Black and Buono Blog

If you’re planning on buying a home, before you start the process, you should obtain a copy of your credit report.  By doing so, you can then check to be certain that all the information on it is accurate, and that all your debt is properly reported.  There are creditors who do not report to the credit agencies.  

Undisclosed debt is a certain way of being turned down for home financing, even if your failure to disclose the debt was an honest mistake.  The best and only approach is complete honesty and transparency.

You, as a potential borrower need to take into account all activities that impact their credit.  This means that when applying for mortgage financing you have to be completely candid with your loan officer to be certain nothing comes up later in the process that  will “kill the deal.”

For information or assistance with your real estate transaction, contact The Law Office of Black and Buono.

...by Kiley Black

When buying or selling property, it is important to have the expertise of a real estate attorney to help you through any obstacles that may come up along the way. The risk of not hiring a Real Estate Attorney can cost a buyer/seller thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. Since the purchase or sale of your home may well be your most significant financial transaction, you want to take care when entering into a real estate transaction.

Most people don’t realize how complicated buying and selling a house can be. The procedure requires reading and drafting complicated legal documents and familiarity with real estate transactions. If you have bought or sold a home, or know anyone who has, than you understand that the amount of paperwork involved is legendary. Each step from negotiating terms to drafting and closing entails a significant amount of paperwork.

Most people buy or sell a home once or twice in their life. Real Estate Lawyers handle this transaction every day. And each transaction is different, with different obstacles and situations.

The process of buying or selling a home includes the following:

1. Negotiating the terms of the Sales Contract. Everyone wants the best deal and a lawyer can help you protect your interests.
2. Strict legal deadlines: Many transactions fall through because deadlines are not met.
3. You need financing: At closing the purchaser signs hundreds of loan papers that an attorney can best explain.
4. Home inspections: A real estate lawyer will conduct a title search to assure the seller is the owner of the property, has paid all the taxes, and there are no judgments existing against the property.
5. Property and mortgage insurance: Mortgage lenders require that the home is insured

...by Kiley Black

The average person makes one or two major investments in their life. These are usually related to the purchase of properties. You will probably not pay a larger sum for anything than the one you pay for your home. Since this is a huge investment you need to make sure that everything will be fine with it. Unfortunately most buyers do not know much about the legal side of the deal. Thankfully a real estate lawyer can help. It is true that you will have to incur extra costs if you decide to enlist legal services, but it will definitely be worthwhile in the end. Here is why.

A real estate lawyer will do all the preliminary checks on the property you intend to buy. They will look at all the papers regarding the estate and will make sure that there is no unclear or fraudulent information that can cause problems in the future. Most importantly, the ownership of the property will be verified. This is essential; it would be terrible to pay money without actually getting any rights to the house.

Perhaps the main reason why you should use a real estate lawyer is that they will prepare, review and explain to you every paper that you need to sign. You can be certain that your interest is well protected when you have a professional checking every detail of the contract. This person can work in cooperation with your real estate agent to make sure the other party does not demand more from you now and in the future. Your lawyer will explain every detail of the contract and will make sure that you understand it. In this way you are protected.

A real estate attorney will make sure that you will not face lawsuits after the sale. Attorneys will check for unpaid taxes or any other liens related to the property you are buying. They also will ensure the settling of these issues prior to the contract being signed. 

If you are purchasing a home in the near future, it is in your interest to contact and enlist your own real estate attorney. 

Original article Published in Lawyers

At Black and Buono, we draft Homesteads at no charge, as a professional courtesy, to our clients. You only pay the recording cost, charged by the Registry of Deeds of $35.00. This represents an average savings of $100.00.

As of March 16, 2011 the revised Homestead Law takes effect (2010 Mass. Acts Chapter 395). The revisions generally expand the scope of Homesteads and also do away with some of the prior law’s more anachronistic provisions.

The statute now provides for an automatic homestead without any action required of the owner. The automatic homestead, under section four, provides for $125,000.00 protection for the owner and his or her family. It should be noted, however, that while this is an improvement upon the old statute where no coverage was provided on an automatic basis, the protection provided is still significantly less than the $500,000 protection provided under the declared homestead.

The new statute provides $500,000.00 protection on the recording of a written Declaration of Homestead. Section 5 provides several amendments for the form of declaration to be recorded, the most notable among these being:

1. Homesteads may now be declared where the home is owned by a trust
2. If the Homestead is declared while the owner is single, and the owner then gets married, the homestead shall accrue to the benefit of the new spouse, and that benefit shall accrue as of the date of the original filing.
3. The new statute anticipates that a homestead may be declared by multiple owners. That is, each co-tenant, joint owner or tenant by the entirety may declare their own homestead.

The risk of venturing into home ownership has been keeping many potential buyers from entering the market and the housing sector continues to struggle as a result. Mortgage interest rates are currently on the rise and the last several weeks are revealing an upward trend for long term rates. American citizens are looking for stability and predictability to help them make the jump into the home buying process. Predictability however, may be taken away.

One carrot that has been dangled to help promote home ownership is the primary residence tax and interest deduction that new home owners could benefit from come tax time. That deduction is on the chopping block and homeowners may no longer be rewarded as they have been in the past for taking on the risks and responsibilities of owning and maintaining a home. The national deficit is swelling more than anyone wants and the income tax deduction for mortgage interest is now a potential provision that the government may extinguish. The cut back is one that the federal government is willing to entertain as a way of working towards lowering the national deficit. It is being considered by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and it is among several trillion worth of deficit cutting ideas on the table for the government to consider. All in the housing sector will be closely monitoring this push as outcomes will affect the American dream of home ownership.

Source: Stephen Johnson, Author