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[post_date] => 2012-10-31 11:00:52
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[post_content] => I recently listed and sold a condo at Highwood in Franklin, MA. The sellers took the time to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf. They were very generous in their comments about my services as a listing agent; so much so, I share the entire review with you below.
"The best real estate agent we have ever encountered"
Warren can help you too
That's quite some recommendation! You can learn more about me here.
If you are thinking of selling your home in Franklin, please contact me. I will do my utmost to serve you well and get your home sold quickly for the best price possible!
Copyright ©2012 02038.com
[post_title] => High praise for Warren Reynolds from Highwood sellers
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[post_date] => 2011-12-21 13:21:21
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[post_content] => There’s an undeniable truth about residential real estate: it’s challenging to accurately determine the right asking price for a home! While every year tens of thousands of houses, condos and multifamily properties successfully sell on MLSPIN, the main MLS serving Massachusetts, there are also tens of thousands of listings each year that fail to sell and go off the MLS (expire).
Over-pricing causes many expired listings
Look at the chart above to see how many expired home listings there are on the MLS year after year. That's a lot of homes that get rejected by buyers!
The common problem uniting the vast majority of expired listings is over-pricing. The sellers simply ask too much money for their homes.
Many expired homes relist and do eventually find buyers – but often at much lower prices than the sellers originally asked.
Why it’s easy to get the home value wrong
One big reason behind over-pricing is that there are a lot of emotions at play when you sell your home.
The financial stakes are high.
And since your home may have been your pride and joy for years and it's where you live, it’s hard to look dispassionately at the property.
Many owners just don’t see their home as the market will in terms of structural condition and cosmetic shape. They overlook flaws that detract from value and overly value features and amenities that don’t contribute much to what the home is really worth.
Are instant home evaluation websites the solution?
How about taking the owner out of the equation and using a website to put a value on your home?
It's a beguiling idea. These sites will feed recent homes sales and assessor data into mathematical algorithms to determine the most likely selling price for your home.
No emotions involved and you get to sit back and let the website do the work for you!
Home value websites put to the test
I tested three well known instant valuation sites to see how accurate they are (one site was Zillow.com).
I used the address of a home located in a popular I-495 Massachusetts town that sold for $527,500 several months ago.
(I know the house very well; it is a very nicely upgraded 20 year old colonial in a prime subdivision of about 60 homes. The interior had been completely renovated by the seller. The improvements substantially raised this home’s market value above what would be dictated just by its square foot living area and location – a tough test for an automatic on-line home valuation website.)
The instant on-line value estimates for this house that recently sold for $527,500 came back as shown below.
♦ First site: $418,000 to $576,000 as a value range, with $460,000 as a predicted selling price.
♦ Second site: $464,400 to $513,200 as a value range, with $488,000 as the predicted selling price.
♦ Third site: $715,672 - $840,136 as a value range, with no selling price point given.
All three websites produced very wide value ranges that did little to pin down the market value of the home.
The first two websites’ predicted selling prices significantly undervalued the home. The third site failed to suggest a selling price and the price range it produced so grossly overvalued the property as to be useless.
None of the three services came close to the real market value of the home, based on the recent actual selling price of $527,500.
Why instant home value websites can be wrong on price
From a purely practical point of view, we’re not dealing with pricing mass-produced consumer products that are roughly identical, such as automobiles.
Unlike cars and other consumer goods, each home presents a unique mix of location, features, and degree of upkeep and renovation that pose a serious challenge to any algorithm used to derive a probable selling price.
My test which demonstrated the failure of the three websites to price accurately may be an extreme example since it used a difficult home to price given its top to bottom renovation.
So for a more typical home in a large condo complex or in a major subdivision where the homes are mostly alike, an on-line evaluation website should be able to give you a good enough estimate to at least serve as a starting point in your quest for the true market value of your home.
Just don’t give any website your name, email address and contact information – you’re likely to be sold by the website as a “lead” to a hungry real estate agent or mortgage broker.
