All new blog posts now allow comments.

A local woman is suing her real estate broker for selling her a condo directly above another unit where someone smoked. She said she had asthma — and specifically asked whether someone below her unit smoked.

Now she’s suing in state court, and she’s already won settlements from residents who lived in the first-floor unit.

It’s easy to get upset about this from a number of angles. One can side with the woman. One can side with the broker. One can side with condo owners who partook in a perfectly legal act and still got nailed for a settlement.

The thing to remember is that we’re a very litigious society these days, and this is just the latest on the legal front. It’s going to get worse (or better, depending on how you view the controversy) on the smoking issue — and it’s no longer going to be confined to smokers.

The fear here is that anti-smoking groups will show little or no mercy when it comes to lawsuits. They’re on a crusade, and that’s going to be that.

Your thoughts?

Ask CEOs to pick their favorite color and what they select will often be very different than what most people would pick.

COLOR TEST: Take the free aptitude test.

CEO’s favorite colors are (more…)

I was reading Banker & Tradesman and came across an interesting article. It has to do with the professionalism and knowledge of mortgage loan originators. As you might imagine, this affects my business, so it piqued my interest.

It seems that something called the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) was passed by Congress in July 2008 and required states to pass legislation requiring the licensure of mortgage loan originators. Testing began in summer 2009 (last date to take the test July 2010). Now that results are starting to trickle in, it appears a substantial number of mortgage brokers have a lot more homework to do to meet standards. Some 10,000 people have taken the tests and more than 30% failed the federal portion. The number of failures on the state portions was slightly less – 27%. All in all, I would say, that’s a pretty sad state of affairs.

The national test covers general mortgage knowledge, loan origination, federal law, and ethics. The Massachusetts state section of the test is similar, but with a focus on Massachusetts laws, and requires an additional three hours of training.

There have been many complaints (from those taking the test) which seem to center on the regulation portions of the test. It’s not enough to know whether something’s ethical or unethical, and what information must be given to clients, and in what form; many of the questions, mind you, ask test-takers to pick out the particular statutes which describe these responsibilities. (Oh my, that sounds very difficult).

As stated, Banker & Tradesman wrote an article on the new testing reqirements for our local mortgage originators. Here’s an excerpt:

With twenty hours of classes required in addition to the test, and a 30-day lag time before it can be re-taken if the broker fails on the first go-round, many are gearing up early to get the exam under their belts – and they’re finding it a struggle.

Bill Poliquan, a 16-year mortgage industry veteran with Norton’s Bay State Mortgage Corp., just took the test last week – for the second time.

“First time I failed by one point,” Poliquan said. “Got a 74, you need a 75. It’s definitely a challenge.”

File Under: “Got a 74 need a 75…” Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

More Boston homes were listed for sale in January compared to the previous month, according to a new report.

Nationwide, January marked the first time in 18 months that more homes were listed for sale compared to the previous month, with an additional 15,000 homes, or a 2.9 percent increase, listed for sale compared to December, according to a new report by national real estate brokerage ZipRealty.

In the Boston metro area, 27,547 single-family homes and condos were listed on MLS for sale in January, a 4.8 percent increase from the previous month.

Note: Sorry the comment section is disabled for maintenance.

I’m sorry, but DreamingCode, my web site provider, has temporarily “disabled the allowing of comments” to correct a spam problem. Once DreamingCode fixes the blog I will let you know.

Thank you for your patience,

John Ford

I was just informed by one of my agents that 20 Brimmer Street open house was a huge success (even on Superbowl Sunday). It should be interesting to see how this auction plays out.

If you would like us to represent you as a buyers agent please feel free to contact our office at 617-720-5454.

Read more: Beacon Hill Auction.

Do you think 20 Brimmer Street will sell above $5,000,000.00?