Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog

Richard Vetstein

Recent Posts

• Richard Vetstein Quoted In Banker & Tradesman About New Fannie Mae Credit Report Rules
• Richard Vetstein Featured in Banker/Tradesman Article On Ibanez Foreclosure Mess
• Richard Vetstein Quoted In Boston Globe Article About Recent Developers’ Rights Case
• Richard Vetstein Quoted In Wall Street Journal Online/Smart Money On Expiring $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit
• Cracking The Top 100: Richard Vetstein and the Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog

Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog

• Richard Vetstein Talks Real Estate Law On “Money Matters” Radio Show September 4, 2010
  I had the pleasure of sitting down for a 1 hour radio interview on real estate law for Money Matters Radio. The podcasts for the show are below. (They are 30 minutes each, so be advised). The hour went by so fast! There was a funny thing that happened during the interview. My dad was […]
• Hurrican Earl To Hit Eastern Massachusetts Hard: Safety and Insurance Claims Information September 2, 2010
  Reports are now saying that Hurricane Earl’s track has changed and will hit Massachusetts and especially Cape Cod & the Islands harder than expected. David Gaffin, of Greenpark Mortgage and the Massachusetts Mortgage Blog, is kind enough to let us re-post this article about safety information and insurance claims in preparation for the storm surge. […]
• Massachusetts Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory: Even More Historic Lows! September 1, 2010
  Mortgage Guy, Brian Cav, is back with his Massachusetts weekly mortgage rate report. Mortgage Rates hit new lows yesterday. If you have refinanced over the past 2 years there is a 70% chance you can refinance to 0.5% lower in rate and pay NO closing costs. The 30 year fixed mortgage rate has fallen down to […]
• Debunking The July 2010 Housing Report: 5 Reasons Why Massachusetts Home Sales Will Continue To Rise August 27, 2010
  A National Association of Realtor’s report released Wednesday indicated that home purchases fell 27% in July, a drop that jolted the real estate industry, according to the Wall Street Journal, and sent shock waves through the broader economy. As a result, a number of economists provided dire warnings of a continued down slide in real […]
• The Impact Of The Mortgage Reform & Anti-Predatory Lending Act On The Conventional Residential Lending Industry August 25, 2010
  The new Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, buried in the fine print of the much publicized Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act contains strict new rules aimed at preventing another sub-prime mortgage collapse. Overview: What Is The Impact To Mortgage Lenders and Originators? The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Ac […]
• Massachusetts Real Estate Values Down, But Real Estate Taxes Continue To Rise August 22, 2010
  Benjamin Franklin once famously said, “There is nothing certain in life but death and taxes.” And this is most certainly true for real estate taxes in Massachusetts which continue to rise despite declining home values. As reported in the Boston Globe today: Despite dropping home values, Massachusetts property tax bills continued to rise last year. […]
• Ibanez Foreclosure Case Update: Appellate Briefs Filed August 19, 2010
  The briefs in the US. Bank v. Ibanez foreclosure case in the Supreme Judicial Court have been filed. Here is a link to the Ibanez side brief. Here is the lenders’ brief. The case is still set for oral argument in October, with a decision expected in late Fall, early Winter. Related Posts:Controversial Ibanez Foreclosure […]
• Massachusetts Construction Prompt Pay Law Passed August 19, 2010
  As reported in Banker & Tradesman: A new law requiring construction payments to be paid “promptly” has been passed, which advocates say is one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting private construction since the reform of the state’s mechanic’s lien law in 1996. The bill was sponsored by the Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts [. […]
• Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday: Home Buyers, Please Wait Until After Your Closing To Splurge August 14, 2010
  I’m never one to rain on a good shopping day parade, but the Massachusetts sale tax holiday scheduled for this weekend, could cause some problems for home buyers who intend on makes big purchases over the weekend, but haven’t closed yet on their real estate transaction. The reason is Fannie Mae’s new Loan Quality Initiative […]
• Happy Birthday To This Blog: A Statistical Review of Year 1 August 12, 2010
  It’s been a year since we launched this Blog in its current form, and it’s been an amazing year. I remember getting giddy over 30 hits in one day; now we get thousands. Good times. The fun part about having a Blog is analyzing the statistics, which can be a bit addicting, like when I […]

Boston.com

• Landlord-tenant hell: the end of the season September 3, 2010
  We have now rounded the corner into September and the storm of U-Hauls and out-of-state plates has receded to an intermittent drizzle. I have two topics for today: one is a review of this series; the other is my take... […]
• Closing costs rising - or banks just forced to come clean earlier? September 3, 2010
  While the refi side is booming, banks are writing fewer mortgages on home sales. Some of this may simply be a reflection of the dramatic fall off in sales since the home buyer tax credit expired this spring. Of course,... […]
• Eye-witness to the refi boom September 2, 2010
  When I refinanced 6 years ago, I thought that was the refi to end all refis. We were in a fixed 20-year product at a hair over 5 percent. I had seen rates below 5 percent going by, but was... […]
• A modest proposal to stimulate the housing market September 2, 2010
  It's bail out time again, with the housing market in a nose dive. So forget about pesky little pump primers like the home buyer tax credit - let's start thinking really big here. Along those lines, I got a kick... […]
• Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act September 1, 2010
  It's Wedensday, so here's Attorney Richard D. Vetstein. Today he looks at the mortgage part of the Wall Street Reform laws passed this summer. Buried in the fine print of the much publicized Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection... […]
• Time to bring back the home buyer tax credit? September 1, 2010
  Panic is mounting as the downturn in the housing market picks up speed. Check out the latest big spike in foreclosures across the state. And, shocker of shockers, there are calls once again to bring back the home-buyer tax credit.... […]
• How I spent my summer vacation August 31, 2010
  This year, my husband and I took a car-trip to the Berkshires for a week. We went west via Route 2 and came back via the Mass Pike. (Try it sometime. The travel time is twice as long on the... […]
• If the price is right, buyers will come August 31, 2010
  That's one lesson from the turnaround over at the Nouvelle. The once-scorned condo tower - literally attached to the revamped Natick mall - has now sold 70 percent of its units. I took my share of jabs at the idea... […]
• Everything is negotiable, including the dog August 30, 2010
  Sam Schneiderman, broker owner of Great Boston Home Team, is our Monday guy. He’s been doing real estate since 1984. I admire Sam for his dedication to learning through mentors like Brian Buffini. Here is Sam’s weekly entry: Brian Buffini... […]
• Potential foreclosure now looms for W Boston August 30, 2010
  There's a new twist to the travails of the W Boston. Touted as setting a new standard for ritzy living, the posh luxury condo and hotel tower in the Theater District wound up in federal bankruptcy court earlier this summer.... […]

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