Inside knowledge
The inability of the three websites to properly price the test home illustrates the most salient point about pricing residential real estate: to make the best value estimate, you need to personally know the local market. And those who really know the market develop that knowledge over time by physically getting inside area homes being bought and sold on an ongoing basis.
When you have that “inside knowledge” of the homes that have sold (and have failed to sell) in the local market you will have the necessary context with which to price homes properly. There is simply no substitute for physically visiting homes, year in and year out, as they are put up for sale . . . and that is what Realtors® do for a living.
How Realtors® produce value estimates
To get the most reliable estimate of the market value of your property you as a home owner need to use the services of a good Realtor® .
You can gain insight into how Realtors® analyze the market value of a home by clicking on the hotlink or on the image below. The link opens a .pdf of a home value analysis form published by a major US financial institution.
Analyze both the home being sold and the comps
See how the form carefully reviews the physical condition of the home being evaluated. The form asks the Realtor® to list any repairs that are likely to increase the home’s value in a cost effective way. This determination requires in-depth market knowledge and long experience in the field.
The form also looks in great detail at the “comps”: the homes currently for sale and recently sold that together form the basis for the value estimate. In all cases, the form assumes that the Realtor® has visited the homes. It's the Realtor's® working knowledge of the interiors of the properties used on the analysis form that enables him to make an accurate value estimate.
Ready to discover the true value of your home?
Click the hotlink to receive my exclusive Home Value Report . . . it's free, no cost, no obligation.
I'll use state-of-the-art technology to custom-prepare your Report. I'll carefully tour your home and draw upon my many years in the field to produce a highly reliable value estimate for your property.
Ask for your Home Value Report today!
Copyright ©2011 02038.com
[post_title] => How to properly price your MA home
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[post_content] => Most home sellers want to know what transaction costs they’ll encounter with the sale of their home. It makes sense to know ahead of time how much it costs to sell your home in Massachusetts!
Some home selling expenses shouldn’t come as much of a shock. For example, your lender expects you to pay off the mortgage at closing.
Other home selling costs in Massachusetts are less well-known and could be surprising. One home selling expense that many home sellers are unaware of is the Massachusetts deed excise tax.
Avoid surprises at closing
To help you make informed decisions about selling your real estate, here’s a quick rundown of the typical costs and fees encountered by MA home sellers:
♦ Mortgage and other liens
You have to convey clear title to your buyer. All liens on the property being sold must be released before or at closing. This means these secured debts must be paid before any home sale proceeds checks are cut to you. Outstanding charges that could result in liens on the property must also be paid at closing, such as pending water and sewer charges, condo fees, and utility bills.
So tally up all these obligations and understand that they must be paid off as part of your home sale. If you owe more on a property than it is worth (and quite a number of home owners are in this situation), you may have to resort to a “short sale”.
♦ MA deed excise tax
There is a tax assessed on most transfers of real property in Massachusetts. In the majority of counties in the Bay State, the amount of the tax due is calculated at the rate of $4.56 of tax per every thousand dollars paid for the property. (In other words, every $100,000 of value paid for the property results in $456 in seller tax liability.)
Some counties have a higher deed excise tax rate (Barnstable County’s tax is $5.70 per thousand) or have adopted “land bank” fees (Nantucket and Dukes Counties have a 2% land bank charge).
♦ Broker fee
According to the National Association of Realtors®, 90% of all home sales in the US in 2010 were consummated with the help of a real estate agent.
There are no set commission rates in the real estate brokerage industry. The charges you and your agent agree to for brokerage services are typically paid no later than the closing.
♦ Legal fee
It’s a good idea to retain legal counsel to help you with the sale of your real estate.
The bank’s attorney who will handle the closing does not represent you, the home seller. The home buyer typically covers the fee for the bank attorney. The fee charged by an attorney to represent a seller in a typical residential real estate transaction may range from $500 to $1,000. There may also be relatively minor document preparation and recordation fees that you will have to cover.
