Boston Real Estate Appraisal

As a Massachusetts resident who has registered a dog with the American Kennel Club over the past five years, the AKC would like to notify you of Massachusetts House Bill 5092. Opposed by both the American Kennel Club and its Massachusetts federation, the Massachusetts Federation of Dog Clubs, HB 5092 is a conglomeration of many anti-dog, anti-responsible dog owner, and anti-responsible dog breeder proposals.
For specific information on HB 5092, please click here to view AKC’s post.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The AKC encourages all Massachusetts residents to contact their state representative and express their opposition to the draconian provisions of HB 5092. Furthermore, Massachusetts residents are encouraged to urge their representative to contact Representative Donato, Chairman of the House Steering, Policy, and Scheduling Committee, and respectfully request that he “send HB 5092 to study.”
For more information, contact AKC’s Government Relations Department at (919) 816-3720, […]
Read the full post here.

Tags: General, Chamber of Commerce, Lifestyle, CityBlog, Education, Government by bomber
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martin kalisker made a great post today on boston.massachusettsblogpage.com.

Are there any members of out there that want to come home, where not only is the baseball better, but SO IS THE LOCAL REAL ESTATE MARKET!!!

in Wellesley Hills, MA is HIRING NEW AND EXPERIENCED AGENTS.
We are an exciting, new affiliate of Weichert, Realtors that just started up on May 1, 2008 and are looking for agents who believe in designated agency and who have what it takes for a successful career in real estate. Due to the ENORMOUS SIZE of our internet generated leads from http://synergy-metrowest.com and http://weichert.com, we rely on agents who can take, work and close leads throughout the day and on weekends.
Per the MLS, OUR AVERAGE HOME SALES PRICE IS $960,000 IN WELLESLEY, MA. We offer top commission splits based on DOLLAR VOLUME, NOT COMMISSIONS GENERATED.
INTERESTED? INTRIGUED? Call me to learn more or set up an appointment to meet with […]
Visit the blog to keep reading…

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Mortgage, Lifestyle, CityBlog, Retirement by bomber
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Valuable information to share with buyers and sellers.
According to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) annual “Cost vs. Value Report,” the bathroom is one of the most important features potential buyers look for in a home. What’s more, NAR’s 2007 report shows that a bathroom remodel recouped 93.2 percent of the initial cost upon selling the home.
Will Smith, celebrity interior designer, suggests that homeowners pay close attention to the bathroom mirror, paint, hardware and lighting. Each can easily and inexpensively be updated to provide a current look for a bathroom.
Making over a bathroom on a budget can be easily accomplished — without sacrificing style. According to Smith, high-end looks for less include:

Mirror: The mirror is the focal point in the bathroom and can make a real statement with the right frame. A frame around the mirror gives a bathroom a finished, updated look.
Paint: A painted bathroom is a tried […]
Read the full post here.

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Lifestyle, CityBlog by bomber
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I saw a good post today on boston.massachusettsblogpage.com.
Here’s a summary….

Where do mortgage rates come from? Not the 10 year nor 30 year Treasury as many think.
Why and how mortgage rates change in the marketplace is often misunderstood – even by the news media. They often report mortgage rates will go down when the Federal Reserve announces a rate cut when sometimes the opposite can happen.
How do Federal Reserve rate changes affect mortgages?
Fed rate changes don’t directly affect mortgage rates. Instead, they affect the inflation expectations of investors. The role of the Federal Reserve in our economy is to control inflation so we have long-term economic growth and prosperity. If the economy grows too fast, we get inflation. If the economy shrinks, we have recession. The Fed’s main tool in managing the economy is to change short-term interest rates. They can directly change the rate banks charge each other for loans and the rate the Fed charges banks. Banks eventually […]
Read the full store here.

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Mortgage, Lifestyle, CityBlog, Education, Government by bomber
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martin kalisker did an interesting post today on boston.massachusettsblogpage.com.

As further evidence of the shift to online advertising, the Los Angeles Times has announced it will no longer publish its weekly real estate section. Click here for the entire news story.
Is Boston next? As a Realtor®, I am often asked by Sellers and Agents alike, why I am reluctant to use the newspaper for marketing and listing of properties for sale. Besides the high cost and low return on the advertising dollar spent, over 80% of homes are sold because somebody saw the listing on the Internet.. What could be more convincing?
I understand that it used to be fun to sit down with a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning, circling open house ads, but that was literally, yesterday’s news. Today’s buyers are more motivated to simply drive around an area of town that they like to look for open house […]
For all the details click here.

