Rona

About Rona

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So far Rona has created 616 blog entries.

Two Households, One Two-Family House

House hunting idea: two households band together and buy a two-family house together. Massachusetts allows owners of two-family and three-family houses to convert them into two or more condos. This is not typical in other parts of the country. There are lots of advantages to buying a two-family house, especially in our high-price condo market.

By |2023-08-01T17:44:19-04:00August 2nd, 2023|Categories: House Hunting, Legal questions, Pearl|Tags: , |

Summertime, and the house can get smelly

Summers in the real estate business used to be more smelly than they are in the current market. Sellers and their agents have gotten more diligent about getting summer smells out of the house before putting it on the market. Well, most of the time. But not always. Houses collect and hold odor in the

By |2023-07-26T06:32:28-04:00July 26th, 2023|Categories: Happy Home Ownership|Tags: , , , , , |

Party with great clients

This week, we held a party for our clients. I have been doing this nearly every year since I opened my office in 2008. Part of our brand is that I (and my agents) strive to like and respect our clients. Most of the time that is easy. Other times, we have honed new levels

Communication and the Buyer Agent

When a stranger contacts our office looking for a buyer’s agent, we get only one chance to make a first impression. I get the feeling that the first impression that we make is different than other agents from other companies. One of our professional organizations, the Massachusetts Association of Buyer’s Agents, sent us a lead

By |2023-06-18T11:29:16-04:00June 21st, 2023|Categories: Exclusive Buyer's Agents, Negotiating, Pearl|Tags: , , , |

In the Weeds

Weeds are not just plants in the wrong place! Last week, I wrote about Japanese Knot Weed. It’s a bad, bad weed that damages buildings. There’s another baddy that has been plaguing local gardens for years. It grows very fast. The thing that matters the most is that it is harmful to pollinators, especially monarch

By |2023-07-14T15:50:27-04:00June 14th, 2023|Categories: Happy Home Ownership, Problems and repair|Tags: , , , , |

Japanese Knotweed

There are a lot of invasive weeds in Massachusetts. Knotweed is the worst. It is spreading along waterways and is often seen along the community trails. It is all over the Alewife Reservation and other preserved areas. Knotweed is one of many plants that spread underground and pop up along cracks in sidewalks and asphalt.

By |2023-05-28T13:53:46-04:00June 7th, 2023|Categories: Happy Home Ownership, Problems and repair|Tags: , , , |

Fire Danger in the Summer

The fire on a porch in Somerville forced ten people to evacuate their home in the early hours of May 25, 2023. It was a few days before Memorial Day. Since summer is here, it is time to remind everyone that June is Porch Fire Safety Month and porch fires ruin houses (and sometimes hurt

By |2023-05-28T10:34:33-04:00May 31st, 2023|Categories: Health and safety|Tags: , , |