The Massachusetts real estate attorneys at Boston’s Calabrese Law Associates specialize in providing fast, creative solutions to real estate disputes. Though we strongly recommend enlisting our services early on to prevent issues from developing in the first place, we are also able to step in midway and resolve an unexpected dispute that may have brought negotiations to a stalemate.
Any real estate development project involving home, condominium, office building or housing development construction is a major investment. Unfortunately, that investment can be ruined when problems such as delays, material defects or poor workmanship arise. Too often property owners find themselves accepting defects in their project because the prospect of pursuing litigation is too expensive and time-consuming.
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Homeowners may also face competing interests, problems with trespassing, and foreclosure issues, making it unenjoyable to use the property. Consulting a real estate dispute law firm can help you protect your property and avoid frustrations.
What Is Real Estate Litigation?
Real estate litigation involves a dispute arising from real property or an interest in the real property. In Massachusetts, real estate disputes may relate to commercial or residential properties. Business dealings relating to such properties, boundary line disputes, and contract disputes are also typical.
Common Real Estate Disputes
Do you need a lawyer for a real estate dispute? Some of the services we provide to commercial and residential clients include:
- Real estate contract disputes: Comprising contractual conflicts in the nature of fraud, contract misrepresentation, or good faith estimates.
- Construction contract and defect litigation: Disputes related to breach of contract, which may arise from construction agreements.
- Quantum meruit claims: Dealing with the compensation owed for services rendered.
- Cooperative and condominium association disputes: Disagreements over governing documents, sublet agreements, and co-op board decisions
- Mortgage foreclosure: Foreclosing on a property where the borrower has stopped making payments after contracting with a lender to finance the purchase.
- Property reassessment litigation: Disputes over the government assessment of a property’s value.
- Quiet title actions: Disagreements over who has the right to a title
- Public and private nuisance: Unreasonable interference with the use or enjoyment of a space. A public nuisance occurs when someone unreasonably interferes with a common right of the general public, such as a public road. A private nuisance is an unreasonable inference with a person’s use of their own land.
- Adverse possession: Acquiring land based on continuous possession, often referred to as “squatter’s rights.”
No matter the specifics of your case, the sooner you retain the services of a knowledgeable real estate law attorney in Boston, MA, the easier it will be to obtain a favorable outcome. Our legal team includes licensed real estate brokers and other construction industry insiders who know how to represent you successfully, whether in court or at the negotiating table. We can perform the research and background investigations necessary to prove cases of contractor negligence and other breaches of contract.
Cases We Handle
When you need a real estate attorney in Massachusetts to resolve a real estate purchase, sale dispute, or real estate development problem, contact Calabrese Law Associates. We have successfully represented a broad spectrum of clients, including small to medium-sized real estate investment companies, condominium associations, condominium unit owners, realty trusts and trustees, real estate developers and investors, architects, and global architecture firms.
Calabrese Law Associates offers a wide range of legal services that protect our clients’ interests at the negotiating/planning stages of a project as well as through the actual construction and development stages when disputes can cause delays and significant financial loss. Moreover, real estate and construction law is complex, so retaining experienced legal counsel is necessary to succeed in these industries. Many of the cases our Boston real estate lawyers handle involve a breach of contract, negligence, and fraud committed by general contractors or subcontractors, all of which can prevent the successful completion of your build.
Other Areas of Expertise
Our team of real estate litigation experts can handle the following:
1. Breach of Contract
Breach of contract disputes are often among the most hotly contested, particularly regarding real estate, land development, construction delays, or workmanship issues.
Real estate agreements are contracts, and the rights and obligations may differ depending on what the parties agree to do. For example, the terms of a contract for the sale of a property may vary from a contract for the construction of a building.
A property sale contract may include provisions about closing dates, financing, title clearance, and whether other assets are included in the purchase. When the contract is for the construction of a property, the agreement may detail the start and completion date, the specifications, the cost of construction, payment methods and schedules, and the scope of work.
The essential thing to remember is that the contract’s terms and conditions generally bind the parties. Therefore, it helps ensure the contract is well-drafted to protect your interests. If the other party drafted the agreement, review it thoroughly and understand the terms before signing.
To build a successful case, in-depth research by a real estate attorney is necessary. Calabrese Law Associates is the partner you need to build a persuasive case, resolve the dispute, and achieve the goals you seek.
2. Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the process by which a lender seizes and sells a home after a borrower fails to meet the repayment expectations outlined in their agreement.
Individuals and businesses may use financing to fund the purchase of a property, which typically involves lenders offering loans in exchange for a mortgage. Homeowners must understand their rights and options for retaining the property and defending against foreclosure.
Foreclosure can cause several challenges to property owners, so lenders must strictly comply with the laws to properly effectuate a foreclosure sale, especially for residential properties This is especially true in Massachusetts, where lenders can invoke the “Statutory Power of Sale” to liquidate your property within a relatively short period after a default. A thorough knowledge of both real estate and foreclosure law is essential to protect your interests during this process.
