Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: Bad title

As all the other answers have indicated, you really should contact a lawyer at this point. There are many questions which would have to be answered, in addition to the information provided, to respond to your question.

As a general note, the purchase of a home is a major undertaking, which, contrary to any suggestions by real estate agents, is not something which should be done without an attorney.

Sometimes real estate agents, in their attempt to be "helpful" and to assure that the sale takes place, give their opinion as to the options of the seller and buyer. It would not be unusual for that advice to be that the closing has to take place (and the real estate broker receives his or her commission). This, of course, doesn't apply to all situations, but...

Anyway, contact a real estate attorney in your area as soon as possible.

Re: Bad title

Heather, generally speaking, the SELLER has an obligation to pass CLEAN TITLE to a buyer. Unless there is some unique situation with your purchase agreement (such as waiving valid title?) you should be okay. I recommed you have a lawyer represent YOU and your boyfriend because it sounds like someone (seller or realtor) is not being honest with the two of you.

Re: Bad title

Generally a Seller has an obligation to provide clean title to the property. A P&S may allow the seller some time to correct title but if they can't fix title you are generally entitled to your money back. Therefore, I would suggest you contact an attorney as soon as possible.

Please feel free to contact me if yo need assistance.

Bad title

Let me add a couple of thoughts.

Part of this depends on what makes the title unclean.

This cloud would determine how a potential buyer should evaluate the situation. A potential buyer can take an unclean title. However, as you can see no credible title insurance company would accept this.

No one can really advise you unless this problem is known in detail.

If you could provide this additional information, it would easier to understand the problem

Re: Bad title

I want to add yet another bit of advice for anyone who is reading this and contemplating purchasing a home.

First, realize that if you came to me and said you were buying a home and were considering doing the whole procedure yourself without a lawyer, and then you asked me what to do, it would likely be malpractice if I told you to proceed yourself. The number of pitfalls is enourmous. And yesterday, I had another client who tried without a lawyer and lost $10,000 of his deposit because he did not negotiate a mortgage contingency in his P&S. This stuff is elementary to a competent real estate lawyer.

That being said, I hope you have a purchase and sale agreement that says Seller must provide a "good and marketable record title." If you do, you're OK. Seller usually has an extension to make the title good of 30days, but who knows what your agreement says? What if the Seller had a lawyer and you didn't, so the Seller took full advantage and wrote that Seller had 8 months to clear the title. That would be too bad. You have to hang around for the 8 months or lose your deposit.

In your case, I am hoping you did everything properly to protect yourselves, and that you can have your deposit back if you wish because of the faulty title. Often, you can negotiate an extension of some period if the Seller pays your rent for the extra time, or the cost to store your furniture, etc.

Even at this late date, I assume any of the lawyers who responded to you could help you.