After months in the making, I am very pleased to announce the roll-out of TitleHub Closing Services, LLC, a cutting-edge closing settlement service that uniquely provides a full platform of legal and technology-based services. TitleHub’s mission is to transform the convoluted real estate closing process into an easy, customer-focused and technologically enhanced experience. In collaboration with my colleague Marc Canner, Esq., we have created a company that we believe will serve as the model for the next generation of residential real estate title and closing services.
Buyers, sellers, realtor and lenders will “stay informed” and “stay connected” to their transactions through:
Our innovative, content-packed website (www.titlehub.com) which serves as a great informational resource.
Our “E-Closings” system. This is a secure on-line document management system that allows borrowers and real estate professionals unlimited real-time access to obtain status updates of their deals and the ability to upload and download key transactional documents (recorded condominium documents, executed Purchase and Sale Agreement, Good Faith Estimate, HUD-1 Settlement Statement, etc). Click here for more information.
Seminar Series; We offer topical seminars to realtors and lenders to help them stay current with the complicated real estate legal landscape as well as seminars to learn new marketing, blogging, and social media techniques.
Paperless Solutions. We do have the ability to electronically record deeds and mortgages at registry of deeds which offer the service. In the future, we hope to be at the forefront of true e-closing paperless transactions, once there is broader lender and regulatory acceptance.
If you are a realtor or mortgage professional interested in TitleHub’s platform, please contact us at [email protected], and we’ll give you a demonstration.
As a real estate attorney, it should come as no surprise that people often ask me to recommend a real estate broker. I often give out several names, but I also give out this Guide To Choosing A Realtor, to help them focus on all the issues and ask the right questions.
Guide To Choosing A Massachusetts Real Estate Broker
Choosing a Realtor is the first and perhaps the most important decision a home buyer will make. For purchasing a home, your real estate broker is really a Project Manager, guiding you through the entire home buying process from going to open houses to closing and beyond. She will not only help you find your “dream home” and negotiate with the sellers, but she will help you assemble a team including a mortgage lender, home inspector, a real estate attorney, a contractor, and other service professionals. For sellers, your Realtor is the key to maximizing the return on your most important investment.
Given the overwhelming number of realtors in the marketplace, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Here are my tips to selecting the best Realtor. It’s best to use all the tools available to find the best fit.
Step 1: Search, Create A List, Do Your Due Diligence. You’ll want to obtain as many as 5-10 names. Take it seriously and do your due diligence.
Word of Mouth. Ask people you trust for recommendations. Ask your friends, family, financial planner, attorney, or local politician. Call local agencies and ask who their top producers are.
Ask Around Town. Good Realtors are actively involved in their communities, serving on town boards, school communities, new family networks, and chambers of commerce. These brokers know the neighborhoods like the back of their hands. They know the market. They can tell you who just sold, bought, and what listing expired. They know the best elementary schools. They know whether the quiet street in the summer turns busy when the school buses start rolling down. Find them.
Use the Internet. The Internet is an incredibly powerful tool to find potential Realtors and vet recommendations. Understand that all savvy, sales oriented Realtors have a web presence and they know how to leverage internet marketing and social media. Google the town/city and “homes realtors” and see what comes up. If you have a name of a Realtor, Google them and check out their website or blog. Check out his listings and just solds. Read their articles on ActiveRain, a realtor blog site. Check their Facebook or Twitter pages.
Use Multiple Listing Service as a Tool. Virtually every Realtor website enables you to access Multiple Listing Service (MLS) information. With MLS access, you should be able to get a sense of which Realtor has a high number of listings and sales in the town or neighborhood you desire. You will also see how the Realtor markets a listing. Is the listing well presented? Are the photographs high quality and sufficient? Is the home staged? Are the descriptions captivating and accurate?
Check License/Designations. You can check a Massachusetts Realtor’s state license status here on the Real Estate Board of Registration site. An indication of additional expertise is whether the Realtor holds a special certification such as Certified Residential Specialist (CRE), Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR), Certified Real Estate Brokerage Management (CRB). Click here for more info about these certifications.
Step 2: Interviews. Armed with the above information, a buyer or seller should narrow the pool with phone or personal interviews, and ask the tough questions.
