The state is investigating a November auction of foreclosed Massachusetts homes

The Massachusetts Division of Standards, which licenses auctioneers, also sent a letter to four of the company's employees warning them against including such homes in a second Boston auction scheduled for tomorrow.

The letter from Charles Carroll, the division's deputy director, warns that the employees could lose their state licenses if they auction properties prematurely.

The California company plans to auction about 170 Massachusetts homes at the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center. The company's November auction included about 300 properties.

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Local architects design unique JP commercial buildings

Jamaica Plain has a rich architectural heritage. In addition to many different forms of residential architecture, including Georgian mansions, roomy Victorians and more modest Cape Cod style homes, a wide variety of commercial buildings reflect JP’s diverse and changing business community.

Three local architectural firms are playing prominent roles in designing new residential and commercial buildings as well as retrofitting the area’s business spaces for new uses.

Behold the most expensive home sold on the Massachusetts mainland last year

The 4.5 acre property includes a "tea house" about the size of the average American home, a private beach and a deep-water dock -- which is no small matter in a town where the wait for a mooring permit is about a decade. The main home includes about eight bedrooms, depending on how you count, two kitchens, a conservatory and an indoor waterfall, according to a write-up in the Gloucester Daily News.

The buyers, Mark and Becky Levin, are part of the new Boston elite: He's the former chief executive of a Millennium Pharmaceuticals; she runs Levin and Co., an executive search firm that works with biotech companies.

Boston to offer free legal help to stem foreclosures

The city's Department of Neighborhood Development will refer homeowners threatened with foreclosure and tenants facing eviction to attorneys with the Boston Real Estate Bar Association. The attorneys, who have agreed to work pro bono to help city residents whose incomes are 80 percent of the median income or lower, will help them sue lenders, refinance their loans, file bankruptcy, or take other legal action.

The offer of free legal help comes after Menino convened a team of city departments to assess the impact of foreclosed properties on Boston neighborhoods. The Foreclosure Intervention Team is buying up some abandoned properties and working to clean up neighborhoods blighted by foreclosures.

Who would pay $12,500 a month to rent a two-bedroom in Boston ?

"There are a number of people who can afford what this is and understand what we're delivering," said the building's developer, Stephen Weiner.

Indeed, this is not just any apartment. It is one of 25 rental units that will be available in July at the city's poshest new address, the Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Boston.