Recently in Other Real Estate Issues in Boston:

Bad news for Boston renters: rental unit vacancy is at the lowest level it”s been in decades, causing rents to soar to pre-recession levels, the Boston Herald reports.

Experts attribute the rise to the improving job market combined with the scarcity of rental units. According to a new study conducted by Marcus & Millchap’s National Multi Housing Group, rental unit vacancy is going to keep on falling.

How far do real estate agents have to go to verify their sources of information? The Massachusetts Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case regarding the extent of a real estate agent’s duty disclose and independently verify property information they obtain from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), BostonRealEstateNow reports.

DeWolfe v. Hingham Centre Ltd. was previously decided by the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, who held that a real estate agent who provides erroneous information could be held liable for misrepresentation and Chapter 93A violations. The Supreme Court’s decision could have a significant impact on the real estate brokerage industry.

Fannie Mae, the taxpayer-funded mortgage finance firm, was able to turn a profit in the first quarter, allowing the company to pay out the dividends it owes the government for its support, Forbes reports.

The firm's $2.7 billion net income this quarter is a marked contrast from the $2.4 billion loss it suffered last quarter and the $6.5 billion loss it experienced in the first quarter of 2011.

The Federal Trade Commission and state officials have begun to crack down on scam artists preying on timeshare owners who are looking to sell their shares, USA Today reports.

In the economic downturn, many timeshare owners are looking to sell due to the high fees and travel costs often associated with time shares. According to authorities, the influx in owners looking to sell has been accompanied by a sharp spike in cases of time share resale fraud.

Many Massachusetts residents planning to vacation in Maine have recently fallen prey to a craigslist rental scam, Seacoastonline.com reports. The scam involves craigslist listings for fake York Beach homes.

The bogus listings require the renters to pay a deposit in order to reserve the rental properties. When the renters show up at the rental units, however, they find that the units are either already occupied or aren’t available to rent at all.

Perhaps it is the modern condition, but we in our urban environments get very excited when encountering wild animals (co-workers don’t count). Whether it is a beached whale, an escaped grizzly, or as was the case recently in Massachusetts, an alligator in Charles River, as reported by The Boston Globe.

In this case, the alligator in Charles River was about four feet long and discovered by a canoeist. The canoeist had purchased a canoe on Craigslist and was taking it out for a ride. The man, named Topher Cox, is an advertising photographer (who else would buy a canoe and discover an alligator?).

The selectmen of Wellesley town reached an accord with the Archdiocese of Boston to purchase St. James the Great Church, which had previously been shuttered, reports The Boston Globe.

The deal helps answer the age-old question: how much do churches cost? In this case, the 8-acre property on Route 9 was valued at $3.8 million. Unfortunately, after being bought, the St. James the Great Church will be turned into a skating rink, playing field, and swimming pool. (Dive into holy water, y'all!).

The consumers have spoken and bad contractors in Massachusetts garner the third highest complaints, reports The Boston Globe.

In a study conducted by the state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, home improvement contractors in the state were only behind auto insurance and health insurance complaints.

Sometimes it’s good to be out really late at night.

The residents of an area home were lucky that they had done just that because a car crashed into their Peabody home late at night and caused a fire in their absence, reports the Boston Globe.

You should be careful what you do with your property, because the law is the Christmas gift that keeps on giving. While holiday time is a fun time of year to put up decorations, ornaments, and even conduct light shows, you should be aware that if you make your home an attraction for neighbors and their kids, you could be setting yourself up for a Christmas lawsuit.

You or your neighbor may go way over the top with Christmas decorations. Some people time their lights to go along with music and others have a lit-up Christmas menagerie of reindeers and religious figures.