♦ Title 5 inspection fee
If your property is not on municipal sewer, Massachusetts requires you to have your on-site waste water disposal system inspected (septic system or cesspool are the two most common) by an approved system inspector.
Click on the image above or click the hotlink to learn more about the Title 5 laws in Massachusetts.
Inspection fees may be $400 or higher, depending on a variety of factors including digging expenses and pumping charges. Sellers typically are responsible for such fees and for the cost of upgrading or replacing systems that fail the inspection.
Title 5 for condo owners
Note that if you own a condominium with a number of units on a shared on-site system, you may not need to arrange a special Title 5 inspection just for your unit sale.
State law requires such shared systems to be periodically inspected regardless of the sale of any unit. Your management company should have the current Title 5 report for your complex on file. The local board of health should also have a copy.
♦ Smoke and CO detector inspection
If you’re selling your home, Massachusetts requires that you get your smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors inspected by the local fire department. The fire department will make sure you have the right detectors for your home and will confirm that they work properly.
The state has imposed some complex rules on smoke and CO detectors with which your home needs to comply in order to pass the inspection. These requirements vary by the age of your home and can become traps for the unwary. Click the hotlink or the image above to access the details about the MA rules and regulations governing smoke and CO detectors.
The fire department will charge you a fee for the smoke/CO detector inspection. This fee typically ranges between $25 to $100, depending on the fire department involved.
You’ll also have to pay the cost to install any new detectors in your home that may be needed.
♦ Costs to get your home ready for sale
Just about every home has some wear and tear issues that might become impediments to a quick, successful sale.
You’d be wise to take care of the minor defects and blemishes around your home before putting the place up for sale. But be careful about expensive fix-ups! You’ll likely lose money on major repairs.
Click the hotlink or the image above to access a very helpful post on home repairs that pay home sellers at closing.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the costs of selling a home in Massachusetts, feel free to contact me! I also offer a no cost, no obligation Home Value Report that is custom made and designed to put the local market at your finger tips.
Copyright ©2011 02038.com
[post_title] => What it costs to sell your MA home
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[post_content] => Before you spend big money fixing up your home simply to sell it, think about the likely payback before you undertake any projects. You might be surprised how poorly some popular home improvements fare in terms of increasing your home’s resale value in relation to the money spent.
If you are planning on selling your home in the next year or two, focus on work that will increase the property's sale price more than the cost of the improvement. Let the next owner pay for the expensive upgrades!
Eliminate only “valuable faults”
Rather than fixing up your entire home from top to bottom, look at your property’s problem areas in terms of valuable and non-valuable faults. Aim to eliminate only your home’s valuable faults and leave the non-valuable faults alone.
Valuable faults in a home are typical wear and tear items like old paint, dated wallpaper and dirty and worn carpeting. Cluttered rooms and overstuffed closets are also highly valuable faults. These issues cost relatively little to remedy and addressing them likely will increase the value of your home far more than what you’ll pay to get the work done.
Click the image above or click the hotlink to learn the differences between valuable and non-valuable faults.
Major repairs and renovations only if you are staying put
Pre-sale major remodeling jobs are where you can make some big mistakes. If done only for the purpose of marketing the home within a few weeks or months after completion, most major home upgrades and remodeling projects are a really bad investment.
Take a look at the extensive research done by Hanley-Wood, Inc., the producers of the widely cited Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report.
The 2011–2012 Remodeling Report shows paybacks for common home remodeling projects to be as poor as 50 to 70 cents on the dollar – not a good idea if you are selling your home soon!
Hanley-Wood did document much higher paybacks during the booming real estate market of 2004–2006. You can download here an excerpt from the 2005 Remodeling Report. You’ll still see content on the Web touting the great money to be made on remodeling that draws on this old data.
But in hindsight those high paybacks were skewed upwards by rising home prices in general. The strongly inflationary dynamics of the market back then made it easy to think that the renovations themselves were contributing greatly to the increased sale price of the home.
Leave the big jobs for the next owner
Common sense these days dictates that you should remodel only if you are staying put in your home for at least several years; don’t undertake expensive renovations with an eye towards selling.
