Real Estate and *stuff *
A real person helping real people with real estate
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Open Sunday! Beautiful colonial in Northbridge – bonuses!
March 2, 2012
Yes! There are bonuses to this house…
Not only is it in a great location…at a great price…with motivated sellers…and in tip-top shape…BUT (like we need more? of course we need more!) this house also has brand new hardwood flooring (not refurnished – brand new), brand new wall to wall carpeting, huge master bedroom with walk-in closet and master bath and installed electric dog fence. Huge kitchen…first floor office with cathedral ceiling and a full energy audit this past fall. Check out the great room with full fireplace! Great house at a fantastic price!
So the fireplace, perfect lot and easy commuting distance wasn’t good enough? NOPE! That’s why we want you to stop in and see this home! Not a short sale so it can close quickly and not a foreclosure so there is a real person that can answer your questions!
179 Rocky Road
Northbridge MA
Sunday: 12pm to 2pm
Special Broker’s Open event next week…but don’t be shy…stop in!
March 2, 2012
Stop in and join Joan Pearsall and Amy Mullen for an exciting special Broker’s Open Event at 101 Temple Street in West Boylston! This is a weekday lunch educational open that will not only feed your belly but will also feed your brain!
Joan Pearsall is the founder of Best View Imaging and uses the latest in web technology to showcase real estate with an live interactive floor plan. With her amazing pictures and the flexibility of the interactive floor plan, home buyers can review a property from the comfort of their home. Great advertising the listing! She also does hotels, conference centers, golf courses and offices. Joan will be doing the floor plan for this house during the open!
At the same time, please take a tour of 101 Temple Street in West Boylston – a one-of-kind renovated home that is full of rich details and fine upgrades listed with Amy Mullen of RE/MAX Professional Associates. It offers the maximum in flexibility as your buyers family needs change over time with a full potential in-law suite, loft and double master bedrooms. The gourmet kitchen is beyond expectations with a Jenn-Air range, double wall convection ovens, granite and a breakfast bar with a neat twist! Hardwoods, open floor plan and a 1,400 sq ft deck make this house a great place to entertain. Who wouldn’t want to when you are overlooking conversation land!
Lunch will be served and the only payment is some of your time and feedback!
Place: 101 Temple Street, West Boylston
Day: Wednesday, March 7th
Time: 12pm to 2pm
Warren Buffett Says Buy Homes Now!
February 28, 2012
Love these guys! Check out this video blog with “Think Big, Work Small” as they recap a recent interview with Warren Buffett. As one of most recognized (and successful) investors of all time, he is not shaken by the housing market – in fact – he thinks it’s the place to put HIS money!
Open Sunday 1pm to 3pm – 101 Temple Street West Boylston
February 25, 2012
Don’t miss the opportunity to see this house on Sunday, 2/25 in West Boylston. Not only is a great commuting location but it’s BRAND NEW on the inside!
Construction was finished at the beginning of ’06 on what used to be a small 2-story cape style home. After bringing the house down to the studs (and replacing most of those too) this is now an amazing 3 level contemporary full of rich details and fine upgrades. Here are some of the highlights:
Kitchen: The kitchen features granite counters with solid maple cabinets. No IKEA stuff in here! A Jenn-air range in the center island compliments the double wall convection ovens. All stainless steel appliances and the breakfast bar is tastefully set apart with a small row of glass blocks. The glass blocks are sized so that you can put in beta fish tanks!
Layout: The open concept living space of the family room, eat in kitchen and formal dining room with french pocket doors looks up to an open loft above with skylights. The loft has both an open area and a closed area that can be used as an additional bedroom or office with some privacy.
Master Bedrooms: That’s right – it’s supposed to be plural. This house has not one but two Master Bedrooms with their own baths. One of them even has a fireplace! The Master baths are spacious, tiled and feature a multi-jet shower and jacuzzi tub.
Lower Level In-Law: The walk out has been transformed into a full in-law suite with fireplace, full kitchen and full bath. But don’t stop there – there is also a media room! Don’t need an in-law? How about a home office with its own entrance? Great space for entertaining, housing kids home from college, moving in the parents, doing the carpet commute – you decided! It’s THERE ! And all finished with high-grade materials and a beautiful glass door walk out that lets tons of natural light in.
SO…with all of that and hardwoods, easy commuter location, Anderson windows, 2.9 acres backing up to conversation land and the reservoir – what’s not to love about this house! If you were to buy a basic house and put in these upgrades it would be twice this price! Stop in on Sunday and take a look because I have so much to say about this house it’s too much to type!
Banks Tempt Underwater Home Owners with Cash — Would You Take It?
February 25, 2012
— 1 Comment
A short sale might be worth more than avoiding a foreclosure on your credit report. For some, it means cold hard cash.
If your lender offered you as much as five figures to move out of your home because you couldn’t make your mortgage payment, would you do it or wait for the lender to foreclose?
The answer would seem to be a resounding “hell, yes.” But many people sit tight.
When Bank of America offered short-sale incentives of $5,000 to $20,000 to 20,000 Florida home owners late last year, only 3,000 home owners expressed an interest in participating.