Basics. Are you a full time broker? How many years experience do you have? What is your educational background and real estate training?
Listings. How many listings have you had in the last 2 years? How many sales of those listings? How many expired listings have you had in the last 2 years? What causes do you attribute to expired listings? How long, on average, do your listings take to sell?
Marketing. What’s your marketing strategy for new listings? What’s your pricing strategy? Do you recommend home staging? What marketing outlets do you find most effective, i.e, print advertising, MLS, online, direct mail, etc. Can you provide us with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)? What type of research tools to you use? Would you recommend a broker’s open house or public open house for our listing?
Preparation. A good test of a Realtor’s acumen is whether he comes well prepared to your meeting. Is he armed with market data, listings, research, trends and the like? Does he have an initial pricing strategy? Does he have a game plan for searching properties?
Type of Agency? Some Realtors represent solely buyers. Some focus only on sellers. Most cater to both. But there are different agency rules for each type of representation. By law, your Realtor must explain which agency you are operating under, and review and have you sign the Massachusetts Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure form. We’ve prepared a handy fact sheet on broker agencies which you can download here.
Communication. Are you available to us when we need you? Do you use an assistant? Can we contact you after hours? By email or text? Are you good with demanding clients? How many current clients do you have? Being accessible and responsive separates the good realtors from the average.
Recommendations. Do you have written recommendations from clients or can we contact your 3 most recent clients?
Step 3. Select your Realtor. Go with your instincts. Remember, a good Realtor does not tell her client what he or she wants to hear. You are looking for independent, professional advice.
Feel free to print out this list and use it as a handy guide as you interview and select your Realtor. If you want some names of several excellent realtors in all of the major areas and towns, shoot me an email.
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 buyer that her downstairs neighbors were heavy smokers. The trial lasted an entire week, so the fact that the jury was out less than 1 hour demonstrates that they completely rejected the condominium buyer’s claims. Given the facts reported, I think the jury got it right here.
As the Globe reports, although the claims were ultimately rejected, the fact that this case made it all the way to a jury should serve as a warning to realtors to be careful about what they say (or don’t say) about any type of property condition, whether on site or off site. Don’t make statements unless you’ve investigated the facts, and don’t make promises that you cannot back up. That’s what got this realtor into trouble in the first place…
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!” if they hear a child in the background or if they answer truthfully about having children. Mothers have received termination notices when the landlord discovers they are pregnant – usually of course for tenancies at will. Finally, there is a listing this week in a local paper for an owner occupied 2 family rental which states “Unit Not Deleaded” right in the ad.
The short answer is these are all likely violations of the Massachusetts Lead Paint Law, and could expose the offending landlords to stiff penalties and damages.
Under the Massachusetts Lead Paint Law, whenever a child under six years of age comes to live in a rental property, the property owner has a responsibility to discover whether there is any lead paint on the property and to de-lead to protect the young children living there. A property owner or real estate agent cannot get around the legal requirements to disclose information about known lead hazards simply by refusing to rent to families with young children. They also cannot refuse to renew the lease of a pregnant woman or a family with young children just because a property may contain lead hazards. And property owners cannot refuse to rent simply because they do not want to spend the money to de-lead the property. Any of these acts is a violation of the Lead Law, the Consumer Protection Act, and various Massachusetts anti-discrimination statutes that can have serious penalties for a property owner or real estate agent.
As the stories above show, landlords routinely flaunt, or are just plain ignorant of, the law. The issue becomes what to do about it and is it worth the time and aggravation? I guess that depends on your situation. Certainly, if you are being threatened with a discriminatory eviction, your first step should be to contact the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and your local Fair Housing Commission. In a recent case, the MCAD hit a property owner with $25,000 in damages and fines for evicting a young family to avoid de-leading. Next consider hiring a housing discrimination attorney. If you are low on funds, the attorney may agree to take the case on a contingency because violations of the lead paint law and discrimination laws provide for the reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and enhanced damages.
As for the “Unit Not Deleaded” ad, while may be truthful, it might as well read “Children Under 6 Not Wanted.” I would advise a landlord to avoid this sort of indirect discriminatory preference.