If your home is too small or needs a major facelift, you may be better just selling the home as is. Especially if you are not handy and can’t do the work yourself, having to pay retail labor prices for a major home improvement project may inflate the cost of the work well beyond the increase in the value of your home.
Home staging
Home staging has been a staple on home improvement TV shows and on the Web for years. A lot of people have become professional stagers and some appear to charge substantial fees for their services.
Some experts seemingly think staging is the solution to most home sale challenges. But putting the hype aside, there are good core concepts behind the staging phenomenon and your home likely could benefit from some staging techniques.
Do-it-yourself or hire an expert?
I checked Amazon.com and found it has over 7000 titles on staging available! DIY tomes abound, so you might want to pick up a book or two to implement some staging concepts in your home.
If you think you'd rather rely on expert help, I know some good local practitioners who are cost-effective and will travel throughout the greater I-495 region.
If you have questions
The correct steps to take regarding home repairs and upgrades that will make money at closing depend so much on your particular home. You'll very likely do best with your fix up efforts by getting input ahead of time from a skilled agent who knows the local market. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about the marketing and sale of your home. I will help you determine your best, most cost-effective steps to a more successful sale!
Copyright ©2011 02038.com
[post_title] => Home fix ups that pay
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[post_content] => Massachusetts mandates that every home have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. The state and mortgage lenders back that up by requiring that every home be inspected by the local fire department to assure compliance prior to the sale of the home.
But even if you are not moving anytime soon, it makes sense to be safe! We'll review below to make sure your home is fire-and-CO-safe and in compliance with the MA rules.
We’ll approach this as if you are preparing to sell your home so you'll know what to do to be ready for closing. We cover only one and two family homes here - the rules for residences with more than 2 dwelling units and apartment buildings are more complex and are beyond the scope of this article.
Inspection by fire department
If you are getting ready to sell your home, you’ll need an inspection by the fire department serving the municipality in which your home is located.
The fire department will check to make sure you have the right detectors for your home and will test them to make sure they work properly. Massachusetts has imposed one set of requirements for CO detectors and a different, more complex set of rules for smoke detectors. Your home must comply with both the rules pertaining to CO detectors and those for smoke detectors in order to pass inspection.
The fire department will charge a fee for the inspection. This fee is typically paid by the home seller. The seller also usually covers the expense of installing any new detectors in the home that may be needed. Note that in some short sales and REO (post-foreclosure) sales, there may be an attempt to impose these expenses on the home buyer.
Certificate of compliance
After conducting the inspection, the fire department will issue a certificate confirming the home complies with both the CO detector and the smoke detector requirements in force in Massachusetts.
This certificate is typically presented at closing to prove conformity with the law. If your home fails the inspection, you will have to bring the home into compliance and reschedule the inspection prior to your closing. No certificate of compliance, no closing!
House numbers must be visible
As an aside, many fire departments use the CO/smoke detector inspection as the opportunity to enforce a state law (Massachusetts General Law: Chapter 148, Section 59) requiring your home to have clearly visible house numbers. So make sure your home has address numbers clearly visible from the street. If your home lacks visible numbers, no certificate of compliance!
CO detector requirements
The CO detector requirements aim to save lives. Regardless of whether you are selling or not, you should have a carbon monoxide detector on each finished living level of your home. There must also be a CO detector within ten feet of all bedrooms. Unless your home has hardwired CO detectors, battery operated CO detectors or plug-in units with battery back-up are mandated.
Click on the image above or click the hotlink to download a .pdf file that explains how to comply with the carbon monoxide detector rules in Massachusetts.
MA smoke detector rules
The smoke detectors laws and regulations in MA impose requirements that vary based on the year in which your home received permits for construction or a major renovation. It can seem very complicated!
The good news for most homeowners is that if your home was built after January 1, 1975 or if you own an older home that had a major renovation after that date, your property should currently be in compliance with the smoke detector rules that apply to it.
