Real Estate Questions

As a landlord, do I need to provide lead paint disclosure to my tenants?

Additional Information:

I own a three family home in Somerville, MA  and I have a new tenant.  A friend of mine mentioned that he provided a lead paint disclosure to his tenant.  Do I need to do this?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Yes.  Federal law requires that property owners, property managers and real estate agents leasing or selling housing built before 1978 provide certain information to tenants and buyers, including: an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet, called “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home;” a lead warning statement; statements disclosing any known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards; and copies of all available records or reports regarding lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards. This information must be provided to tenants and buyers before they enter into leases or purchase and sales agreements. Property owners, property managers and real estate agents equally share responsibility for providing lead disclosure information and must keep copies of records regarding lead disclosures for three years. [Read more...]

When can I apply for another FHA loan?

Additional Information:

I bought my first home in Medford  with an FHA loan in 2006 but unfortunately, I had to short sell in 2009 because I lost my job due to illness.  When can I apply for another FHA loan?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

The Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, understands that there are situations out of your control that force a short sale. There are three possible scenarios:

1.  If you had a hardship that caused you to short sell while you were current on your mortgage, current on other installment debts and are not liable to pay a deficiency, then you can immediately apply for another FHA mortgage.

2. If you were in default of your mortgage at the time of the short sale you cannot apply for another FHA loan for three years from the date that the FHA claim is paid on the short sale.

There are some exceptions to this bar including death or uninsured illness. More specific information can be found here.

3.  You are barred from applying for another FHA mortgage if you pursued a short sale on your primary residence because of decline in value of your home due to market conditions, and then later attempt to purchase in the same area. [Read more...]

How does the new Massachusetts Homstead Law affect us?

Additional Information: Does the new Massachusetts Homestead Law eliminate the Homestead that my Attorney recorded for me three years ago?

Your prior Homestead is still intact.  After nearly a decade of legislative attempts to update the Homestead Law in Massachusetts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed a comprehensive reform that took effect in March of 2011.   The new law now provides for an automatic Homestead for all homeowners plus allows homeowners to receive additional homestead coverage by filing a declaration with the Registry of Deeds. You may learn more about the new Massachusetts Homestead Law on our site. [Read more...]

How do we divide land and property for Everett condo conversion?

Additional Information:

How is land divided for condo conversion?  We are two owners of a Everett duplex and can’t agree on how to divide the lot to convert to condos.  The lot is an odd size, the duplex is not centered on the lot, the right side has wider driveway and there is a small yard in the back.

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Generally, the land itself is not divided.  It remains “common area” that all unit owners have rights to use based on his or her percentage interest in the condominium.  In your example, this would mean that both unit owners would be allowed to use the small back yard in accordance with the rules and regulations established by the condominium documents.  For the driveway, assuming there is one on each side, it would still be “common area”, but the Unit that uses a particular driveway would be granted “exclusive use rights” for that area.

[Read more...]

As a landlord, am I responsible for utility expenses for multifamily rental in Stoneham?

Additional  Information:

I own a multifamily home in Stoneham.  One of my tenants is a tenant at will with no written tenancy at will agreement.  I just heard from a friend that I have to have a written agreement with the tenant regarding utilities otherwise I’ll have to pay his utilities.  Is that true?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Yes, your friend’s information is correct. Pursuant to Massachusetts State Sanitary Code, if the tenant bears the responsibility for payment of the utilities, the tenant must agree to do so in writing.  Regardless of whether there is a term lease or a tenancy at will agreement,  there must be a provision which outlines the agreement between the landlord and tenant regarding heat, fuel to heat the hot water, gas or electricity.  Furthermore, if the tenant will be paying for the utilities, the utilities must be separately metered, not only for each unit, but also separately from the common area utilities.  In some situations the landlord may be required to reimburse the tenant for the costs of the utilities for the entire tenancy including past utility payments. [Read more...]

How do we convert 4 unit building in Somerville to condos?