Lastly, the law is conflicting regarding owner occupied two family homes. Chapter 151B, the state anti-discrimination law, exempts owner occupied two family homes from the prohibition of discrimination against children. However, there is no such exemption written into the lead paint law. So if a child is born into a owner occupied 2 family, it must be de-leaded. Vacation/recreational rents and short term (31 days or less) rentals are also exempt from the lead paint law.
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 host of legal and public policy issues. I’ll focus on the legal issues.
Under Massachusetts consumer protection regulations governing real estate brokers, a broker must disclose to a buyer “any fact, the disclosure of which may have influenced the buyer or prospective buyer not to enter into the transaction.” This is somewhat of a subjective standard; what may matter to one buyer may not matter to another. If a broker is asked a direct question about the property, she must answer truthfully, accurately, and completely to the best of her knowledge. Further, a broker cannot actively avoid discovering the details of a suspected problem or tell half-truths.
With that legal backdrop, let’s review the facts of this case. Ms. Burrage, who suffers from asthma, claimed that her broker failed to disclose the existence of the heavy smokers downstairs—despite the fact that she admittedly smelled “the unmistakable stench” of cigarette smoke at several visits to the unit. The broker – who worked for the same company as the listing broker (which may raise some thorny conflict of interest/agency issues) – assured her that the smell would dissipate once she painted and renovated the unit, the suit claims. Ms. Burrage claims that she wouldn’t have purchased the unit in the first place if she had known about the smoke problem.
The case boils down to the appropriate scope of a broker’s duty to disclose potentially adverse property conditions, not only within the property itself, but off-site. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held that off-site physical conditions may require disclosure if the conditions are “unknown and not readily observable by the buyer [and] if the existence of those conditions is of sufficient materiality to affect the habitability, use, or enjoyment of the property and, therefore, render the property substantially less desirable or valuable to the objectively reasonable buyer.”
This case has all the makings of a very slippery — and dangerous — slope for real estate brokers. If Ms. Burrage’s claim is accepted, realtors would be conceivably obligated to investigate every neighbor to determine whether their smoking (or other bad habits) will negatively affect the particular buyer’s use or enjoyment of the property. That’s patently unrealistic. Where then does the law draw the line? If it’s not smoking, it’s smelly food preparation (don’t laugh, I’ve dealt with those cases), marijuana smoking, loud parties, floor stomping, or other “noxious” behaviors. Buyers of condominiums have to accept that they aren’t buying into a pristine, sanitary bubble.
I’m not unsympathetic to Ms. Burrage’s plight. I’m not a smoker, and I cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke. But to me, this is really a neighbor-to-neighbor issue. The realtor should have no liability in this type of case.
I’m pleased to welcome guest blogger, Leslie Mann, a Realtor with Hallmark Sotheby’s International Realty who specializes in the Dover-Sherborn area of Massachusetts. Leslie is here to talk about geothermal technology, which is growing in popularity in Massachusetts.
Geothermal technology is a great way to heat and cool your home. It costs far less to run and maintain than conventional heating/cooling systems—and reduces your carbon footprint!
According to the EPA, geothermal heat pumps can save homeowners more than 70 percent over conventional air conditioners and up to 44 percent over traditional heating systems. Plus you can take advantage of federal tax credits for new and existing homes using geothermal heat pumps.
Instead of using fossil fuels like oil or gas, geothermal systems use the earth’s natural warmth to heat your home. In the winter, geothermal systems use the earth’s natural heat to heat your house, and in the summer they draw excess heat out of your home and allow it to be absorbed into the earth. A geothermal heat pump doesn’t create heat by burning fuel, like a furnace does. Instead, it collects the earth’s natural heat through a series of pipes, installed below the surface of the ground. Fluid circulates through the loop and carries the heat to the house.
Here are some additional homes for sale in Greater Boston’s Metrowest area that feature geothermal technology:
9-room contemporary home for sale in Carlisle on 4+ acres with in-law suite featuring geothermal heating and cooling $1,055,000.
Five-bedroom Doeskin Hill estates contemporary home for sale in Framingham features four-zone FHA heating/geothermal cooling $1,099,000.
