Massachusetts Bans Home Inspection Waivers…Well, Sort Of
Everything Buyers, Sellers, and Agents Need to Know: New Disclosure Form, As-Is Sales Still OK, Exemptions, and Other Changes to Current Practice Starting October 15, 2025, Massachusetts joined a...
View ArticleFrom Success! to Arrest: Stephen Webster, CEO of Success Real Estate Indicted...
Plymouth County Prosecutors Outline Egregious Case of Embezzlement and Fraud by Stephen Webster, former CEO of now defunct Success! Real Estate Finally, the law caught up with Stephen Webster of...
View ArticleA Counterfeit South Carolina Driver’s License, Forged Deed, and a UPS Store...
FBI Investigation: Scam Artists Use Forged Deed and Counterfeit ID’s to Steal Concord, MA Property; Local Real Estate Agent, Developer, and Attorneys Caught Up In Fraudulent Transaction Using a...
View Article“Totally Insane”— 2020 Massachusetts Real Estate Year In Review And...
Local Real Estate Agents Recount The Year of the Pandemic, and Offer Some Hope (and Caution) for 2021 The year 2020 started out like most strong real estate years in recent Massachusetts history —...
View ArticleMassachusetts Remote Notarization Bill Proposed To Keep Real Estate Closings...
Legislation Would Temporarily Allow Video-Conferencing Technology For Attorney Notaries Update: 4/23/20 — The bill (now Senate Bill 2645), has passed both Senate and the House, and will soon be on the...
View ArticleSmoke Detector Inspections Deferred During COVID-19 Emergency
Closings May Proceed Forward Without Smoke Detector Inspection Certifications Due to the Coronavirus Crisis, many local fire departments have been ceasing state mandated smoke detector inspections,...
View ArticleCritical Update: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Massachusetts Real Estate Impacts
Significant Impacts Hitting: Registry and Court Closures, Closing and Financing Delays, Social Distancing, School Closings, Quarantine Potential As I was writing this post tonight, Gov. Baker ordered...
View ArticleCoronavirus (COVID-19): Impact On Massachusetts Real Estate
Potential Impacts: Registry of Deeds Closings, Financing Delays, New Covid-19 PSA Clause, Housing Market Slow Down? The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a highly infectious respiratory virus, which...
View ArticleContract Deadlines Can Be Waived and Other Cautionary Tales From the Real...
Parties Who Negotiated Past Purchase and Sale Agreement Deadline Waived It, Court Rules The Massachusetts Appeals Court just came down with a ruling which should be a cautionary tale to everyone in...
View ArticleVetstein Says “Yes, Always!” to Owner’s Title Insurance in Boston Sunday...
Benefits and Affordability Of Owner’s Title Insurance Coverage Praised In Widely Read Article When my friend Jim Morrison, formerly of Banker and Tradesman and now a freelance real estate reporter,...
View ArticleAllen Seymour, Mastermind of Forgery Scheme, Gets 3-5 Year State Prison Sentence
Horry, SC Booking Photo — Allen J. Seymour As I’ve written here before, I have been representing three families victimized by convicted felon, Allen Seymour, in a brazen complex real estate forgery...
View ArticleSurviving Wife Not Liable For Mortgage Debt On Marital Home, Appeals Court Rules
Court Shoots Down Lender’s Attempt to Expand Doctrine of Equitable Subrogation In the interesting case of Wells Fargo Bank v. Comeau (Nov. 15, 2017), Justice Peter Agnes of the Appeals Court has held...
View ArticleA Path to Electronic Notary Acknowledgements
By Richard P. Howe, Jr., Registrar, Middlesex North Registry of Deeds As young people who have known nothing but digital commerce enter the home ownership market, the conveyancing community in...
View ArticleAct Clearing Titles To Foreclosed Properties Now Effective
Many Titles Automatically Cleared As Of Dec. 31, 2016 While 2016 may have been a tough year for some, the new year brings some relief to those affected by foreclosure related title defects. For some...
View Article10 Year Battery Life Smoke Detectors Now Required For Older Homes
New Smoke Detector Rules Go Into Effect On December 1, 2016 Catching many people by surprise, including me, a new change in smoke detector regulations will take effect Dec. 1. The new rules provide...
View ArticleAttorney Affidavit Approved To Cure Defective Mortgage Notary Acknowledgment
SJC Decision Provides Clarity to Title Attorneys Now that the summer is over, it’s time to get back to blogging! During the quiet summer months, the Supreme Judicial Court issued an important decision...
View ArticleNine Months After TRID: Full Term Delivery
This past week, I was honored to give a panel discussion on life after TRID (Truth in Lending Integrated Disclosure Rules) at the Massachusetts Mid-Year Mortgage Conference sponsored by the Warren...
View ArticleBest Practices In A New TRID World
Scroll Down For My Complimentary TRID Rider and Offer Timeline Cheatsheet I’ve been doing a lot of speaking, and more importantly, thinking and collaborating with loan officers and Realtors, on the...
View ArticleTRID Rules Prompt Changes To Mass. Standard Form Purchase and Sale Agreement
MAR and GBREB Release New TRID Addendum In Advance Of Oct. 3 Start Date In anticipation of the upcoming October 3 start date for the new CFPB-TRID Rules (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure), the...
View ArticleTRID Rules Expected To Delay and Disrupt Closings
Major Change To Current Practices | Expect Delays and Bumpy Road Starting Oct. 1 I just finished yet another closing where a national lender issued the closing package and HUD approval the morning of...
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