Black and Buono Blog

Realtors and real estate brokers are all of a sudden experiencing a much longer buying cycle. In the past, the home buying process took a few months, that same process now can take six to eight months or even a year.

Shorten the home buying process. Real estate agents and brokers should work with real estate attorneys who are set up to do E-recordings. This service allows you and your clients to get expedited service. Real estate documents can get recorded more quickly, which in turn will allow funds to be transferred in a timelier manner.

Black and Buono is one of the only real estate law firms in the Framingham and Worcester area that offers E-recordings. Realtors and their clients both benefit from this service.

Are you a realtor looking for a reliable, efficient real estate attorney? Black and Buono offers legal representation to home buyers and sellers in the greater Metro West area, providing in-depth knowledge, experience and expertise in real estate transactions and specializing in purchase agreement drafting, deed preparation and recording as well as representation at real estate closings.

It is important for buyers to understand the legal documents involved in buying a home. Likewise, the decision to sell a home can be one of your clients most significant decisions in their life. Be confident in the legal guidance you suggest to your clients.
 
As a realtor, you can be assured that Black and Buono, P.C will handle your clients' real estate transaction with professionalism and skill, contact us.

...by Kiley Black

There are many people across Framingham, Marlborough, Worcester and Natick that think they cannot sell their homes because they owe more than their house is worth. This is called a short sale. You may also hear it referred to as “being underwater”. Many people think they can’t sell their home because the house prices are dropping in their town.

You are not alone in this situation. Due to the downturn in the housing market, there are many home owners who have found themselves in the same situation. The most vulnerable are those who bought their homes within the last five years or so and now need to sell either because of a life change or a financial problem. Home prices in many cities and towns across Massachusetts are much lower than they were at the peak of the market, and there are associated costs to selling your home.

Much of the time, your lender will want proof that you cannot sell the house for the amount that you currently owe on the property. The lender may require that you list your house for some amount of time, usually 90 days, before they will consider a short sale or reworking the terms of the note. Mainly, the bank is trying to minimize their loss and assess their risk in re-establishing a new loan for the new buyer.

You should first talk to your lender or bank to see what they require for a short sale. Get everything you can in writing.  A real estate attorney can help you with the process. You will need an attorney when the bank is ready or working on accepting the offer.

You most certainly need a realtor to give you a fair market value for your home and then list your home based on the bank requirements.

Short sales can take a lot of time. The negotiation could take months. If you are selling your home as a short sale, you may have a tax liability equal to the difference between your loan balance and today's market value. The debt may or may not be forgiven by the lender, depending on your assets and financial status. This is another reason you should have a real estate attorney involved; you certainly don’t want any surprises after the fact. 

... By Tony Buono

With the increase in home heating costs and gas prices which have coincided with the dramatic drop in temperatures, our fuel costs to heat our homes and run our cars has dramatically increased. Couple this with rising taxes for new schools, sin taxes, the increases in costs for high school sports and the falling value of the dollar, Massachusetts residents have a perfect storm for being unable to meet the demands of the necessary costs to run our lives. Because of this, many of us have turned to credit and credit cards. Increasing credit card interest and fluctuating interest payments on many home equity loans have made it a real challenge to buy groceries, never mind pay the bills that seem to keep growing.

Credit counseling or debt consolidation may be pertinent to your ability to stay in your home or stay out of bankruptcy. Black and Buono offers a wide range of debt counseling services for the individual and family, confronted with the daunting reality of insurmountable financial obligations. However, for many, bankruptcy may be necessary.

At Black and Buono, we work hard to assist individuals in avoiding filing for bankruptcy relief whenever circumstances permit. We do this through direct negotiations with creditors and assisting individuals with credit card debt. If you are contemplating bankruptcy, we can help you determine your eligibility. If you live in Framingham, Worcester, Natick, Shrewsbury, or another town in Massachusetts, we can help you. Our expertise in bankruptcy support and credit counseling and our knowledge of federal bankruptcy laws has helped many families and individuals throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Contact us today, as a local firm we are proud of the individual attention and confidentiality which we provide to our clients.