Just when I thought home sales and real estate in Plymouth and Cape Cod could not get any more strange. This falls under the category:
"Just because you think people are out to get you doesn't mean you're paranoid."
More specifically it appears a desperate move by municipalities to generate more revenue for their town coffers. And everyone knows towns need more revenue right?
Here in Massachusetts there allegedly (hasn't happend to me yet) have been numerous instances where Town Building Inspectors and Assessors have been showing up uninvited to homes. Typically this is at open houses for listings and with Firemen inspecting for smoke detector and CO2 compliance. These Town employees hope to gain entrance to a home for the purpose of looking for code violations and work done without permits and substantial work that would raise the value of a property thus its taxes to the town.
The good news in MA is there is no statute or regulation on the books that gives municipal officials any right to enter a home without the homeowners permission.
According to the MA Association of Realtors (MAR) office of General Counsel, there is no state administrative procedure that requires an assessor or building inspector to be permitted to inspect the interior of a home.
In fact, homeowners have constitutional rights and can refuse, yes, refuse entry under the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
To be clear it's important to note that the homeowner, preferably in writing, must give you as Realtor, permission to deny entrance to their home of any inspector other than Fire Department personnel who by MA law must inspect and certify smoke and CO2 detectors. (I see another form here).
There is actually one other exception. An Assessor can ask to see the interior of a home when an Abatement has been filed where the homwowner is questioning the assessed value of their home for tax purposes. If they refuse entrance their Abatement will likely be denied.
Well the devil is in the details and this makes our job as Realtors take on new meaning to going the extra distance for our clients. Think about this. Now at every open house we will need to ask each attendee at the door if they work for the local town. And if so in what capacity. I assume they have to identify themselves or run the risk of a law suit if their unwarranted inspection violates the homeowners constitutional rights. Listing Agents be advised!
And what about Firemen? They typically wear their uniforms so if someone is out of uniform we can ask them if they are part of any inspectional department of the town other than the Fire Department. You can ask for identification and if none is forthcoming they can be refused entrance to the home.
Perhaps we should start carrying badges and of course firearms are not far behind. Could make our jobs a lot more interesting and we can start carving notches on our signs for all those we outed and denied entrance. We could even have a new catagory of award.
What's the phrase? "I'll give up my clients home only when my gun is pried from my cold dead hand."
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