Real Estate

Our office specializes in conducting residential and commercial real estate closings.  We represent literally hundreds of banks, credit unions, mortgage companies and private lenders.  When we receive a title request from a lender, we open a file, order a Municipal Lien Certificate from the city or town (to assure that real estate taxes are paid up to date) and order a plot plan (if required).  We also begin working on the title search at the Registry of Deeds to determine if the title is clear, and to determine what liens must be paid at closing.  Our closing assistants prepare all the paperwork required for the closing, obtain payoff figures for any mortgages or liens, and coordinate and schedule the closing with the lender, the buyers, the sellers and real estate brokers.  We meet in our office to sign closing documents, and we then record all pertinent documents at the Registry of Deeds, either in person or electronically, if available.  We then distribute closing proceeds and follow up with payoff of mortgages, taxes and liens.  In most cases, a closing at our office will be completed in an hour or less.

In addition to residential and commercial purchase closings, our office specializes in refinancing both residential and commercial loans.  The same procedures are followed to prepare for your closing: ordering Municipal Lien Certificates, searching the title, ordering plot plans, and obtaining payoffs.  Our closing assistants are available to answer any questions that our clients may have during this process, and are great at keeping our clients informed.  If questions of a legal nature arise, our attorneys are also available for advice.  We strive to accommodate the schedules of our customers when coordinating our closings.  In most cases, a refinance will be completed in 30 to 45 minutes, and borrowers will leave with a folder containing copies of all relevant closing documents.

After an Offer to Purchase has been accepted and the parties to a real estate transaction have agreed upon the major terms, the next step is for a Purchase and Sale Agreement to be prepared.  Our attorneys have years of experience with preparing Purchase and Sale Agreements for residential dwellings, commercial buildings, land and condominiums.  When we are asked to prepare a Purchase and Sale Agreement, the first question to be addressed is to determine which party we are representing in the transaction, since a P&S Agreement can be drafted to favor either a buyer or a seller.  A Purchase and Sale Agreement is extremely important because it determines all of the rights, duties and responsibilities of the parties in a real estate closing.  Verbal representations are not enforceable; if it is not in writing and incorporated into the P&S Agreement, then a statement or promise is not enforceable.  For this reason, it is important to have an attorney review a Purchase and Sale Agreement prior to signing it.  Since time is of the essence in most real estate transactions, our office will usually review or prepare a Purchase and Sale Agreement within 24 hours, so as not to cause delay and to make sure that a real estate contract is sealed in a timely fashion.  For this reason, many real estate brokers call upon the attorneys at Williams, Quintin & O’Leary for assistance in reviewing, preparing and negotiating Purchase and Sale Agreements.

One of the most important functions that our office provides in the process of completing a real estate closing is the title search.  In Massachusetts, a title search must cover a period of at least fifty (50) years, starting with a quitclaim or warranty deed that adequately describes the property.  In Rhode Island, this search period is forty (40) years.  A chain of title is established, and then the names of the owners are run in the Registry of Deeds indices to assure that each owner passes the property properly along to the next owner and that all liens and mortgages are paid off and correctly discharged.  Unlike most other law firms, we have full time title examiners who work in our office who perform this research at the Registry of Deeds.  A title abstract and report are then prepared, and an attorney reviews and approves each title abstract and report prior to the scheduling of the closing.  WQO is an approved agent for several national title insurance companies.  We are able to work with these companies to provide guidance and, in many cases, affirmative title insurance if there are any questions or issues raised by our title search.  Our many years of experience with title examinations help us to identify issues and resolve them quickly.

As a part of completing each closing, our office does a final rundown of the title and records the documents at the appropriate Registry of Deeds.  In Massachusetts, there are two systems for recording documents affecting real estate.  Ninety percent (90%) of the real estate located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is recorded land (unregistered land), while only ten percent (10%) of the real estate located in Massachusetts is registered land, which is governed by the rules and regulations promulgated by the Land Court in Boston.  The Registry of Deeds in each county has a separate recording desk for recorded land and for registered land.  Some deeds may even contain registered land and unregistered land, requiring the deed to be recorded in two places at the Registry of Deeds.  In many cases (but not all), documents may now be recorded electronically.  If documents need to be taken to the Registry of Deeds for recording, our paralegals take the documents to be recorded as soon as the documents have been signed and funding has been obtained.  Our goal is to distribute the proceeds of the closing to the sellers or borrowers and to the brokers as soon as is practically possible.

A Declaration of Homestead is a simple one or two page document that can protect some of the equity in a residence from a creditor claim.  Homestead protection is available for owner occupied one to four family homes, and condominium units which serve as the homeowner’s principal residence.  Co-owners of a home share the exemption amount.  A homestead estate exempts a certain amount of the equity of a home from attachment, seizure, execution on judgment, levy and sale for the unsecured debts of the owner of the home, except for the following:

• Federal, state and local taxes, assessments, claims and liens;

• Liens recorded prior to the creation of the homestead estate;

• Mortgages;

• Orders from the probate court for support;

• A levy or sale for ground rents (where the homeowner does not own the land);

• An execution from a court to enforce a judgment based upon fraud, mistake, duress, undue influence or lack of capacity.

Under the Massachusetts homestead laws, the homeowner’s equity in the home is protected up to one year after the sale of a home, and if the home has suffered a casualty that results in the payment of insurance proceeds, then the insurance proceeds are protected for up to tow years, in order to allow the homeowner tome to acquire a homestead in a new (or reconstructed) home.  All homeowners are entitled to an automatic homestead protection of up to $125,000.00 of the equity in their homes.  You do not need to do or file anything to have the benefit of this protection.  By making a written Declaration of Homestead, recorded at the Registry of Deeds, a homeowner’s homestead protection is increased to $500,000.00.  Some other benefits of declaring a homestead include

• A non-owner spouse who lives with the owner has the benefit of the homestead (until terminated in writing);

• A declared homestead cannot be subordinated to an unsecured debt;

• If an unmarried owner declares a homestead and marries thereafter, the declaration will automatically benefit the owner’s spouse upon marriage.  Similarly, a divorce and/or remarriage will not affect the homestead of the spouse who remains in the home as his or her principal residence;

• A trustee of property held in trust can declare a homestead for the beneficiaries of the trust who occupy the home as their principal residence;

• Elderly (age 62 or older) and disabled persons who declare a homestead are each entitled to a separate exemption of up to $500,000.00 which is personal and not shared with any other co-owners of the home.

Our office will prepare a Declaration of Homestead free of charge in connection with your new purchase.  If you are refinancing and a Declaration of Homestead is not already recorded for your home, this free benefit is available to you as well.  We will see to it that your Declaration of Homestead is properly recorded at the Registry of Deeds.  The recording fees vary slightly among the various county registries, but the recording fee is approximately $40.00.

An easement is a legal document that allows title to a specific piece of land to remain with the landowner, but another person or organization is given the right to use that land for a distinct purpose.  Easements are generally used for access and utilities to cross another’s property, but can also be used for drainage or landscaping.  In order to be effective, an easement must be signed, notarized and recorded at the Registry of Deeds.  Our office can advise you regarding any questions that you may have regarding existing easements or drafting of a new one.