Download the pamphlet
Rather than go through all the various trigger dates and corresponding smoke detector requirements here, I have provided a download of a very helpful pamphlet produced by the MA Department of Fire Services that does a wonderful job explaining all the laws and regulations:
Click here or on the photo above to download the .pdf file.
The only warning here is that local fire departments may impose their own requirements for smoke detectors. So it is best to check with your fire department before scheduling your smoke detector inspection!
Photoelectric versus ionization technologies
You may have read about the new law recently adopted in Massachusetts regarding the competing technologies used in modern smoke detectors.
There are photoelectric smoke detectors . . .
ionization smoke detectors . . .
and smoke detectors that use both photoelectric and ionization technologies.
Within 20 feet of kitchens and bathrooms
The state recently imposed a new regulation that limits the type of detectors (ionization vs. photoelectric) that can be situated close to kitchen and bathrooms. Note that this rule applies only to homes built before January 1, 1975. Compliance with the law is supposed to be voluntary for all homes permitted for construction after that date.
For detectors situated within 20 feet of a kitchen or a bathroom with a tub and/or shower, the state requires that only photoelectric sensor technology be used.
For all detectors located beyond 20 feet of a kitchen or bathroom with tub or shower, the detector must use both technologies (dual photoelectric and ionization) or two separate detectors are required (one photoelectric and one ionization).
Again, this is supposed to be mandatory solely for homes built before January 1, 1975, but check with your local fire department to make sure your home has the configuration it wants.
You may want to be safe and employ the desired combination of technologies no matter when your home was built.
If you have questions
Speak with your local fire department if you have questions or concerns about your smoke detectors' placement, functioning or technologies. It is better to be safe than sorry!
Copyright ©2011 02038.com
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[post_content] => Here’s your chance to be one of the first to visit Warren’s new Facebook page! “Moving West of Boston” is all about helping you get the most out of living in the vibrant suburbs west of Boston.
Whether you've lived in the region for years or are just in the early stages of relocating to MA, this Facebook page has something for you.
What can you get for . . .?
From a $3 million+ home in Sherborn to a $300,000 split level in Hopkinton, see exactly what your money will buy right now in some of the most popular towns west of Boston . . . in real time!
If you’re thinking of moving or just want to have fun looking at dream homes, click here or on the image above to see how much home you can get west of Boston.
How’s the MA real estate market?
Keep up on current events in MA real estate and national economic trends affecting the value of your home by clicking here or on the image below:
You’ll see exclusive content and lots of charts and graphs created by Warren to help you better understand what the future may hold for what is likely your most important personal investment: your home.
Fun activities west of Boston
Looking for interesting things to do west of Boston? Click here or on the image below to sample interesting area events and activities that prove why so many people love living west of Boston.
Explore why Massachusetts is a very special place and how the region west of Boston has a lot to offer just about everyone!
Like the page to get updates
Please take the opportunity to like Warren’s Facebook page:
It’s an easy way to get updates from Warren. He promises to make it worth your while – thank you!
Copyright ©2011 02038.com
[post_title] => New Facebook page by Warren Reynolds
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[post_date] => 2010-10-20 13:51:45
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[post_content] => A slowdown in MA home sales coupled with an increase in the number of homes for sale caused home inventories to rise in Massachusetts in October. The bulge in the inventory of homes on the market in MA reflects a drop off in the number of ready, willing and able home buyers.
A general weakening of demand has been noticeable across the Commonwealth ever since the expiration of the two Federal home buyer tax credits at the end of last April.
Market slowed after end of tax credits
The chart shown above amply demonstrates the current state of the Massachusetts real estate market: nothing dire, but certainly a move in the wrong direction.
Massachusetts saw a 16.7% rise in the inventory of homes available for purchase in October (to 7.7 months’ worth of supply from 6.6 months in October 2009).
Home for sale inventories rose a sharp 26.3% in the regional market around Franklin, MA and a whopping 64% in the Town of Franklin, Massachusetts itself (although the supply of available homes in Franklin is still below both that of the regional and state-wide markets).
