Massachusetts Real Estate Law

After The Empty Nest: Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs), Modern Senior Living For Baby Boomers

by Rich Vetstein 05.21.2013 Massachusetts Real Estate Law

Guest Post By:  Philip B. Posner, Esq.,  Part independent living, part assisted living and part skilled nursing home, a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) offers a tiered approach to the aging process, accommodating residents’ changing needs. Upon entering, healthy adults can reside independently in single-family homes, apartments or condominiums. When assistance with everyday activities becomes [...]

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Massachusetts Smart Growth Zoning Reform Bill On The Fast Track To Passage?

by Rich Vetstein 05.18.2013 Environmental Law

58 Legislators Pushing Comprehensive Zoning Reform Bill “Inclusionary Zoning” Provision May Expand Controversial 40B Law With “Smart Growth” advocates strongly behind them, a cadre of Beacon Hill lawmakers are pushing a controversial bill that for the first time in 37 years would comprehensively overhaul state law governing municipal zoning, subdivision control, and planning. Proponents of [...]

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Tenant Paralyzed In Tragic Backyard Kiddie Pool Accident Gets New Trial From SJC

by Rich Vetstein 05.16.2013 Insurance

Landlords Could Be Held Responsible for Tenant Paralyzed Jumping from Trampoline into Kiddie Pool I don’t write a lot about premises liability in this blog, but this tragic case out of my hometown of Framingham may be a classic example of the saying that “hard cases make bad law.“ The Supreme Judicial Court has granted a [...]

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Breaking: SJC Rules Four-Person Student Apartment Not Illegal “Lodging House”

by Rich Vetstein 05.15.2013 Housing Court

Ruling Calls Into Question Boston Ordinance Prohibiting 5 or More Students In One Unit Those screams you are hearing now on Comm. Ave. aren’t the students. They are the landlords who are undoubtedly rejoicing upon news that the Supreme Judicial Court just issued a major ruling in how student rentals occupancy limits  – indeed all [...]

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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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SJC Rules Commercial Landlord Cannot Recover Future Rents Under Older Lease

by Rich Vetstein 05.02.2013 Commercial Leasing

Case Highlights Importance of Rent Acceleration Clause In Commercial Leases In a decision underscoring the importance of careful commercial lease drafting, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a commercial landlord must wait out a 12 year lease term to recover unpaid rent from a tenant who abandoned the premises in year 2 of [...]

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Allston Landlord Cited For Illegal Lodging House After BU Student Dies In Tragic Fire

by Rich Vetstein 04.30.2013 Landlord Tenant Law

19 Students Crammed Into Two Family Death Trap This story makes me sick to my stomach. Unfortunately, this practice is endemic in the Allston-Brighton area as local landlords frequently exploit the countless students in the area. You can expect the City of Boston ISD to start cracking down on these slumlords big-time. As reported today on [...]

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Massachusetts Housing Court And Tenant Eviction History Now Online

by Rich Vetstein 04.24.2013 Housing Court

New Online System Enables Landlords To Screen Tenants for Prior Evictions/Problems After years of lobbying from rental housing groups, the Massachusetts Housing Court has finally announced a powerful new and free tool for tenant screening:  public internet access to all Summary Process, Small Claims, Civil and Supplementary Process case types. Case information can be accessed [...]

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We Are Boston Strong!

by Rich Vetstein 04.23.2013 Massachusetts Real Estate Law

The last week was like no other week in the Greater Boston region. Two cowardly terrorists desecrated our beloved Patriot’s Day and the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, Martin Richard, and Officer Sean Collier are names we will never forget, along with the scores of victims maimed and injured by the [...]

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SJC Rules Realtor May Be Liable For Erroneous Zoning Info In MLS

by Rich Vetstein 04.19.2013 Disclosures

Expands Realtors’ Disclosure Liability and Invalidates Exculpatory Clause In Standard Form Purchase and Sale Agreement It’s been a very tough week for Boston, to say the least. (Please consider donating to the One Boston Fund over here —>). Unfortunately I have some more bad news for Massachusetts real estate agents, as the Supreme Judicial Court [...]

