Rowland Ballek, chairman of Essex Savings Bank and chairman of Essex Financial Services along with bank director Cemmy Ryland have retired from their positions at the bank's annual meeting held at the Old Lyme Country Club on July 21st. Both had reached the bank's mandatory retirement age as prescribed by its by-laws.
Ballek will be succeeded by bank vice chairman Nick Clements.
How many of you remember real estate development in the late 1980s? Project sourcing was difficult, until it wasn’t. Into the 90’s, a few years after, banks and other financial institutions were very happy to fund projects.
Over the past several weeks, I have completed appraisal assignments for private clients. Interestingly, after submitting these appraisals, I received several phone calls – not to question the value, content, or any incorrect information, but rather to discuss the price per s/f compared to the comparable sales used in the report.
The purpose of this article is to address problematic or confusing issues which may help assessors and appraisers to better understand how to value real estate for tax assessment purposes.
Attention to owners of real estate in the Commonwealth (and the title companies and other professionals who advise them), the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (the “DOR”) recently adopted a new “millionaire’s tax” via 830 CMR 62B.2.4
Our current, highly competitive real estate market poses specific challenges for investors who are considering taking advantage of a tax-deferred 1031 exchange. In this market, investors will have no problem selling their current property if priced properly, but they may find it difficult to find a suitable replacement property