Is there a way I can find out how much a neighbor paid for their house?

Very often the local newspapers publish sale of homes in communities so one way they determine that is to keep an eye on your local newspaper which publishes the sales records from the Registry of Deeds. 

The other way to do it is to check on a publication such as BANKER & TRADESMAN which publishes every week all of the sales in every county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The other thing you can do is make a trip to the Registry of Deeds in which your city or town is located and go to the "grantor index" and look up your neighbor's name and it will appear in the most recent index book.  Another way to try to check it out is to go to online to www.masslandrecords.com and click on the county in which your city or town is located and then type in the name of your neighbor.  You should also limit your search field to the city or the town in which you live and probably limit the search time to the most recent year.  You can also limit it further by checking the word "Grantor".  Then, if you search the record, you should find the deed.

If you have questions about this or any other real estate matter, please contact Tom Bennett at (617) 531-6574 or tvb@barronstad.com.