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GMAC Mortgage and First American Battle At SJC Over Title Insurance Coverage

by Rich Vetstein 04.08.2013 Closings

Rejects “In For One, In for All” Theory in Title Insurance Coverage One little mistake in drafting and recording legal documents during a refinance can result in a huge problem for a lender — such as the lender having no legal ability to enforce the mortgage! (A slight problem..) GMAC Mortgage learned this the hard [...]

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It’s All A Write Off! Tax Deductions For Massachusetts Real Estate Sellers and Buyers

by Rich Vetstein 03.30.2013 Closings

One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes is the one where Kramer tries to explain to Jerry how tax write-offs work. “It’s all a write-off!” exclaims Kramer who, not surprisingly, had no idea what he was talking about. I’ve embedded the Youtube video below. With the April 15 tax deadline quickly approaching, let’s talk about some [...]

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Boston Area Landlord Hit With $75,000 Penalty Over Lead Paint Violations

by Rich Vetstein 03.16.2013 Disclosures

Largest Lead Paint Penalty On Record for Attorney General Coakley Landlords with lead paint beware…enforcement of the state’s strict Lead Paint Law remains a priority for Attorney General Coakley’s office. The AG just hit a Boston area property owner with the largest fine on record — $75,000 — and ordered him to de-lead his rental [...]

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Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, Coming To A Town Near You!

by Rich Vetstein 03.14.2013 Commercial Real Estate

Attorney General Strikes Down Wakefield Ban On Medical Marijuana Dispensaries As I predicted months ago, Massachusetts towns cannot enact zoning by-laws prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries from opening in town, as the Attorney General has just ruled in an advisory opinion involving the Town of Wakefield. In the same ruling, the Attorney General advised that towns [...]

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Strategies to Succeed In A Seller’s Real Estate Market: A Roundtable Discussion

by Rich Vetstein 03.11.2013 Closings

Put Your Best Offer Forward & Get Pre-Approved Beforehand, Advise Local Experts Well, it’s official now. With buyers back in droves, an abnormally low inventory of good properties, and bidding wars popping up all over the place, the Greater Boston real estate market has now made full circle into a seller’s market. As the Boston [...]

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The Real Housewives of Orange County Effect: Lenders Less Likely To Foreclose On Luxury Homes

by Rich Vetstein 03.08.2013 Foreclosure

One of the perks of writing this blog is that I get called by business reporters from around the country who think I know a thing or two about real estate law. While that proposition is certainly debatable, this week I was contacted by a very nice reporter from the Wall Street Journal who was [...]

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E-Recording Gaining Widespread Acceptance In Massachusetts Real Estate Transactions

by Rich Vetstein 03.07.2013 Closings

Electronic recording (e-recording) of deeds, mortgages and other title instruments has been available in Massachusetts for almost 5 years now, and is finally gaining widespread acceptance within the conveyancing community. E-recording is now fully operational in Berkshire, Bristol, Essex, Hampden, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth and Worcester North and South registries of deeds. (Suffolk, please hurry up!). [...]

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Late Winter Storms Brings Roof Collapse And Ice Dam Risk

by Rich Vetstein 02.26.2013 Insurance

Winter Safety and Insurance Alert With more heavy, wet snow in the forecast and roofs already covered in snow, the risk of roof collapse and ice dams remains very high. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) warns that fluffy snow piled high on roofs can act as a sponge, absorbing rain and adding additional stress [...]

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New Boston Rental Property Registration And Inspection Ordinance FAQ

by Rich Vetstein 02.18.2013 Condominium Law

The Boston City Council and Mayor Menino’s Office have passed a sweeping new rental property registration and inspection ordinance which is now effective for the year 2013. The new ordinance requires, among other things, that all rental property owners register with the Inspectional Services Department (ISD), and are subject to inspections every 5 years. Details [...]

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Backdated Mortgage Assignment Comes Back To Haunt Foreclosure Lender in Juarez v. Select Portfolio

by Rich Vetstein 02.13.2013 Foreclosure

Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Borrower’s Wrongful Foreclosure Claim  Noted Massachusetts foreclosure defense attorney Glenn Russell is on a roll of a lifetime, yesterday winning a rare victory on behalf of a borrower at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston. The case is Juarez v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. (11-2431) (click [...]

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