Partnering with a Massachusetts real estate attorney helps you understand your options, including loss mitigation, loan modification, filing for bankruptcy, or the institution a civil action.
3. Negligence
Where a person breaches their duty which causes another to suffer an injury or loss, they may be liable for negligence.
Depending on the circumstances, several persons may have a duty of care to persons who visit, use, or reside on the property. For example, real estate agents may have a duty to disclose certain information to their clients and keep sensitive information they receive confidential. Contractors also have a duty to build the property according to the required and reasonable standards.
Negligence by a general contractor or subcontractor can lead to delays, unsafe conditions, or other issues that expose you to risk and loss on your project. If you need an attorney for real estate negligence disputes, Calabrese Law Associates handles many cases concerning contractor negligence and is well-equipped to pursue your rights cost-efficiently, effectively, and professionally.
4. Boundary Disputes
It is crucial for parties in real estate transactions to correctly demarcate their boundaries to avoid disputes. Disputes may also arise when boundaries are incorrectly registered or the homeowner’s practical property line is inconsistent with the legally registered or recorded property line. A lawyer for real estate disputes can assess your chances of success, advise you on the best course of action, and help you resolve the dispute.
5. Trespassing
If you are a homeowner, you have probably encountered situations where a person or object belonging to another person enters your land without your permission. In other instances, the person may refuse or fail to remove their objects after multiple requests. A classic example is when your neighbor places debris or parks their vehicle on your premises, despite signs and posts advising people to stay away. Another example is when a business disposes of substances on your land and damages your property in the process.
Such acts invade your exclusive interest in the property and may amount to trespassing. Besides being frustrating, the act of trespass can cause damage to your property. Our real estate attorneys can help protect your property from unwanted incursions that affect your land’s safety and enjoyment.
6. Easements on Property or Encumbrances
Real estate may be subject to easements or encumbrances such as utility easements, prescriptive easements, access or driveway, a lien, or a mortgage. Before acquiring the property, ensure that there are no competing interests or titles, or at least be aware of these facts before making a purchase. An attorney can help you conduct a title search or determine which easements run with the land or whether the land is encumbered. Where this results in a dispute, a real estate attorney can help you assess the strength of your case or help protect your land.
When Is a Real Estate Lawyer Necessary?
It is best to partner with a real estate attorney when:
- Purchasing, selling, leasing, developing, or constructing a real estate property.
- Preparing documents for purchasing, selling, leasing, developing, or constructing a real estate property.
- Reviewing and signing construction contracts and agreements.
- Managing real estate properties.
- Financing the acquisition of real estate.
- Litigating a real estate dispute.
At Calabrese Law Associates, our real estate law attorneys in Boston, MA, and Burlington, MA, handle a broad scope of Massachusetts real estate litigation matters for residential and commercial property clients.
We help clients resolve the real estate litigation disputes they face daily. Litigation can arise at any real estate development project or real estate transaction phase — from acquisition to financing, construction, development, leasing, and management. Our litigation attorneys possess the knowledge and experience to advise clients on risks and resolutions that can avoid costly litigation. We aggressively pursue our clients’ interests in Massachusetts state and federal courts when necessary.
Although our practice is regional in scope, we focus on being part of the communities we serve and being involved in the local and regional construction and real estate industry. Because of this structure, we can offer services that reflect the efficiencies and knowledge of a law firm participating in various markets while providing a smaller firm’s personalized assistance. Our litigation lawyers know the area.
Make our Boston office your first call when disputes or other issues threaten the viability of your real estate transaction or development project. We’ll review the details of your case and identify potential opportunities for achieving a resolution through out-of-court negotiations. We understand how important it is that your dispute be resolved quickly. To that end, we explore all options, leaving litigation as a last resort for redress in situations where all out-of-court talks have failed to satisfy our client’s claims.
We Advocate for the Rights of Home and Business Owners
At Calabrese Law Associates, we understand the pre-litigation negotiation process well and strive to achieve quick, meaningful resolutions of our clients’ real estate dispute matters when possible. While we typically try to resolve these matters through out-of-court negotiations, it is sometimes necessary to escalate the process to litigation when the opposing parties fail to meaningfully engage in negotiations. Our team of skilled real estate lawsuit attorneys will vigorously represent your interest at all stages of litigation, remaining mindful of your ultimate goal and keeping your legal spending to a minimum.
Meet Our Boston Real Estate Litigation Attorneys & Lawyers
Our real estate attorneys in Boston have assisted many clients like you. Contact our office today to discuss your case and receive a clear assessment of your options moving forward.
While Calabrese Law Associates does offer legal help for landlord-tenant disputes, it is extremely rare that we take on these cases. Only about 1% of tenant-related cases and 10% of landlord-related cases will be considered by our law firm.
This publication and its contents are not to be construed as legal advice nor a recommendation to you as to how to proceed. Please consult with a local licensed attorney directly before taking any action that could have legal consequences. This publication and its content do not create an attorney-client relationship and are being provided for general informational purposes only.
*Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.