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Mortgage, Lifestyle, CityBlog, Education, Retirement by bomber
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I read an interesting post today on boston.massachusettsblogpage.com.
Here’s a snippet:

This is hot off the press news. President Bush just signed into law the HOPE For Homeowners legislation on July 30, 2008.
When does the program start?
The legislation is effective upon enactment; the HOPE for Homeowners program goes into effect on October 1, 2008. The Oversight Board will write more detailed program rules.
What agency is administering it? Will people be calling state offices or federal? Or will people just contact their lenders directly?
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will administer the program. The process begins when a homeowner or servicer of an existing eligible loan contacts an FHA-approved lender. Homeowners can contact lenders or servicers directly or through counselors (for which the bill provides another $150 million). It is important to note that this is a voluntary program.
Do borrowers have to use their current lender, or can they switch to another?
Borrowers may use any FHA-approved lender, as long as their current […]
Check out the rest of this story here.

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Mortgage, Lifestyle, CityBlog, Education, Government by bomber
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Real estate pioneer calls the bottom of the market and expects home sales to begin showing modest, steady increases
As president and founder of Weichert, Realtors, one of the nation’s largest privately-held real estate companies, James M. Weichert has seen his share of market shifts. In fact, Weichert has become quite efficient at predicting changes by regularly studying the factors that shape the housing sector. Yet, this well-respected industry pioneer has never felt so strongly about a market shift that he would come out and declare so publicly – until now.
In a message to the company’s nearly 18,000 sales associates as well as approximately 2,000 employees, Weichert announced that “we have reached the bottom of the housing market and will soon begin to see improvements.”
“We saw an extraordinarily hot market at the start of the decade like we may never see again. I knew in May 2005 that we had reached […]
View the rest of it here…

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Mortgage, Lifestyle, CityBlog, Education by bomber
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martin kalisker got it right the other day.
The first paragraph is here:

THEY’RE GETTING BIGGER AND BIGGER
According to the Census Bureaus’ Characteristics of New Housing report for 2007, the average square footage of homes is currently at a historic high.
On average, a completed single-family home had 2,521 square-feet, up 2.1% from 2,469 square-feet in 2006.
Additionally, the report provides characteristics on indoor and outdoor housing features. Data from this report gives insight into current trends to better understand today’s buyer.
Home-size findings from the report include:
• The average square footage of new homes completed has grown about 46.6 percent since 1 977, when the average was 1,720 square-feet.
• About 26 percent of all new single-family homes completed in 2007 had 3,000 or more square-feet of space, up from 24 percent in 2006 and 11 percent in 1988.
• The percentage of new single-family completed with 1,200 square-feet or less of floor area shrank from 25 percent in 1 973 to 4 percent in 2007.
Housing characteristics of single-family, newly-completed […]
To read more, go here.

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Mortgage, Lifestyle, CityBlog by bomber
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This morning I saw a pretty good post.

You’ve just signed an Offer to Purchase on your new dream home. Your energy level is at an all time high, and if you had your way, you’d close on the transaction tomorrow. But what does your Realtor do? Does he/she hand you a list of lawyers, mortgage lenders and other service providers and pleasantly tells you to go through the list and “find someone that you like?” That might be ok if you are a seasoned homebuyer who knows exactly what questions to ask and otherwise manage these relationships. Or, does your Realtor take you by the hand and to the office next to his to introduce you to their One Stop Shopping service manager (at Weichert, we call this the Gold Services Manager)? Read the results of a recent NAR study and share your feedback.
According to a recent National Association of […]
For more go here.

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Mortgage, Lifestyle, CityBlog by bomber
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boston.massachusettsblogpage.com had a good post today.

Renters Plan to Buy Homes
According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the National Apartment Association, one in five renters plan to buy a home in the next year, and most said they expected to make the move to homeownership within five years. Cumulatively, 41 percent of renters said they no longer expect to be renting after two years, 56 percent would no longer be renting after three years, 60 percent after four years and 69 percent within five years.
Additionally, more than half of those polled – including renters, homeowners and adults living with their parents – expect housing markets to improve in the next six months.
A growth in market confidence and renters planning to buy homes may indicate that an increase in home sales is not far behind.

For more click here.

Tags: General, Real Estate, Chamber of Commerce, Lifestyle, CityBlog by bomber
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