Fewer sales and more listings the culprit
Here’s the reason why October’s home inventory numbers rose throughout Massachusetts:
It is simple mathematics.
If home sales volume declines while the number of homes for sale goes up, it is going to take the market longer to “absorb” (buy) the homes currently available for purchase. The months of standing inventory goes up.
Reasons for optimism
It is important to avoid exaggerating this fall’s MA real estate market deceleration: properly priced homes are selling, some very quickly.
I produced the buyer for the home at 15 Josiah Drive in Upton, MA the first day that home was on the market a couple of weekends ago.
And my listing at 28 Harvard Lane, Wrentham, MA found a buyer this October after the first open house.
There are very good reasons to discount the alarming market stats we have been seeing on the local level for some months now.
The Federal home buyer tax credits heavily contributed to today's slower real estate market. The tax credits accelerated buyers’ purchases into late 2009 and early 2010, in effect stealing demand from the rest of 2010.
So the current slowdown in demand is artificial in nature and should cure itself over time.
And mortgage interest rates are at all-time lows.
This greatly bolsters the buying power of buyers and gives them a strong incentive to buy this fall.
Advice to frustrated home sellers
I know how hard it is to have a home for sale in the current market; some homes are selling while other homes linger unsold and you can't understand why your property hasn't found a buyer.
It is not your home's fault and is very likely not the fault of your hard working listing agent either.
This fall, put the blame on those expired Federal home buyer tax credits!
Adjust your asking price and get the house sold while rates are low
Even slight over-pricing can cost you months of extra time on the market. Buyers will simply reject an over-priced home and buy a competing property that offers better value.
But home sellers have an ace in the hole this fall: today's historically low mortgage rates.
Given the urgency many buyers feel to find a home this fall to lock in a great mortgage rate, you might be pleasantly surprised by the durability of this fall's market. Properly priced homes have an excellent chance of selling over the next few months while the low rates last!
My best advice to home sellers with a home currently on the market is to stick it out . . . you might find yourself in a very difficult market if mortgage rates spike next year.
You will thank yourself in coming years if you price your home properly now and grab a good buyer as soon as she comes along!
Copyright ©2010 02038.com
[post_title] => MA home sellers: What October's inventory figures mean for you
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[post_content] => Many homes for sale in Massachusetts come with kitchens that feature beautiful granite countertops perched on low quality cabinets. You might be surprised to know that even homes in the $600,000 - $900,000 price bracket often offer glitzy kitchen countertops that mask potential cabinet problems below.
Look beyond the countertop
So if you’re in the market to buy a home – or are thinking about renovating the kitchen or baths in your current residence – you need to know what to look for to spot true cabinet quality.
Since the National Kitchen and Bath Association estimates that roughly half of the cost of a new kitchen (70% including labor) is allocated to cabinets, it’s important to be an informed consumer whether you’re looking at a home to buy or walking through a kitchen design showroom.
Quick short cuts to judge quality
What we’ll cover in this post are simple short cuts you can use to quickly ascertain the quality of cabinets in kitchens and baths.
The video below will help you understand what to look for when you are examining cabinets in any kitchen or bathroom:
Highlights from video
We’ll review below the most important points from the video:
Look for signs of wear and deterioration on “high traffic” areas around door fronts and drawer pulls.
Scratches, abrasion and worn areas are signs of a cheap finish.
Avoid fake wood surfaces
The cheapest cabinets use photo-simulated wood grain and paper thin laminates to create the impression of real wood.
These can chip and flake away over time, exposing the press board below.
Drawer construction
Low quality cabinets have drawers that are stapled or glued together.
Better drawer joinery uses dovetailing.
Drawer slides
Another sign of lower quality drawer construction is flimsy metal drawer slides.
Look instead for heavy gauge steel slides with ball bearings.
The best of these are full-extension slides with a self-closing feature.
More information
If you want to read up on the subject, there are some very detailed resources available on the web.
