Questions We Get Asked

Yes. Chapter 148 section 26F requires a smoke alarm Certificate of Compliance on residential property built or modified before 1 January 1975 with one to five units, and section 26F½ requires a carbon monoxide certificate regardless of age or unit count.

From the smoke requirement under the statute, potentially. In practice most purchase and sale agreements and many lenders require the certificate anyway, so the exemption is frequently theoretical. The carbon monoxide requirement applies regardless of age.

That is exactly the question to put to Boston Fire Prevention early. The requirements assume habitable levels, power and ceilings, so a heavily damaged building is not a routine inspection and the answer depends on what survived.

They can do the legwork if the contract says so, but the obligation runs to the seller. Treat an offer to handle it as helpful rather than as the problem disappearing.

Alarms on every habitable level including the basement, at the base of each stairway and inside every bedroom; a second alarm where a floor exceeds 1,200 square feet; photoelectric alarms within 20 feet of kitchens and bathrooms; carbon monoxide alarms on each level and within 10 feet of bedrooms. Fees are set by the municipality.

Not without Article 85 review if the building is 50 years or older, or sits in Downtown or Harborpark. The application goes through Inspectional Services to the Landmarks Commission.

Staff have 10 calendar days from a complete application to determine significance. A "not significant" letter clears it immediately. A significance finding brings a community meeting, a public hearing and up to 90 days after that hearing closes.

Two parts. First whether the building is preferably preserved, which is what invokes the delay. Then a review of alternatives to demolition, at which the Commission may find no feasible alternative and authorise the permit before the delay expires.

Often worth it. A "not significant" letter is a real asset to hand a buyer and it removes an uncertainty they would otherwise discount for.

It turns on whether fire reached the structural framing rather than how much finish was lost. Wood frame construction leaves no masonry shell, so once the framing and roof structure are compromised there is usually little worth preserving.

On a masonry building that is usually the best outcome available. Get a licensed engineer to confirm the walls are sound rather than merely upright, then make sure every buyer knows.

Because three dwellings on one lot produce a finished value a single house on the same footprint cannot. That is what makes a full rebuild viable on land that would not otherwise support it.

Common on tight lots. It generates claims in more than one direction and can affect what either owner may do. Establish it early rather than letting a buyer find it.

Their position survives the fire and binds whoever owns the building next. Do not assume displacement resolved it; establish it before soliciting offers.

Yes. Who keeps the proceeds is a negotiated term rather than a legal barrier. Tell any buyer at the outset; one who suggests concealing it from your carrier is telling you something useful.

Massachusetts gives policyholders unusually strong leverage. Chapter 176D defines unfair claim settlement practices and chapter 93A provides the remedy, including a written demand process, potential multiplication of damages for wilful conduct, and attorney's fees. Take advice; the drafting matters.

Keeping dates. When notice was given, what was sent, what came back, what was offered against what was documented. That record is what any later claim would be built from.

Massachusetts does not require one from a private seller. You still may not misrepresent or conceal, and lead paint disclosure applies separately on property built before 1978, which is most of Boston.

A deeds excise, customarily the seller's, collected at the Registry of Deeds on recording. It is modest compared with the transfer taxes in Philadelphia, New York City or Washington. Your closing attorney will quote the exact figure.

Massachusetts maintains two systems: recorded land, which works as in most states, and registered land, a Land Court system where title is certified. Registered parcels follow a different Registry process and can take longer, so establish which yours is early.

The estate has to be able to convey. It is a common cause of delay, and it runs alongside the certificate and Article 85 questions rather than instead of them.