One reason? Folks can often live rent-free while the foreclosure process winds its way through the red tape.
But, a cash “bonus” paired with a short sale that lets you avoid a foreclosure on your credit history can be a sweet deal.
An incentive payment might be as little as $3,000 via the federal government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program. But private lender programs offer 10 times that much, depending on where you live, which short sale program you use, and which company holds your mortgage, says BusinessWeek.
“Banks are nudging potential sellers by pre-approving deals, streamlining the closing process, forgoing their right to pursue unpaid debt, and in some cases providing large cash incentives,” Moody’s Senior Credit Officer Bill Fricke told the magazine.
Of course, incentives have their catches. You have to:
1. Help the bank sell your home. In a short sale, you find someone willing to buy your home for less than what you owe on the mortgage and your lender agrees to take the sale price.
2. Move on without a fight.
3. Probably live in a state where it takes years, rather than months, for the bank to foreclose. In those areas, it’s cheaper for the bank to pay you to do a short sale than to pay the cost of a multi-year-long foreclosure.
If you bank makes an offer and you bite, these four steps will ensure the smoothest possible process:
1. Make sure the lender can’t come after you later to collect any shortfall between what you owe on the mortgage and what you’re selling your home for. Some, but not all, states prohibit that.
2. Talk to an attorney and a tax adviser so you know what will happen financially after the short sale. If you sell now through the end of 2012, the tax rules for short sales say you won’t owe any income tax on $1 million (singles) to $2 million in forgiven mortgage debt (married couples). Those tax rules, part of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, expire at the end of this year and only apply to your primary residence.
3. Hire a REALTOR® experienced in short sales to handle the transaction. Look for an agent who’s earned the CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) designation.
4. Figure out where you’re going to move and sign a lease now because your credit score will likely drop if you stop paying your mortgage and short sell your home. A low credit score can make it difficult to get a rental home.
By the way, you can ask your bank if it’s willing to work with you on a short sale, but asking for an incentive too? That’s not how it works. Banks choose you for an incentive program, and how they decide isn’t clear, though they’re less likely to offer cash in states where it only takes a couple of months to foreclose.
So would you take the cash and short sale, or hold out?
Considering a short sale? Visit www.dontforeclosenow.com to get more information.
SNEAK peak! West Boylston home coming to market at $121 per finished sq foot!
February 19, 2012
YES! You can STEAL this house at its list price! This home in West Boylston was completely remodeled in 2006 from a small two-story bungalow to an amazing 3900 square feet of gorgeous living space. I don’t want to give away all the great details yet but I am very much looking forward to showing the two master bedrooms with private master baths, fireplaces and custom kitchen featuring granite counters, hardwood floors, Jenn-Air cook top range and double wall ovens.
I am overdoing the sneak peak…I’ll save the details of the in-law on the lower level with private stone patio entrance for when the listing goes live!
Open today – 1 Inwood Street Worcester – Short Sale Opportunity!
February 19, 2012
This cute-as-a-button bungalow sits just off of upper Burncoat Street in Worcester and is a short sale pricing opportunity for the savvy buyer. Current upgrades include new hardwood floors and paint. The signature front porch of this area does have an upper enclosed balcony that is accessed from two of the three bedrooms upstairs. With a full bath upstairs – this is a great house to call home!
Stop in today 1pm to 2pm and check it out!
West Marlborough – Beautiful Colonial in great location! Open Today!
February 19, 2012
Stop in to 5 Pleasant Street in Marlborough to see this beautiful colonial that is in a prime location. Easy commute to 495 (less than a minute) but also a quick walk will bring you to the downtown area so you can enjoy all the shops and restaurants.
The house is brimming with gorgeous hardwoods, a grand stair case entrance and a screened in porch accessed through double french doors off the formal dining room and full pantry. It also has some serious living space with 4 bedrooms, a full dry basement and a full walk up attic. Don’t be fooled by the quaint fireplace in the living room – this house can be lived in!
Open 1pm to 3pm today – stop in to 5 Pleasant Street!
24 Wales Street in Millbury – Open Today! ONLY needs Cosmetics!
February 19, 2012
That’s right! Looking for that house that ONLY NEEDS a cosmetic update? HERE IT IS!
Great location for anyone who needs to commute with quick access to pike, 140, 122 or 20 but yet privately set at the end of the road with two lots for just over a half-acre of well-kept land. The house has been meticulously maintained with updated plumbing, electrical, windows and roof. Comes with a TWO CAR HEATED GARAGE, heated sun house and two sheds.
Get in and give the interior a face lift and you’re all set! NOT A SHORT and NOT A FORECLOSURE! Quick close is possible!
Open today 11:30 to 12:30
10 Million Underwater Homes…video blog on a possible solution?
February 16, 2012
My recent addiction to this video blog is becoming a solid part of my morning routine. From the just the title of their blog “Think Big Work Small” to this quick report on a possible solution to the current housing market crisis proposed by Senator Menendez. Excellent way to keep up on things without having to read the entire proposal…and I love their comment at the end that even if this isn’t a perfect solution…it’s better than the road we’re on now!
