Real Estate Closings (Boston, Florida: mortgage, lawyers, homes)

[Chayleah]

My husband is being relocated to MA for his job. He will move to the Boston area to begin work and we (me + 3 kids) will follow after we find and close on a house.

We are only using his income to qualify for the mortgage. I know MA like OH is a dower state and in OH the spouse must sign the deed even if they are not on the mortgage. Is this the same in MA?? Also in MA do you typically use lawyers for closing (OH does not)?? Do they do round table closings (buyer & seller in same room) or just the buyers??

I appreciate your input.

[kmann-sherborn]

My understanding is that you only need to sign if you're going to be on the mortgage but you may want to consult an attorney. Most people do use a real estate attorney to review their P&S and handle the closing. The buyers attend and sometimes the sellers do but not always. I know two real estate attorneys I would recommend if you'd like a few names.

[redpanda]

As far as I know, spouses are NOT required to be on the deeds of homes here. Wow, that's bizarre. We always use a real estate attorney to protect our interests, and he is always at our closings. All the closings I have attended are what you refer to as "round table closings" where both buyers and sellers attend.

[gf2020]

I would think you would want to be named on the deed, however, you do not need to be present for that. The buyers do not sign the deed at all, only the sellers.

Closings in MA are performed by attorneys, not title offices like in some states, like Florida.

In some cases the sellers may have already signed the deed paperwork, in which case they do not need to be present, however, most of the time sellers and buyers and even their realtors are at the closing.