...]

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New Trends Emerging In Massachusetts Short Sale Legal Practice

by Rich Vetstein 01.24.2012 Foreclosure

The Offer to Purchase Has Become Much More Important With a glut of distressed property still on the market and lenders realizing foreclosures aren’t very cost-effective, analysts are predicting a healthy spike in short sales for 2012. Short sales are quite unique in terms of deal dynamics, and should be handled differently than the typical [...]

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From Asbestos to Radon: The Massachusetts Home Inspection Process, A Legal Perspective

by Rich Vetstein 01.13.2012 Condominium Law
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The home inspection is one of the most critical aspects of every Massachusetts real estate transaction. Virtually every buyer in a standard purchase transaction (meaning not a short sale, foreclosure, or bank-owned property) will opt to perform a home inspection, and for good reason. You need to know whether there are any serious structural, mechanical [...]

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Electronic Signatures Gaining Acceptance and Popularity In Massachusetts Real Estate Transactions

by Rich Vetstein 11.12.2011 Closings
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Compliance Concerns Unwarranted Electronic signature technology has been quickly gaining steam throughout the U.S. real estate community, and has now arrived in earnest in Massachusetts. Electronic signature software lets you send legally binding documents and get signatures anytime, anywhere from any Internet-connected device. It’s mostly used in Massachusetts on Offers and Purchase and Sale Agreements. [...]

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Upcoming Free Webinar (Nov. 1, 11:00AM): An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure: Strategies & Teamwork To Avoid Deal Disasters

by Rich Vetstein 10.24.2011 Closings

Realtors, are you using the most current contingencies and language in your Offers? Do you know the most current Fannie Mae/FHA condo rules and how they will impact your condo sale? Want to know the latest on the U.S. Bank v. Ibanez ruling and the foreclosure title mess? How can you avoid last minute crises? [...]

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Death and Taxes: Estate Sales & Probate Issues In Massachusetts Real Estate Practice

by Rich Vetstein 10.13.2011 Deeds

Benjamin Franklin once said famously that “the only certainties in life are death and taxes.” That’s certainly true in real estate practice. Today, I will go over how real estate passes when the owner dies  –  with a will or without a will – and how the probate process affects the real estate process. Tenancy [...]

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Court Upholds Oral Handshake Deal In Land Swap

by Rich Vetstein 08.22.2011 Commercial Real Estate
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Seller Couldn’t Sit Back & Watch Construction Project Unfold Massachusetts appeals judges have been mighty busy this summer issuing real estate decisions. From the forced removal of condo buildings to toxic mold, to foreclosure eviction defense, it’s been no summer vacation in Massachusetts real estate law. Handed down today is a case right from a [...]

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Is “Buyer Beware” Alive and Well? An Overview of Massachusetts Real Estate Disclosure Law

by Rich Vetstein 06.21.2011 Condominium Law
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Caveat Emptor: “Let The Buyer Beware” Caveat Emptor is an old common law rule which means “Let the Buyer Beware.” In plain English, it means that home buyers are on their own when it comes to the condition of the property. If there is a defect of any kind, it becomes the buyer’s problem, not [...]

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Massachusetts Tornado Disaster: Hope For The Best, Plan For The Worst In Your Purchase and Sale Agreement

by Rich Vetstein 06.02.2011 Closings
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What happens if the property you have under agreement is wiped out by a tornado, burns down or is otherwise subject to a casualty? Yesterday’s horrific tornadoes — which leveled parts of Springfield and Central Massachusetts — demonstrate the power and fury of Mother Nature and how little control we have over natural disasters. Our [...]

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Buyer & Seller Closing Checklist: What You Need To Bring To Closing

by Rich Vetstein 05.14.2011 Closings
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Buyer’s Closing Checklist The day has finally come and it’s time to close on the purchase of your property. You will need to bring the following to the closing: Funds For Closing. If you need to bring cash to the closing, you must bring to closing a bank or certified check PAYABLE TO YOURSELF for [...]

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REBA v. NREIS Ruling: Massachusetts Real Estate Attorneys Required To Conduct Closings; Notaries Shut Out

by Rich Vetstein 04.25.2011 Closings
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Ruling Mandates That Attorneys Take “Substantive Participation” In All Massachusetts Residential Transactions The long awaited ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in case of Real Estate Bar Association (REBA) v. National Estate Information Services (NREIS) has just come down. The ruling can be read below. The net effect of the Court’s ruling is to [...]

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Massachusetts Purchase & Sale Agreement Contingencies In A Changed Market

by Rich Vetstein 03.25.2011 Appraisals
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The “Standard Form” In Massachusetts, buyers and sellers typically use the standard form purchase and sale agreement created by the Greater Boston Board of Real Estate. This form has been around since the late 1970′s and last updated in 1999–which might as well be 100 years ago in real estate life. Along with the standard [...]

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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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