Town Turns Over Deed to Braintree Family's Home After Decades-Old Mistake

For nearly 40 years, the Mahoneys had been living in their home on Howard Court and paying property taxes, but residing on a piece of land owned by the Town of Braintree.

When the Mahoneys decided in 1976 to grant an undeveloped lot to the town, they accidentally gave the town their house lot. The error was detected later that year, and the undeveloped lot was conveyed, but the house lot remained registered with the town, according to a letter from Mayor Joseph Sullivan to the Town Council.

Carole Mahoney contacted Town Solicitor Carolyn Murray last November to request the transfer, and on the mayor's urging the council acted on the matter Tuesday night, releasing the deed back to the Mahoneys.

"When it comes to residents needing us to act quickly to to resolve issues like these, it’s important for us to do so," Council President Charles Kokoros said. "The change of government has made it easier for us to handle issues like this."

Carole and Kevin Mahoney declined to comment for this article.

The home at 30 Howard Court sits on 0.356 acres of land and was built about 1941, according to records kept by Patriot Properties, which stores data from the Board of Assessors on real estate in Braintree, along with a number of other towns.

Taxes on the house lot have been assessed to the Mahoneys going back to at least 1991, according to the mayor's letter, and all property taxes have been paid dating to at least 2008.