Described as “eco-chic” this new 4800 square foot center entrance colonial for sale in Wellesley featuring geothermal heating and cooling. $1,950,000.
These stylish contemporary townhomes for sale in Newton feature solar panels and geothermal
heating and cooling. $1,789,000
Thanks Leslie for the informative post! Check out Leslie’s great blog, Real Estate In Metrowest for more good tips.
By my own research, a 3 ton geothermal system costs about $7,500. But with the tax credits and energy savings, homeowners will quickly recover the added cost compared with a conventional fossil fuel system. It will be interesting to see whether Massachusetts homeowners, many of whom are environmentally conscious, will consider the benefits of geothermal heating and cooling systems. If I had the extra cash or was building a new home, I certainly would!
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 drop a big bucket of cold water on condominium lending underwriting practices which some say contributed to the condominium market meltdown. FHA and others would follow later in the year. The new guidelines had condominium developers and associations, buyers and sellers in a tizzy, as Fannie Mae imposed much tougher pre-sale requirements, condominium financial guidelines and the imposition of unit owner HO-6 insurance policies, among other requirements.
#2. New FHA Condominium Lending Guidelines Sure To Slow Financing and Chill Sales. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) followed Fannie’s lead in tightening condominium lending requirements. Originally proposed over the summer, FHA delayed implementation of the new guidelines until earlier in the month and watered down some of the most stringent requirements, after major lenders and community association groups complained.
#3. There’s Nothing Standard About The Massachusetts Standard Purchase and Sale Agreement. Great to see a post about buying a new home ranking so highly. An indicator of the recovery of the Massachusetts real estate market perhaps? Check out this post for the ins and outs of the very seller friendly standard form P&S and how to level the playing field if you are a buyer.
#4. Massachusetts Land Court Reaffirms Controversial Ibanez Decision Invalidating Thousands of Foreclosures. If you were following the foreclosure mess, you couldn’t have missed this judicial bomb dropped by Massachusetts Land Court Judge Keith Long. The so-called Ibanez ruling invalidated thousands of foreclosures across the state because the lenders did not record their paperwork up to date at the registries of deeds. Lenders have appealed the ruling, but hundreds of foreclosure titles remain unmarketable in the wake of this controversial decision. More to come in 2010.
#5. Short Sales Get Boost From New Obama Treasury Guidelines. On December 1, the Obama administration set long-awaited guidance on a plan for mortgage companies to speed up short sales of homes and other loan modification alternatives to stem the rising tide of foreclosures. The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program provides financial incentives and simplifies the procedures for completing short sales, a growing practice in which a lender agrees to accept the sale price of a home to pay off a mortgage even if the price falls short of the amount owed.
All signs are pointing to a real estate rebound for the Bay State in 2010, with home and condominium sales surging over 50% from last year in November. I have definitely seen an uptick in new purchases on my end and we are preparing for a busy 2010. Along with good news from the real estate market, however, comes higher interest rates as the bond market reacts to positive news. My friend mortgage consultant Brian Cavanaugh at SmarterBorrowing.com does a good weekly mortgage market update and is presently advising borrowers to lock into current rates as he predicts rates will rise in 2010 to close to 6% for a 30 year fixed. Of course, when rates go up, buying power goes down, thereby cooling the market a bit.
Regulatory
Hopefully we’ve seen the end of increased regulation of the condominium market from the government giants. Let’s toast that they can let the market take its course with the new guidelines in effect.
Stimulus/Home Buyer Credit
As the economy continues to recover, you can probably bet that the Obama administration is going to let up on the stimulus/credit throttle for 2010. So take advantage of all the credits available now, because this is probably the last you will see of them for awhile.
Lastly, technology, the internet and social media will play an even bigger role in how realtors, lenders and real estate attorneys do business. The National Association of Realtors says that 87% of home buyers use the Internet to search for homes. I tell all my Realtor friends they must have a strong Internet presence and to take advantage of blogging, social media and Active Rain to boost their online presence.
For attorneys, in 2009 we saw the tip of the iceberg for electronic recordings and closings as well as online transaction management. Our office just set up an online transaction management system where buyers, sellers, loan officers and realtors can view the status of the loan whenever they want through a secure online portal. It’s a fantastic tool. While electronic closings are a way’s away from gaining the necessary critical mass of lender acceptance, many Massachusetts registries of deeds are now e-recording, and that will continue to rise. The next decade will certainly bring electronic closings and paperless transactions into the norm.
