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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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New Home Buyer Gets Surprise At Closing…An Engagement Ring!
This isn’t law related, but this is just too good of a story not to share with you. I conducted a closing for Derek and Jillian, a nice, young couple buying their first home, a condominium unit in...
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Sellers Hit With $500,000 Judgment For Torpedoing Closing
Attorney’s Obnoxious Conduct At Closing Factor in Large Award Every now and then I have a contentious deal where I should be wearing a black and white referee’s shirt instead of a shirt and tie. I’m...
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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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Massachusetts Real Estate Law Outlook for 2015
We had another interesting year in Massachusetts real estate law. From that controversial $60,000 discrimination penalty for asking a prospective renter “where are you from?”, to the influx of Airbnb...
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Never Fear, The Use and Occupancy Agreement Is Here!
Like Superman, A Use and Occupancy Agreement Can Save the Day, But Be Aware of the Risks! Tom and Mary Ryan, and their two little kids, Abigail and Jake, are relocating from California to the Boston...
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TRID 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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TRID 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...
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Best 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 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...
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Attorney 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...
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10 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...
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Act 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...
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A 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...
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Surviving 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...
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Allen 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...
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Vetstein 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,...
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Contract 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...
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Coronavirus (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...
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Critical 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...
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Smoke 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,...
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Massachusetts 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...
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“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 —...
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