A special seminar on the smoke detector rules is being offered by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board’s Government Affairs Department and includes state fire officials and representatives of the Boston Fire Department.   The one hour seminar will be held on February 2^nd at the Greater Boston Real Estate Board located at One Center Plaza, Mezzanine Level.  Seating is limited and the deadline to register is January 29^th.

Regulation FAQs | Printable PDF Version | Click here for information on the special seminar or to register

Several months ago the Association warned members of a Craigslist internet scam.  The scam has reappeared in a new variation. In this variation, listing information including photos are gathered from an agent's or brokerage firm's website and a fake Craigslist ad is created advertising the property for rent, typically at a bargain rental. The ad is accompanied by contact information which includes an email address and a phone number, which may be the agent's or the owner's phone number. Email inquiries receive replies with an elaborate story concerning the “owner's” necessity of renting very quickly. Of course, the scammer then makes off with the deposit for the “rental.”

REALTORS® should be careful of putting too much information concerning their listings out on the internet. REALTORS® may wish to reconsider advertising on websites that do not provide security measures to weed out ads that are not identified. Finally, if an agent begins receiving inquiries concerning property for rent when the property is really listed for sale, the agent should immediately check Craigslist and other similar websites to ensure that their listing is not being misrepresented by a scammer. Agents should also advise owners to refer all inquires concerning the property, whether for lease or sale, to their agent so as to avoid providing private information to scammers or lending credence to lies told to an innocent party. For further information contact the MAR Legal Hotline at 800-370-LEGAL or visit www.realtor.org. (Reprinted with permission from the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® Legal Hotline Notes.)

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Just in time for the holidays and the cold weather, the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS® (GBAR) presented the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless with a check for $23,200 to the support the Coalition's programming initiatives.  The funds were issued through the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) Foundation and reflect individuals charitable contributions made by REALTORS® to the GBREB Foundation as well as donations raised at GBAR networking events held this summer and fall.

GBAR's support for the Coalition also included a furniture drive conducted this fall in which nine truckloads of sofas, beds, tables and other household items were donated by REALTORS® and GBAR affiliate members to be provided to those transitioning from shelters and motels to permanent housing.  In total, GBAR has donated more than $40,000 in grants and in-kind contributions to the Coalition since 2007.  Read the release

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Short sale procedures for loan servicers have been standardized in guidelines released last month under the federal government's Making Home Affordable loan modification initiative for troubled home owners. The guidelines create a path for a short-sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure for eligible borrowers for whom loan modification isn't a viable option. The guidelines provide $1,500 in federal funds to help borrowers relocate, $1,000 to help servicers offset their processing costs, and up to $1,000 to investors to secure release of subordinate liens. For each $3 an investor pays to secure the release of a lien, the investor receives $1 in assistance.

The guidelines prohibit a reduction in agreed-upon commissions (if they're not more than 6 percent) and take effect April 5, 2010, but can be implemented by servicers at any time. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to follow this release with their own rules based on these guidelines.

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