Well, let’s clink our glasses to a very happy, healthy and fruitful New Year!
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 for everyone: lenders, consumers, buyers, unit owners and realtors alike.
David Fletcher, a Florida real estate broker and former developer who has survived every recession since the 1970’s, gets it. In an article in Realty Times yesterday, he outlines 10 benefits of the new rules, especially from a sales and marketing perspective:
More buyers will enter the market because they can afford the lower down payment.
No single investor can purchase more than 10% of the units, so the idea of a controlled association by one or two investors is no longer a threat.
More inventory will offer wider choices tending to keep prices in check, as “FHA approved’ condominiums come on line.
More real estate agents will be willing to show condominiums to their buyers, because the lender who provides the mortgage will have to approve not only the condo documents, but the condo association’s budget, reserve account and its fidelity insurance policy.
New construction developers have the guidelines needed to create urgency in their pricing strategies, which is key to building and maintaining momentum.
Commercial lenders will have a more comfortable level with developers. While the 50% presale requirement may look obtrusive, it is actually a benefit to the developer, because it will create urgency for buyers to purchase.
Established associations that have dragged their feet to get their finances in order, now have a valid value-based reason to become “FHA Approved.”
Real estate agents will show FHA approved condominiums with confidence in the association’s finances, not just because the down payment is low.
Forward thinking lenders will hustle to become a “an approved lender’ in resale and new communities alike
Knowing the property already has approved lenders will make competition for listings tighter and will attract more buyers and more prospects to the listing.
David believes — and I agree with him — that “FHA Approved” will become one of the most sought after seals of approvals for condominiums in 2010 and beyond. Let’s hope that all the realtors, lenders, and condominium developers out there realize the benefits that can be gained from obtaining FHA approved status.
Just go to Google Maps and type in a city/town or street address. On the “More” pull down menu on the right side, there is a box for real estate. Check the box and real estate listings will populate on the map. You can click on each listing for more information and a link to the listing broker. You can also refine your real estate search by for sale, for rent, foreclosure, bedroom/bath, and square footage on the left sidebar.
For all my realtor friends who are wondering how to take advantage of this powerful tool, the answer is that your listings via your personal or company website need to be syndicated to Google. Here are a few how to articles:
The Massachusetts Purchase and Sale Agreement Is Anything But “Standard”
Home buyers sign a never ending pile of legal documents to purchase a home. But arguably the most important document in the entire transaction is the Massachusetts purchase and sale agreement. The purchase and sale agreement is signed after the Offer to Purchase is executed, and spells out the parties’ responsibilities during the interim period when the property is taken off the market and the closing.
In Massachusetts, the form most often used is the so-called standard form agreement supplied by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board or one modeled very closely to this form. (Due to copyright laws, we cannot embed the standard form agreement — contact my office if you need assistance with drafting a purchase and sale agreement). The “standard” form purchase and sale agreement is, however, far from standard, especially for buyers. In fact, the standard form is very much slanted in favor of the seller, and the playing field must be “leveled” to protect the buyer’s interests.
This is why it’s imperative that home buyers and sellers alike retain a Massachusetts real estate attorney to modify the “standard” form purchase and sale agreement in order to best protect all parties’ rights and remedies, and customize the agreement to the particular aspects of the transaction. This is typically done through a “rider” to the purchase and sales agreement. Often, the buyers’ attorney and the sellers’ attorney will attached two different riders to the agreement.
I’ll outline a few common issues not addressed adequately in the “standard” purchase and sale agreement. (Most of these are from the buyer’s perspective).
