Boston Real Estate Lawyers

Newton Needham Residential & Commercial Real Estate Agreements Attorneys

Russell & Associates LLC provides a full range of Real Estate services to buyers, sellers, refinance borrowers, home owners, developers, investors and mortgage lenders. Our highly experienced team of Attorneys and Paralegals understands the importance of all aspects of real estate transactions and is dedicated to providing the highest level of customer service to each and every client.

We are conveniently located at 200 Highland Avenue, Needham, Massachusetts with easy access from Route 128 and other major highways.

Residential

Buyer/Borrower: Whether you are a first time home buyer or a repeat purchaser, Russell & Associates LLC is here to assist you with the process from start to finish. Our services include negotiating, drafting and reviewing purchase and sales agreements, reviewing all condo documents and any other legal documents pertaining to the real estate purchase as well as ensuring a clear and marketable title to your new home. From the start of the transaction our team of Attorneys and Paralegals are available to answer any questions you might have and will strive to ensure that each client fully understands all documents and disclosures that are signed throughout the purchase process. We work closely with all Real Estate Agents and Mortgage Lenders to coordinate a timely and successful closing.
Seller: The decision to sell a home can at times be a difficult one. Our Firm will assist you with the process even before your home is put on the market. As a Seller Representative we can assist you with finding a reputable Real Estate Agent that specializes in your market. We will review all listing agreements and required disclosures and will protect your interests in connection with the Offer and Purchase and Sale Agreement. Once your home is placed under agreement we will work closely with all other parties to the transaction including the Buyer's attorney and the lender's closing attorney to ensure all deadlines are met, the title to your home is clear and marketable and facilitate a smooth transaction. Our services include negotiating, drafting and reviewing offer and purchase and sales agreements, preparing the deed from you to the Buyer as well as any other documents required for the sale of your home.
Lender: Russell & Associates LLC works with numerous local and national lenders throughout the states of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. With title examiners at every registry and a team of Attorneys that will travel for closings, we service all areas of Massachusetts. We take pride in accommodating our clients' schedules and will always ensure a smooth closing anytime and anyplace. Our staff understands the constantly changing lending environment and works closely with all mortgage originators, processors and closing departments to ensure all required documentation is received in a timely manner and compliant with banking regulations so that each loan can move to the closing table. As a representative of your lending institution we are dedicated to making every purchase or refinance closing professional and enjoyable for YOUR clients.

Commercial

Russell & Associates LLC advises individuals and businesses on all aspects of commercial real estate. We provide comprehensive closing services to commercial mortgage lenders. Our services include:

Purchase and Sale of commercial real estate.
Mortgage finance transactions - purchase and refinance (construction and permanent).
Development, zoning and land use.
Condominiums and Condominium Development
Leasing and Landlord/Tenant issues.
Title examination and title insurance.
Litigation of real estate issues.

PITFALLS TO AVOID WHEN MAKING AN OFFER ON A HOME

Purchasing a new home is an exciting, if trying, endeavor. The process can be complex and time consuming, and often involves steps the home buyer is unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. This is why a few simple things, if properly addressed, can make the experience of purchasing a home smoother and less stressful.

Ensure that your purchase is conditional on an inspection that you, the buyer, find satisfactory. Commonly used, boilerplate, language often limits your ability to cancel the transaction, only allowing you to cancel if structural or mechanical defects are found. Remember: this may become your home; you deserve to live in a home you find satisfactory, right?
Include language in the offer that makes your purchase contingent on an appraisal that is, at least, the same as the purchase price. It is your right not to overpay for your future home.
Include language in the offer that makes it conditional on all included appliances and home systems (i.e. central air conditioning) functioning properly and being in good working order on the day of closing. Oftentimes, a final walk-through takes place just before the date of closing. At this time, the buyer should closely inspect the level of functionality of the major appliances and/or systems in the home.
The Importance of Scheduling, Part I: In the real estate world, Fridays and the last few days of any given month are the busiest days for closings. Because of this, it is possible your deed will not be recorded the same day as your closing, and this will prevent you from moving into your new home as anticipated. This can also prove to be an enormous problem if movers have been scheduled.
The Importance of Scheduling, Part II: If you are buying and selling at the same time, it is best not to try and close both deals on the same day. This is true not only for the same reasons to avoid closing on Fridays and at the end of the month, but also because of potential delays that may arise in either transaction. Just imagine the worst-case scenario here to understand the logic behind it: you've sold your home and must vacate it entirely before you have secured the rights to your new home. Where will you stay? Where will you store your belongings? These are questions you do not want to be answering at the end of an already arduous process.

Articles

New Homestead Law Increases Homeowner Equity

A new Massachusetts law on homestead protection will go into effect on March 16, 2011 and provided new much-needed improvements to homestead protection. Starting on March 16, every homeowner in Massachusetts will be protected up to $125,000 in the equity of their home. This protection is called the "automatic homestead exemption". Homeowners who go ahead and file a homestead qualify for four times that protection, up to $500,000 in the equity in their home. The "declared homestead exemption" applies for those homeowners who have filed a homestead. Homeowners do not need to record a new one in response to the new Massachusetts law - it will apply to those homesteads already recorded.

FHA Program For Flipped Houses Extended

Reuters Date: Monday, January 31, 2011, 12:00am | Last Modified: Monday, January 31, 2011, 10:01am

From Banker & Tradesman (online)

The Obama administration on Friday extended through the end of the year a popular program allowing buyers of flipped homes to obtain loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Home Prices Sink Further

Declines Reported in All 28 Major Metropolitan Areas; Unsold Inventory Piles Up

Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com (Wall Street Journal Online) January 31, 2011

Home values are falling at an accelerating rate in many cities across the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal's latest quarterly survey of housing-market conditions found that prices declined in all of the 28 major metropolitan areas tracked during the fourth quarter when compared to a year earlier.

Resources

Real Estate and Banking Links:

State and Local Government Links:

Title Insurance Information:

Homestead Information:

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