Additional Information:

I currently live in an apartment in Somerville, Mass.  The apartment is in my grandmother’s 4 unit building where I pay rent. If she wanted to convert the units to condos, what are the steps she would need to take? Can she convert one at a time or is it best to convert all 4 at once?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Somerville is very unique in its condominium conversion process.  In Somerville, they have a Condominium Review Board that has to approve all condominium conversions.  For properties that currently have tenants, there is a detailed and lengthy “removal” process that an owner needs to comply with in order to obtain City approval.  This can take up to a year.  Our office has completed several condominium conversions in Somerville and can provide you more details on this process.  On the assumption that the City approves the conversion, you would then move forward with the actual legal conversion from a four family to four separate units.  Our office would draft the required condominium documents (master deed, trust, by-laws, rules and regulations) and you would engage an architect or registered land surveyor to draw up plans for the condominium.  In the conversion process, you would have to convert all four at the same time.  However, your grandmother could retain ownership of as many of the units as she wanted.

[Read more...]

Can landlords limit the number of people who live in an apartment?

Do landlords have a right to limit the number of people who can occupy an apartment?

The answer, as often happens in the law, is, “It depends.”

In general, landlords own the property and they can decide how many people can live there. However, a landlord is not allowed to discriminate against tenants based on their “familial status.” (This rule was added to the federal Fair Housing Act back in 1988.)

What does “familial status” mean? It means that a landlord can’t refuse to rent to a family with children. So if a family with seven children wants to rent an apartment, the landlord can’t say “no” based on that fact alone.

On the other hand, a landlord doesn’t have to allow a family with seven children to occupy a tiny studio apartment. Refusing to allow such an arrangement wouldn’t be discrimination; it would be common sense.

[Read more...]

What to do if the government wants to take your land by ‘eminent domain’?

If a government entity wants to take all or part of your property by eminent domain, it’s required to pay you the land’s fair market value. Typically the government will send you a notice telling you what it thinks the land is worth, and offering to pay that amount. Its valuation will usually be based on an appraisal that it has commissioned.

Some property owners who get an eminent domain notice rush out and get their own appraisal, but this is often a mistake. It’s almost always better to talk with an attorney first before hiring an appraiser.

Appraisals for eminent domain purposes require special care. A “quick-and-dirty” or “off-the-cuff” appraisal that comes in too low can definitely hurt you, because it is admissible in court and can be used against you by the government.

[Read more...]

The seller of property in Malden refuses to meet closing dates. What are my legal rights according to Massachusetts Law?

Additional Information:
Seller of property in Malden, Massachusetts refuses to meet closing dates.  I have spent so much time and money on this and the sellers are just refusing to actually sell this house. Can they do this?  What are my legal rights?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:
First, you need to look at the terms of your purchase and sale agreement. Typically, however, real estate purchase and sale agreements do not contain provisions concerning a buyer’s damages in the event of a breach by the seller. If your purchase and sale agreement is silent on your damages, you have a couple of options on how to proceed. One avenue is to seek specific performance. A specific performance action is a lawsuit where you seek to obtain an equitable order from the court to force the seller to sell you the property in accordance with the terms of the purchase and sale agreement.  In order to prevail in a specific performance action you will need to show that you were ready willing and able to perform under the terms of your agreement and that the terms of your agreement were clear and unambiguous. Another option would be to demand the return of any deposits and not go forward with the transaction. If the Seller agrees to return your deposit, this may be a way to avoid the time, expense and aggravation of litigation. If the Seller refuses to return your deposit, you could also file a lawsuit and seek return of the deposit, plus monetary damages.

[Read more...]

Can I draft a deed myself or does Massachusetts law require an attorney to draft it?

Additional Information:

My wife and I would like to transfer partial ownership of our home to our daughter so that she becomes an owner with rights of survivorship. My question is, can we do this transfer on our own without an attorney or does Massachusetts law require us to have an attorney draft the deed?

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

Massachusetts law does not require deeds to be prepared by attorneys.  Just as individuals can represent themselves in Court, individuals can prepare deeds and other legal documents.  A defective deed may not property transfer title, and  may create a title defect that must be corrected.  The cost of having a deed property drafted and recorded is not great, (usually less  than $250.00 which includes the $125.00 recording fee) while the costs of a mistake in this area can be many times that.

[Read more...]

« Older Posts