Mortgage Contingency
The “standard” purchase and sale agreement does provide a basic mortgage contingency which gives the buyer the option of terminating the agreement if mortgage financing falls through. However, for a buyer, the more specific you are in terms of interest rate, points, name of lending institution and definition of “diligent efforts,” the better. Buyers’ counsel should specify that the buyer will not be required to apply to more than one institutional lender currently making mortgage loans of the type sought by the buyer and that the buyer may terminate the purchase and sale agreement unless the buyer obtains a firm, written commitment for a mortgage loan. Here is a sample rider provision:
MODIFICATION TO PARAGRAPH 26: Application to one such bank or mortgage lender by such date shall constitute “diligent efforts.” If the written loan commitment contains terms and conditions that are beyond BUYER’S reasonable ability to control or achieve, or if the commitment requires BUYER to encumber property other than the subject property, BUYER may terminate this agreement, whereupon any payments made under this agreement shall be forthwith refunded and all other obligations of the parties hereto shall cease and this agreement shall be void without recourse to the parties hereto.
Home Inspection/Repairs
Typically, buyers complete the home inspection process prior to the signing of the purchase and sale agreement, and any inspection contingency provision is deleted from the purchase and sale agreement. What happens if the inspection results are not ready before the P&S signing deadline or if the seller has agreed to perform repairs prior to the closing or give a credit at closing? In this case, a home inspection contingency clause should be added back to the agreement, and any seller repairs or closing credits should be meticulously detailed in the rider.
Septic Systems/Title V
If the home is serviced by an on-site sewage disposal system otherwise known as a septic system, the Massachusetts Septic System Regulations known as Title V requires the inspection of the system within 2 years of the sale of the home. Failed septic systems can cost many thousands of dollars to repair or replace. Thus, buyers would look to be released from the agreement if the septic system fails inspection. Alternatively, buyers could be given the option to close if the seller can repair the septic system during an agreed upon time period, provided that the buyers do not lose their mortgage rate lock.
Radon Gas
Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. The ground produces the gas through the normal decay of uranium and radium. As it decays, radon produces new radioactive elements called radon daughters or decay products which scientists have proven to cause lung cancer. Radon testing should be performed by buyers during the home inspection process. Elevated levels of radon (above 4.0 picoCuries per liter (pCi/l) can be treated through radon remediation systems. The purchase and sale agreement should provide for a radon testing contingency and the buyers’ ability to terminate the agreement if elevated radon levels are found, or the option of having the sellers pay for a radon remediation system.
Lead Paint
Under the Massachusetts Lead Paint Law, buyers of property are entitled to have the property inspected for the presence of lead paint. (Sellers are not required to remove lead paint in a sale situation). Because the abatement of lead paint can be costly, buyers typically look for a right to terminate the purchase and sale agreement if lead paint exists and the abatement/removal of it exceeds a certain dollar threshold. Here is an example of a provision added to the standard form:
LEAD PAINT. Seller acknowledges that the Buyers have a child under six (6) years of age who will live in the premises. In accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 111, section 197A, as the premises was constructed prior to 1978, Buyer may have the premises inspected for the presence of lead paint which inspection shall be completed within ten (10) days after the execution of this Agreement, unless extended in writing by the parties. If the inspection reveals the presence of lead paint, the abatement and/or removal of which will cost $2,000 or more, then Buyer may terminate this agreement, whereupon any payments made under this agreement shall be forthwith refunded and all other obligations of the parties hereto shall cease and this agreement shall be void without recourse to the parties hereto. Any lead paint removal or abatement shall be Buyers’ responsibility.
Access
When my wife and I signed the Offer to Purchase on our house, she couldn’t wait to get in there with her tape measure, paint chips and fabric swatches. Oftentimes overlooked, but a cause of friction is buyers’ ability to access the house prior to the closing. To avoid such friction, an access clause should be added to the purchase and sale agreement giving the buyer reasonable access at reasonable time with advance notice to the sellers–it’s still their house after all.
These are just a few of the issues not adequately addressed by the “standard” form purchase and sale agreement. There are many more.
_________________________________________ Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. is a nationally recognized real estate attorney, and has handled thousands of Massachusetts real estate transactions. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. is regarded as one of the leading real estate attorneys in Massachusetts. With over 25 years in practice, he is a four time winner of the "Top Lawyer" award by Boston Magazine, a "Super Lawyer" designation from Thompson/West, and "Best of Metrowest." For Rich's professional biography, click here. If you are interested in hiring Rich or have a legal question, email or call him at [email protected] or 508-620-5352.