Here are links to a few that are especially helpful:
Judging kitchen cabinet quality
Buying kitchen cabinets
Getting the best kitchen cabinets
Copyright ©2010 02038.com
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[post_content] => Home sales in Massachusetts fell 31.7% in July 2010 from year ago levels according to data maintained by MLSPIN, the largest MLS in the state. Pending sales in MA also fell dramatically last month (-20%) compared to July 2009.
Worst July in years
The 31.7% drop in sales and 20% falloff in pendings across the state makes last month the worst-performing July for many years in Massachusetts.
Results no better in Franklin, MA
July was no kinder to real estate in the Town of Franklin, Massachusetts as home sales fell a whopping 45.7% from July of last year.
Pending home sales in Franklin also swooned, dropping 30%.
What’s going on with MA real estate?
A drop-off in home sales and pendings in MA was to be expected after the expiration of the two Federal home buyer tax credits.
The tax credits worked to accelerate home buyer decision-making in 2010. The credits effectively pulled sales into the spring home selling season that would otherwise have been made in the second half of this year.
July home sale prices in Franklin muted
Here 's how the real estate market looked in Franklin, MA during July 2010; note how relatively modest the four highest-priced home sales in Franklin were:
MA Home sellers should heed warnings from market
The large drop in sales and pendings in July was dramatic and should stand as a warning to Massachusetts home sellers for the foreseeable future: don't expect to command the selling price for your home.
Home sellers cannot assume there will be an ever-larger pool of buyers for every property - there are a lot of homes out there competing for buyers.
Lack of inflationary expectations means home buyers are being very picky now that the Federal home buyer tax credits are history. With home prices not predicted to rise sharply in the near term, buyers do not want to make a mistake in the home they buy.
Home prices still high in MA
Home prices remain high in Massachusetts, so you the home seller do stand to sell your property for a considerable sum.
But you might be wise to reconcile yourself to the probability that you may not get your absolute top dollar dream price.
Home sellers with a rigid, unrealistic "needed money figure" face rejection and frustration in this market.
Instead treat good offers from serious buyers very seriously.
Home sellers in this market win when they grab a good buyer willing to pay a good (not to say the best) price for their home.
Copyright ©2010 02038.com
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[post_content] => With the recent news that the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is failing to help the overwhelming majority of distressed homeowners in the country (see Money.com's article “10 foreclosures for every home saved”), we may see more short sales and foreclosure auctions in coming months.
New short sale program designed to help
The new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) took effect this month and is designed to help streamline the short sale process.
Short sales are sometimes referred to as “pre-foreclosure sales" and up to now have been characterized by long bureaucratic delays and frustrated would-be buyers and sellers.
45 page HAFA download makes things simpler?
HAFA is intended to fast-track and regularize the short sale process.
But it is an extremely complex program. It's supported by a daunting 45 page download of rules and forms, so get ready for some heavy reading.
Know the rules and use the right forms
Not all distressed homeowners will qualify for the program and whether HAFA succeeds or fails to make short sales quicker and easier remains to be seen.
But what’s important for prospective short sale sellers and buyers alike is that you may now have standard forms to use and uniform rules lenders and servicers must abide by.
So the real estate agent helping you better be up to speed on this important new program or you may still encounter disappointments in your efforts to either sell or buy a home via a short sale.
Helpful links
Here are some links to information on both the loan modification and short sale programs; just click on the icons below:
Insightful video
The following video is geared towards real estate agents but is helpful to anyone thinking of selling or buying via a short sale:
For more help and guidance
Please contact me to discuss your individual needs relating to any short sale; I have experience in short sales that will prove helpful to you!
Copyright ©2010 02038.com
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[post_content] => I recently listed and sold a condo at Highwood in Franklin, MA. The sellers took the time to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf. They were very generous in their comments about my services as a listing agent; so much so, I share the entire review with you below.
"The best real estate agent we have ever encountered"
Warren can help you too
That's quite some recommendation! You can learn more about me here.
