A house hunter asked me, ….I wanted to ask your opinion... about something I saw recently. So if you saw a building with a basement ceiling like this, what would you think? So, I answered: Basements used to all have to have plaster ceilings, for fire prevention. That regulation was abandoned as different fire safety
After our (virtual) client appreciation party this year, I heard from one of our happy homeowners about their vacation home search. She wrote: We are working with the agent who previously helped us with a rental. He is absolutely not at the caliber of working with you and your team, but I think for second
In every market, I run into buyers who do not look at Fair Market Value (FMV) when they decide what a property is worth. That's a mistake. To negotiate the lowest possible price for a property, a buyer needs a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to determine the Fair Market Value (FMV). Properties sell for what
Here is an idea that should cross the pond. February is the time to think about creating nesting places for local birds. In England, the British Trust for Ornithology has been running a National Nest Box Week since 1997. The organization encourages people to create nesting places for local birds. Their habitats are being threatened by
What stays and what goes -- by law and custom -- in real estate in Massachusetts? Personalty or chattel is everything in the house that was not built into it or built specifically for it. Chattel includes washers, dryers, refrigerators, furniture, chairs, bookshelves, rugs, curtains, and such. Realty is everything that is attached to the house, wired
In July, last year, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors® sent an advisory out that brokers were receiving demand letters regarding the inaccessibility of their websites. A group called Access4All, Inc notified Massachusetts and Florida Realtor® associations that having property information sites that were not accessible violated Fair Housing Laws, since blind, vision impaired, and other
I had clients who got fed up with bad designs in expensive new construction. They set out to find land to put a modular home on. When they looked at what modular homes had to offer, they were pleasantly surprised. Since then, two of my clients have chosen the modular route to a new home.
Happy New Year. Today, I am nerding-out on you about hot water tanks. The basics of hot water: Direct-fire tanks are typical in Massachusetts. These are the gas or electric tanks that run a flame under a tank of water. When you open your faucet, you use some of that 30- or 40- or 50-
2020 was the year of pandemic engagements. 2020 was a year of rising divorce rates. 2020 was the year to organize and declutter at home. 2020 was the year to move. What do we expect in 2021? These affect when things go back to normal: How well infection
Santa has a hard time in eastern Massachusetts. So many of our chimneys are in rough shape. Some are no longer in use, but stick out of our roof lines, nonetheless. In truth, the big guy couldn’t come down a modern chimney, even one in good shape. They tend to be two-foot square, at best;