For you investment property owners, and for home buyers in general, you should be made aware of any lead paint in your properties, generally by the Listing Agent. This is a statutory issue, and MUST be disclosed in MA, and in RI, a pamphlet detailing the property owners’ liability must be given as well. When this is not done, the real estate brokerage can be held liable. Here, below, is a letter sent to one of our agents, working in MA, because of his expertise in legal issues regarding lead paint, mold, and other health issues. Don’t let this happen to you!

Excerpted, with names removed:

Re: [Leadnet] Loss Against A {Massachusetts Real Estate Brokerage Franchise, name deleted}

When I purchased my property, I knew nothing of lead paint. They had signed the disclosure stating that “known lead based paint hazards were present”, but didn’t fill out the section as to why (hence the liability).

What I learned after the sale had already gone through was that the property I purchased had a lead inspection performed on it. The property had been on the market, and a prospective buyer performed an inspection on it. The sale fell through because of lead content. When I came along “they had not received the report”, but filled out the disclosure appropriately (since the report wasn’t AVAILABLE, they didn’t sign the section saying “all documents available”).

Also, they did not update the unit condition statement (there’s a section about lead paint). It had been filled out before the inspection was performed.

Lastly, since I used a buyer broker, they did not provide a lead paint pamphlet. They relied on my broker to give it to me. However, it is the seller’s agent that is legally obligated to ensure disclosure.

This was done by XXXX in Lincoln, MA. The broker was XXXX and XXXX (although there are some other twists happening here). The property is XXXX in Cambridge, MA.

The docket number is XXXX. I’m sure I’ll get a judge’s written decision later this week (I still have a 93A decision pending). If its in electronic form, I’ll forward it along.