The video director asked me what makes me different than other real estate attorneys? Well first, I grew up around real estate, tagging along with my mom to open houses. She was a Realtor in the Metrowest Mass. area for 25 years. I did my homework at her realty office when MLS printed off a dot matrix printer. I knew what a “P&S” agreement was at age 8. Real estate is in my blood.

Second, I’m what I like to call “ultra-responsive.” Real estate is a 24/7 business, and the attorney who doesn’t get that, well, doesn’t get it. I’m available whenever my Realtors, loan officers and clients need me — via text, email, phone, fax, even Facebook and Twitter.

I love what I do. Everyday I get to help people buy, sell, finance and resolve disputes involving their real estate. It’s incredibly rewarding. One day I’ll help a young couple with a baby purchase their first home. Another day I’ll navigate a client through the complex Massachusetts court system. I also help folks start new businesses, counsel them on employment issues, and other legal stuff for small businesses like mine.

If you like this video and want one for yourself, shoot me an email. I’m very friendly with the gentleman who owns the video company.

Here is the YouTube link to the video.

MCLE (Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education) is holding their popular Real Estate Law Annual Conference on April 7, 2011, at 9:00AM at their offices located at 10 Winter Place, Boston, MA. You can also attend the conference virtually through their webcast on www.mcle.org.

I’m honored to be presenting at the conference on what else but – “Technology Update: Learn How To Leverage Cutting-Edge Technology To Streamline Your Practice.” Real estate tech experts, Jim Sifflard from First American Title, and George Warshaw, Esq. are presenting with me. There are also great sessions on Title Claims, Condominium Law, Ethical Issues and Environmental Concerns.

Hope to see you there!

For the conference brochure click here.

I put together my first YouTube video, and thought a good topic would be the impact of the U.S. Bank v. Ibanez case on the foreclosure and REO market. The case underscores the necessity of obtaining an owner’s policy of title insurance for any REO transaction, and really any conventional transaction for that matter. Appreciate any feedback, good or bad. I’m no Ryan Seacrest obviously!

Reporter Steven Altieri of the real estate trade journal Banker & Tradesman recently published an article on the Ibanez foreclosure case, Impending SJC Ibanez, Title Ruling May Invalidate Thousands Of Foreclosures, Why Real Estate Attorneys Expect The Worst, And What It Means To The Industry.

Since we’ve written about the case extensively here, Steve asked for my views about the impact of the case and recent matters I’ve handled with Ibanez title defects:

Framingham real estate attorney Richard Vetstein recently represented a family who had bought a house out of foreclosure about a year ago, then invested in excess of $100,000 in improvements to the property with the intention of selling it to their daughter. But before they could complete the sale, a title issue came up and put the transaction on hold.

In Vetstein’s client’s case, when the original owner was foreclosed upon, the mortgage company did not have a properly recorded assignment. To clear the title, Vetstein had to track down the original owner in Alabama, and persuade him to sign over the deed to the property.

“They can close now that the title issue is solved, but in a lot of cases that [is] not going to be able to be solved,” said Vetstein. “We were lucky, that’s what it came down to.”

Steve asked me how I would handicap the appeal of the case:

Vetstein, who has blogged on the Ibanez case at length, thinks the court might uphold the Ibanez decision.

“Given the current constitution of the court and their tendencies of recent years to be kind of moving towards some pro-consumer decisions, I wouldn’t be surprised if they upheld the land court probably by a slim margin,” Vetstein said. “And so for people who are stuck with an Ibanez issue, that is in essence the worst-case scenario.”

Indeed, it’s unlikely that a “pro-consumer” verdict upholding the Ibanez decision would actually help consumers on the whole. Home buyers or investors who thought they had gotten a good deal and a clean title on a foreclosed property will instead be saddled with hefty legal bills and an inability to sell their property.

Lastly, Steve asked if the Ibanez ruling has created an business development opportunties for real estate attorneys:

“I don’t know of any real estate attorney using Ibanez as a business development opportunity, mainly because solving these title defects, if at all, is incredibly difficult and in some cases impossible,” Vetstein said. “It’s a ‘lose-lose’ in many situations.”

One aspect of the case could potentially provide plenty of work for attorneys. Should the SJC uphold the Ibanez decision, Vetstein reasons that there will be many claims against the foreclosing lenders and the foreclosure attorney, for failing to convey good title.

“There will also be claims for rescission of these transactions,” he added. “There is a class action against lenders and foreclosing attorneys which could encompass many millions in potential damages.”

Banker & Tradesman is a great publication. If you don’t want a paid subscription, you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

While folks here in Massachusetts are finally drying out from the Big Flood of 2010, it’s clear that it has negatively impacted the spring real estate market, and will have repercussions for years ahead for buyers and sellers of affected properties.

Impact On The Market

As recently reported in the Boston Globe, realtors around the state have said the flooding caused canceled and delayed closings, final walk-throughs under inches of standing basement water, and postponements of listing homes for sale. Also, lenders are requiring re-inspections and second appraisals to ensure that homes haven’t lost significant value due to the flooding. This is unfortunate as we’re in the middle of the usual busy spring sales season, made even busier by the soon-to-expire $8,000 first time home buyer credit. (Hey President Obama, how about extending the credit for Massachusetts like you did for the tax filing deadline!).

Disclosure Dilemma

Sellers who’ve been affected by the flooding are asking themselves and their realtors how they should handle the inevitable question from buyers: did your basement flood? Under Massachusetts disclosure law, while sellers are under no obligation to volunteer information, they must answer truthfully to any question posed directly by buyers regarding the condition of their property. Real estate agents are held to a higher standard. They must affirmatively disclose any fact that may have a material impact on whether the buyer would purchase the property. You better bet that whether a home experienced water penetration is “material.”

So, realtors and sellers would be wise to come clean if a home was affected by the recent flooding. The key is how to present the flood damage in the best possible light. Which brings me to the next topic…

Get It Fixed, And Done Right

How did you repair the water damage, and are you taking any steps to prevent it from happening again? Tough questions, because this was a 50 or even 100 year storm event. A flooded basement two weeks ago may never get a drop of water again.

Regardless of whether you are now going to invest in a perimeter drain/sump pump system, homeowners should hire licensed contractors who will pull permits to repair all flood damage. Having it done right will prevent even greater headaches later in the form of mold, dry rot and the like. As my friend general contractor George Lonergan of Lonergan Construction points out, pulling permits gives  sellers the ability to show buyers that flood damage has been repaired correctly by licensed and qualified contractors with sign offs from the local building inspector.

Lastly, I want to point out to buyers that they shouldn’t simply walk away from a home which experienced flooding or has a sump pump system. Many properties in river watershed communities like Wayland, Sudbury, and Natick for example have historically been subject to flooding and wet basements. Seeing a well run and working dry basement system/sump pump/french drain is a good sign actually. What you don’t want is what looks like a dry basement which later floods and then requires a sump pump system later on.

Boston Globe reporter Jenifer McKim read my blog post, Four Toed Salamanders And SLAPP Suits, and decided that it would be a great topic to write about. Her superb article, How A Salamander Raised A Rights Issue, was published today, and I was fortunate enough to be quoted:

As reported through PR NewsWire, the Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog is now ranked #95 of all legal blogs according to Avvo.com and Alexa rankings! As far as I can tell, this puts us Numero Uno in Massachusetts for all substantive legal blogs focusing on Mass. law.

Much thanks to all of you — our readers — who have made this blog so much more than I could have ever imagined. In the next few months, this blog will see more contributors, more guest bloggers, and will even get a bit of a design face-lift. So stay tuned…

More coverage here, here,  here.