Mark Greene Law

Most school children studying American History have all heard the famous quote by one of the founding fathers James Otis “Taxation without representation is tyranny”…Well James Otis, I guess that despite the passing of 234 years or so…..the practice still exists. Here in Massachusetts… MGL. c59 section 29 allows for just that.

Let me explain.

Many years ago we opened our law firm in Hanover, Very nice town that it is…anyway we opened the firm by purchasing furnishings and computers, printers desks etc…..you know the drill.

Well I purchased the telephones with money that I had paid taxes on. .I had the telephones installed and as fate would have it at the end of the month I received my bill…on the bill there was a fee for Mass taxes and federal tax.. No surprise there and I paid the bill with funds that had been taxed. State and Federal …no real issues yet…But here is the rub.

The Town of Hanover, (and it is not alone) has sent me a note asking for me to complete a form. The form asks for a number of pieces if information such as what kind of business we are…. Mailing address (although I thought that they knew that by virtue of mailing the form to me) but I digress … what they really are getting at is wanting to know just what kind of furnishings are in our law office… any machinery/ tools and equipment, furniture, merchandise…you get the picture.

Now why would the Town of Hanover be interested in what is in my business office you ask? Well to tax it of course….yup the Town of Hanover under MGL. c 59 section 29 wants to tax my furnishings again just for sitting in our office. So what you say? Well I do not live in Hanover, I cannot vote for selectman or for that matter any other elected official in the Town of Hanover to represent me. In my opinion Towns should be welcoming business into the town with open arms.. not open palms. So there you have it

Taxation without representation…..Now that as the saying goes is tyranny Now where do I send that check?

New Phenomenon in Real Estate Practice: There is a relatively new phenomenon developing in the law of buying a new home. Well there is and it has to do with lenders and attorneys in an attempt to reduce the fees associated with buying a home…..And this is what it’s about

You see the lenders are bending over backwards to get borrowers/ buyers to borrow money from their bank in order to buy that new home. One method that the lenders (not all just some) are suggesting is this. Since there are so many lawyers working for the lenders to conduct the closing (or passing of papers as it is often referred to) the lenders are saying to these lawyers, Look if you want to continue doing closings for this lender then you must negotiate the sales agreement for the buyers/ borrowers for no fee to the buyer/borrower. Now on the surface this may seem like a great Idea for the borrower/ buyer. But the truth is ..it is not

The sales agreement forms that realtors here on the south shore regularly use is prepared by the Greater Boston Society of Realtors and it is unquestionably intended to protect the Seller not the Buyer. So if you happen to be a buyer, it is a good idea to get a lawyer to get the sales agreement fair and balanced. In other words hire someone to look out for you the buyer. Well if the lender is pressuring the lawyer to negotiate the terms of your sales agreement at no charge to the buyer/ borrower in order to continue to work for the bank…. Who then is the client of the lawyer I ask? Where is his ethical obligation? Who does the lawyer actually represent? Who is he looking out for?…great question

Now most real estate attorneys will tell you that the best interests of the buyer/borrower are not in direct conflict with the lenders best interest. And for the most part that is true, however the interests of these two parties are not the same.

So does the lawyer disclose any matters to the buyer if it may impact the decision of the buyer/ borrower to continue with the purchase? Well yes IF He is representing the buyer. Should he disclose those matter to the Lender? Sure if he represents the Lender…. But how can he do both? My opinion is that he cannot. This dual representation. to me… is a breach of ethics.

The buyer /borrower may feel that he is getting a break …but I suspect that in the end he is grasping very tightly to the short end of the proverbial stick…..

Reverse Mortgages: The FHA Modernization Act has made may changes to reverse mortgages (the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM). One of the more interesting changes is that a senior can now use a HECM to purchase a home. This could be a useful vehicle for senior who are downsizing. Previously, a senior would sell the larger home and pay full cash for the new smaller home. Now they can use the HECM purchase mortgage to finance a substantial part of the new home price, pay less cash from the sale of the larger home and have no mortgage payments. I suspect that an increase of real estate brokers marketing “half price’ homes.

Estate Planning. The Baby Boomers, born from 1946 to 1964, are now 77 million strong and they compose 23% of the population. They are in the age range of 45 to 63, and 4 million will hit age 60 each year. Estate planning is top-of-mind as they face empty nests, physical aging and end of life issues. Their retirement savings just got a 25% to 40% haircut, presuming they have any savings, and they want to get their affairs in order. The key motivating event: a fall. When a Boomer has a serious injury or illness, they and their kids want them to talk to a lawyer. Now is the time for lawyers to set up referral arrangements with urologists, cancer doctors and elder care counselors. Lawyers should be giving speeches at assisted living homes and senior clubs.

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