How will the Equifax data breach in 2017 affects your house hunting? Equifax's mistakes in September, 2017 gave away the social security numbers of half of us. Are you in the lucky half, or the unlucky half? Here is the story That data will be sold and resold by criminals for years to come. If you are
Here’s how James Morrison at Banker and Tradesman reported on Dave Twombly, my favorite agent of the week (wink!) Buyers Need Protection Just down Mass. Ave. at 4 Buyers Real Estate, also in Cambridge, the exclusive buyer agents tell the buyers they work with that home inspection contingencies are a must, according to agent Dave
There are some houses that never should have been built. You can't even level them and build a better house on that lot. Either the lot is too small to build on — by current standards — or the land is not fit to hold a house. I have seen both. Potentially unsolvable problem, type 1
The joy of computer searching is that it costs nothing but time and concentration to set up a search that yields good options for you. Work with your agent to set up an intelligent search. In 1991, when I started in real estate, it was like the Stone Age. Well, actually, it was the Paper
Anyone trying to make a point will try to “sell” you on the idea. Try to make you agree. Try to make you fear the consequences of disagreeing. That’s how sales works. That’s how politics work. Our clients deserve better than that. When Exclusive Buyer's Agents attend classes for all agents, we learn what tactics
The most common mistake that consumers make when setting up an MLS search is to limit their search too much or too little. The ideal search yields properties that are closer and closer to the goal. Bad searches yield either too few options or properties that don’t work, in the same way, over and over.
How well do exclusive buyer’s agents do, in the face of a tough seller’s market? Here are results for the hardest seller’s market we have faced, ever! Our report card for 2016: Total amount under original asking negotiated: -$188,359 Total amount negotiated after inspections: -$35,000 Total paid over asking price in bidding wars $229,300 Towns
This was the “Thanksgiving of the mouse.” Two out of three of the households we visited had uninvited squatters of the rodent variety. I ended up being the hero this week. My niece, who is a tall, strong woman turns into a ten-year-old at the thought of a mouse. Well, not entirely. The day before
All houses built before 1975 need to be equipped with 10-year smoke detectors. Current law requires that smoke detectors be replaced every 10 years, but most people don’t do it. The new rule, detectors will have sealed 10-year batteries. When the battery squeaks, it is time to replace the whole unit. Here’s the thought behind
Danger! Open house It has long been obvious to us that open houses are not safe for the owners of the house. Agents for the seller cannot protect the house, were someone to come in with a notion to steal. Recently, an incident was reported to the police in Weston, where drugs were stolen from