Rona

About Rona

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far Rona has created 616 blog entries.

What is Happening with Those Lawsuits?

What is Happening with Those Lawsuits? I am getting asked about this from clients, want-to-be clients, and friends at social occasions. For those who don’t know about these lawsuits, there was a verdict in October in a Missouri court that went against the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) and some big real estate companies. Then,

By |2024-03-27T12:08:14-04:00March 27th, 2024|Categories: Exclusive Buyer's Agents, Legal questions|Tags: , , , , |

Minority Housing is Worth Less than White People’s Housing

The Boston Globe wanted to write about housing discrimination, again. But it is not news: “The data from Zillow, which were first reported by Axios, show Black-owned homes are valued at 18 percent less than white homes in Boston, and Latino-owned homes at 14 percent less. The data for Black homes in Boston mirror nationwide disparities,

By |2024-03-20T07:40:38-04:00March 20th, 2024|Categories: Discrimination|Tags: , , , , , |

MLS Abbreviations and What They Mean

Real estate sites like Zillow use the data from local Multiple Listing Services (MLS), and then add additional properties for sale by people who are not using the MLS. If you are looking at Zillow, all the properties read, “(type of property) for sale.” That works. However, you then need to click on the property

By |2024-02-27T21:43:10-05:00February 28th, 2024|Categories: House Hunting|Tags: , , |

When should I apply for a mortgage pre-approval?

Mortgage pre-approval is needed in order to make an Offer in our area. Anyone without a pre-approval appears disorganized, at best, and is likely to be written off by a seller as not worthy of consideration, at worst. The first question from a seller or seller’s agent about an offer is “How much?” The second

By |2024-02-20T08:31:56-05:00February 21st, 2024|Categories: buying process, Mortgage matters|Tags: , , , |

What can ruin your credit score

There is a logic to the way the lenders choose who can borrow for a mortgage. Since 2014, mortgage loans have had standard guidelines that require that any mortgage borrower be able to prove that they can repay their loan. Lenders document income, but also debt. How you have been handling debt will affect your

By |2024-02-11T10:16:11-05:00February 14th, 2024|Categories: buying process, Money and finance, Mortgage matters|Tags: , , , , |

Taking Care of Your Credit Rating

Don’t take your good credit rating for granted. Good-to-excellent credit takes attention. It takes knowledge. It takes perseverance. It takes action. Monitoring and actively protecting one’s credit should be a regular part of their everyday life. One cannot assume that their credit is fine. They need to proactively protect and constantly observe and monitor their

By |2024-02-06T20:27:40-05:00February 7th, 2024|Categories: Money and finance|Tags: , , , |

Are We Seeing a January Thaw in Real Estate?

It is not typical for our agents to be out showing properties all day during January. But this year, most of them are! In the normal seasonal flow of New England real estate, the period between Thanksgiving and the middle of February is the slowest time of year. The "January thaw" this year bodes well

By |2024-01-28T10:22:35-05:00January 31st, 2024|Categories: Market data and conditions|Tags: , , , , |

Takeaways from a Day at the State House

Last week, the Joint Committee on Housing met to hear testimony about Governor Healey’s Affordable Homes Act. Speakers were held to 2-minute talks, and the talking went on from 11 AM to 10 PM. Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, and Housing Secretary Edward Augustus spoke (in person). As did Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston (by

By |2024-01-23T08:23:40-05:00January 24th, 2024|Categories: affordable housing|Tags: , , , , , |

Snow season, and who’s responsible to shovel?

Yesterday, I walked to the dentist (about a half mile) and experienced twenty or more different kinds of wet conditions on the ground. At that time of day, it was raining on top of an inch or two of snow. Some was slushy, some was puddles on top of snow, some was untrodden snow (my

By |2024-01-17T13:29:29-05:00January 17th, 2024|Categories: Happy Home Ownership, Problems and repair|Tags: , , , , |