Massachusetts has a unique forum for handling real estate disputes: Land Court. Land Court is a specialty court which handles a wide array of property issues, including Servicemembers’ Cases, boundary disputes, and other real property matters. Those involved with a more »
This is a three part blog series on the requirements for obtaining a variance under Massachusetts zoning law. The first post concerned the first variance criterion: a showing that the property has unique conditions. The second post discussed the requirement of hardship. more »
I’m pleased to write that I won a real estate appeal before the Massachusetts Appeals Court last week. This case concerned a real estate contract dispute, concerning rescission (a request to cancel a legal agreement). I had previously won the more »
Buying a home with existing tenants has many traps for the unwary. While there are advantages to having existing tenants with the purchase of a home, there are also potential areas of liability. Here are three things to keep in more »
This will be a three part blog series on the requirements for obtaining a variance under Massachusetts zoning law. The first post concerned the first variance criterion: a showing that the property has unique conditions. This post discusses the second more »
Governor Baker is backing a bill to reform zoning in Massachusetts, which will give local municipalities more flexibility in making zoning changes. This bill is a good example of some important lessons for understanding Massachusetts’s land use laws. Zoning 101 more »
Like most states, zoning decisions in Massachusetts are primarily made at the local level through municipal boards. One of the most common types of zoning decisions are requests for variances. While a municipal board (commonly called the zoning board of more »
April is going to be a busy month for me. In a rare case of bipartisanship, a group of Republican and Democratic Senators (who have been in Washington D.C. for over twenty years) have hired me to file an adverse more »
I recently settled a case involving a fence dispute between two neighbors who weren’t getting along. Fence disputes, believe it or not, are among the most common types of boundary disputes and most often arise when a property owner seeks more »
This Tuesday, I’ll be before the Appeals Court on a case concerning a real estate contract. I won a trial several years ago involving a contract dispute, and the other side has appealed. This is an interesting case that concerns more »