If you are thinking of selling your home in Franklin, please contact me. I will do my utmost to serve you well and get your home sold quickly for the best price possible!
Copyright ©2012 02038.com
[post_title] => High praise for Warren Reynolds from Highwood sellers
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by Warren Reynolds on October 31, 2012
I recently listed and sold a condo at Highwood in Franklin, MA. The sellers took the time to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf. They were very generous in their comments about my services as a listing agent; so much so, I share the entire review with you below. “The best real estate [...]
Tagged as: Highwood Condos, Home Seller Tips
{ 0 comments }
by Warren Reynolds on December 21, 2011
There’s an undeniable truth about residential real estate: it’s challenging to accurately determine the right asking price for a home! While every year tens of thousands of houses, condos and multifamily properties successfully sell on MLSPIN, the main MLS serving Massachusetts, there are also tens of thousands of listings each year that fail to sell [...]
Tagged as: Home Seller Tips
by Warren Reynolds on December 20, 2011
Most home sellers want to know what transaction costs they’ll encounter with the sale of their home. It makes sense to know ahead of time how much it costs to sell your home in Massachusetts! Some home selling expenses shouldn’t come as much of a shock. For example, your lender expects you to pay off [...]
Tagged as: Home Seller Tips
{ 0 comments }
by Warren Reynolds on December 18, 2011
Before you spend big money fixing up your home simply to sell it, think about the likely payback before you undertake any projects. You might be surprised how poorly some popular home improvements fare in terms of increasing your home’s resale value in relation to the money spent. If you are planning on selling your [...]
Tagged as: Home Seller Tips
by Warren Reynolds on December 10, 2011
Massachusetts mandates that every home have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. The state and mortgage lenders back that up by requiring that every home be inspected by the local fire department to assure compliance prior to the sale of the home. But even if you are not moving anytime soon, it makes [...]
Tagged as: Home Seller Tips
{ 0 comments }
by Warren Reynolds on November 26, 2011
Here’s your chance to be one of the first to visit Warren’s new Facebook page! “Moving West of Boston” is all about helping you get the most out of living in the vibrant suburbs west of Boston. Whether you’ve lived in the region for years or are just in the early stages of relocating to [...]
Tagged as: Home Buyer Tips, Home Seller Tips
{ 0 comments }
by Warren Reynolds on October 20, 2010
A slowdown in MA home sales coupled with an increase in the number of homes for sale caused home inventories to rise in Massachusetts in October. The bulge in the inventory of homes on the market in MA reflects a drop off in the number of ready, willing and able home buyers. A general weakening [...]
Tagged as: Home Sales, Home Seller Tips
{ 2 comments }
by Warren Reynolds on August 22, 2010
Many homes for sale in Massachusetts come with kitchens that feature beautiful granite countertops perched on low quality cabinets. You might be surprised to know that even homes in the $600,000 – $900,000 price bracket often offer glitzy kitchen countertops that mask potential cabinet problems below. Look beyond the countertop So if you’re in the [...]
Tagged as: Home Buyer Tips, Home Seller Tips
{ 0 comments }
by Warren Reynolds on August 4, 2010
Home sales in Massachusetts fell 31.7% in July 2010 from year ago levels according to data maintained by MLSPIN, the largest MLS in the state. Pending sales in MA also fell dramatically last month (-20%) compared to July 2009. Worst July in years The 31.7% drop in sales and 20% falloff in pendings across the [...]
Tagged as: Home Seller Tips
{ 1 comment }
by Warren Reynolds on April 15, 2010
With the recent news that the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is failing to help the overwhelming majority of distressed homeowners in the country (see Money.com’s article “10 foreclosures for every home saved”), we may see more short sales and foreclosure auctions in coming months. New short sale program designed to help The [...]
Tagged as: Home Seller Tips, Short Sales
{ 1 comment }
Warren Reynolds, Esq, GRI, e-PRO
Tel: 508.613.2889 | Contact
Century 21 Commonwealth
9 Main Street
Franklin, MA 02038
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