When house hunters calculate their monthly costs, some overlook the cost of heating and electricity. However, it is difficult to get an accurate estimate of your future costs. When house hunting, feel your way As the weather changes, house hunters have an easy way to check for places for drafts. Use your hands and feet. Notice these
If you are lucky enough to have insulation in the floor bays of your attic, what is it made of? If you are really lucky, you could have cellulose – stuff made of old newspapers. Cellulose insulation looks like dirty cottony paper-pulp. You are also lucky if you have fiberglass (that pink cotton-candy-looking stuff.) These,
With the market changing, should you prepare to lowball and get a bargain house? Putting in a low offer without the research is futile and likely to ruin your credibility as a buyer. If you are thinking about making an offer well below asking price, there are some things you need to find out first.
As the season changes, I want to encourage you to decide on a home maintenance routine. Why create a routine? Because, then you will do it. Not doing it will cost you in the long run. Air conditioner filters – Room-by-room systems: Your air conditioner filter is found on the AC unit. Poke around or
If you neglect water leaks, you can create a problem hidden in your walls. You or the next owner will not know how bad it is until you tear the house apart. This is the kind of problem we define as “not finite”; it is the kind of problem a buyer should avoid. In 2015,
If you are confused about the state of the real estate market, welcome to the club. A big part of why you are confused is bad reporting. There is so much of it! Every week, I am running across real estate headlines saying that real estate is about to crash and also that prices are
This question comes up every summer, as leases are renegotiated for the upcoming year. Most leases in eastern Massachusetts turn over during the summer because the Boston metro area is highly influenced by the academic calendar. If you have an annual lease, the landlord can increase the rent at the end of the annual lease.
Asbestos is a very good fire-stopper. It was used in construction materials for that reason. In the older housing stock common in Eastern Massachusetts, there is frequently asbestos someplace. Over the years, previous homeowners may have already removed it. Your home inspector will look for it before you purchase (if you insist on having that
Recently, during the most competitive times in the seller-favoring real estate market, more sellers were asking for the right to stay in the home after the closing. This makes life much easier for the seller. Under typical circumstances, the seller and all their possessions must be out of the house before closing. The buyer walks
A guest post today by Valerie Taylor 5 Interior Design Trends for the Next Decade Photo by Spacejoy on Unsplash The year 2020 was a game-changer for everyone worldwide due to the coronavirus health crisis. As people spent a big chunk of their time inside their homes, they started to see the value of creating