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When Good Fences Make Upset Neighbors: Adverse Possession Law In Massachusetts
Click here to read about my most recent adverse possession trial victory. Massachusetts Adverse Possession Law Robert Frost ‘s famous poem The Mending Wall says “good fences make good neighbors.” When...
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The Anatomy of a Massachusetts Quitclaim Deed
The deed is the cornerstone of property ownership in Massachusetts and throughout the country. In Massachusetts, there are three types of deeds: a quitclaim deed, a warranty deed, and a release deed....
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The Trilogy: Explaining the Deed, Promissory Note and Mortgage at a...
Prospective real estate buyers tend to think of the “mortgage” as the contract they are signing with the bank. This is misleading. The promissory note is the actual contract to loan and borrow money...
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Death and Taxes: Estate Sales & Probate Issues In Massachusetts Real Estate...
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...
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What Now? Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez Leaves Toxic Foreclosure Titles Unclear
No Easy Fix For Defective Foreclosure Titles After U.S. Bank v. Ibanez Ruling The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its opinion today in the much anticipated Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez case...
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Local Field Of Dreams Strikes Out In Appeals Court
Worcester Businessman Built Regulation Sized Baseball Field In His Backyard Harking back to the old days when sandlot ballfields were packed with neighborhood kids, David Massad II, a Worcester car...
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Do I Need A Plot Plan For My Massachusetts Real Estate Closing?
Plot Plans, also called Mortgage Inspection Plans, were once part of every Massachusetts real estate purchase closing. These days, some lenders do not require them and I will tell you why in this...
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How To Search Massachusetts Registry of Deeds Online Information
All of the Massachusetts registries of deeds now offer free online document search capabilities. The main portal for most registries is www.masslandrecords.com operated by the Secretary of State’s...
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Cash Is Just As Good As Money: Massachusetts Cash Real Estate Purchase Advisory
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...
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REBA Sues To Stop Illegal “Witness-Only” Residential Closings
Bar Assn. Lawsuit Targets Kentucky Based Settlement Service Company Employing Local Contract Attorneys As first reported today by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the bar association for Massachusetts...
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Leaving With Keys and Carpal Tunnel: Why Do Buyers Sign So Many Closing...
Real Estate Crash Has Resulted In Many More Forms and Disclosures These days buyers are leaving closing rooms with not only their keys but a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome! The reason for sore...
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The Anatomy of a Massachusetts Adverse Possession Trial: A View from...
Update: My Clients Prevail (Click Here for Judge’s Ruling) Effective Preparation and Historical Timeline Key To Trial I just completed a four day jury waived trial in an adverse possession case in...
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Land Court Paves Way For Clearing Defective Foreclosure Titles
Court Uses Novel Equitable Assignment of Mortgage Theory In what could be the first test case of a new theory to clear up defective foreclosure titles — and much welcome news for property owners stuck...
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E-Recording Gaining Widespread Acceptance In Massachusetts Real Estate...
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...
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Not So Fast! Developer Cannot Avoid Creditor By Transferring Rental Property...
Why A Massachusetts Real Estate Nominee Trust Is Worthless and Useless Since the concept of currency and debt was created, debtors have been playing a cat-and-mouse game with creditors in order to...
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Mass. Bar Counsel Advises Real Estate Attorneys To Closely Manage Transactions
Bar Counsel Tightening Ethical Standards and Expectations On the second anniversary of the SJC’s important ruling in Real Estate Bar Assoc. (REBA) v. National Real Estate Information Services (NREIS),...
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Poor Condominium Document Draftsmanship Leads To Confusion Over Balcony...
Or What Happens When Condo Docs Suck… A recent case handed down by the Appeals Court illustrates the fundamental importance of careful condominium document draftsmanship concerning what amenities are...
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Houston, We Have A Problem…Is The Standard Mass. Notary Acknowledgment...
Court Points Out Potential Problem with Standard Notary Acknowledgment Form Could the the standard form notary acknowledgment clause used in virtually every recent Massachusetts deed, mortgage and...
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Electronic Recording Update: (Almost) Available In Every Massachusetts...
This is a summary of the Boston Bar Association’s recent seminar, E-Recording: Practices and Pitfalls, a Roundtable Discussion, which I moderated last week. The speakers were: Hugh Fitzpatrick, Esq....
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Foreclosure Title Clearance Bill Signed Into Law
New Law Will Resolve Thousands of Foreclosure Title Defects In Wake of U.S. Bank v. Ibanez Ruling After a five year legislative struggle (in which I testified before the Joint Judiciary Committee), I’m...
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