The Real Estate Lady of New England Preferred Properties

How to Save Money

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:07:36 +0000

Is there really a secret to saving money? It may seem as though it is mystery how your bank account ends up empty every month but there is no mystery to it. While it may be no secret there are three important tips you can follow to help you put more money in your pocket. The challenge is to follow the tips in order to be successful at saving money. The rest is up to you.

1. Create a Budget

You need to know where your money is going. Once you have established where you spend your money you will be able to find places to make cuts. The first thing to do is figure out how much is being spent on housing, utilities, groceries, debt, and entertainment. Once you know where the money is going you will be able to set limits for problem areas. This is the money that you will apply to secret #2.

2. Pay Yourself First

This is a huge secret, pay yourself first. Yes, before you dole out money for bills as soon as your paycheck hits your account; deposit a specified amount into savings. It doesn’t matter how small the amount is, at least you are saving.

Even better , create an automatic savings plan that will automatically deposit money into your savings account before you even have a chance to spend it. This can be done right through your employer’s direct deposit or with a recurring transfer with your bank.

3. Spend Less Than You Earn

If you don’t learn to obey this rule you will never be able to save money. You simply have to spend less money than you earn and there’s no way around that. If you are spending more than you earn you are borrowing money and thus putting yourself into debt.

Buy vs. Rent

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:06:11 +0000

With rental homes scarce and rent prices on the rise buying a home beats renting.

There are two main factors at play that make buying versus renting a better choice.

According to Rent.com, over the next two years rents could rise 7%.
Nationally, home prices have finally dropped enough to create a buying opportunity. Since the price peak in 2006, home prices are down 32%.

What does this mean for your pocketbook? Home ownership is a forced savings plan. The mortgage bill comes in every month, the homeowner pays it and the mortgage balance goes down. Experts agree most homeowners will break even after just eight years in their home.

Renters, meanwhile, are just as likely to spend their savings as homeowners. They’ll wind up with less money over the long haul because they have no forced savings. To see the real savings in dollars and cents, use a Rent vs. Buy Calculator.

Seniors: Is it Time to Move?

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:04:59 +0000

There comes a time when families start to think about senior members moving. Factors such as retirement, finances, lifestyle, health or the distance between family members are just a few of the reasons why seniors may decide to relocate.

Moving is a big decision especially when a senior has lived in one place for a very long time. Many things must be considered, including access to health care, recreation, social activities and practical concerns, such as grocery stores, libraries, climate, etc.

Access to Quality Care

For many seniors access to health care or options for health care assistance is the primary reason for moving. When considering options it is important look at the short-term solutions, but also consider long term scenarios. Options may include drop-in help, moving closer to a family member that can assist when needed or retirement communities that offer fully independent living to supportive assistance as required.

Community Services

It is also important to research the area community services. You will want to make note of services such as homecare, cleaning services, snow removal, transportation and home repair. Some individuals may want access to volunteer organizations or senior centers where they can be involved in the community.

Support

As an older adult, moving is an especially difficult transition. Finding the support the senior needs in the new community is imperative. Groups that seniors can connect with will help the transition go smoother. Connect with church groups, home visit solutions or perhaps meetings that would be conducted in a home setting.

Here are some websites that may help you in your transition:

•Eldercare Locator
•AARP
•Elder Web: Online Eldercare Sourcebook
•American Society on Aging (ASA)
•Senior Resource Housing: Information on Housing Options

Considering a High-End Home? The Time is Now

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:04:59 +0000

While you’ve probably heard many negative stories about the real estate market over the past few years, there are many buyers who have actually taken advantage of the current market to great success. For savvy homebuyers, the current marketplace has yielded tremendous opportunity—most notably in the area of high-end or luxury homes.

If you’ve always dreamed about buying a luxury property but considered it just out of reach, the market may paint an entirely different picture today. Many homeowners, unable to sustain the costs associated with a luxury home, have been forced to sell. The general decline in home values in recent years has also put downward pressure on the prices of higher-end homes.

Buying a luxury home requires a specific strategy, however, so before you embark on the process, RISMedia offers following things to consider:

1. Select the right agent.

Working with an agent who is experienced and successful in the luxury home market is essential. A luxury-property specialist has the right knowledge and the right connections to help you locate and negotiate an offer on a high-end home.

2. Know where to look.

While traditional house hunts begin online these days, finding the right high-end home will require the right networking. Many of these properties are discovered through word of mouth or referrals. This is where your real estate agent comes in. The right agent will know about luxury finds before they’re even officially on the market.

3. Consider cash.

Many luxury buyers are also cash buyers and cash is king in today’s market. In fact, according to the May 2011 REALTORS® Confidence Index from the National Association of REALTORS®, 30 percent of all purchases between mid-April and mid-May of last year were financed with cash. The number was even higher for luxury properties. Investors and luxury buyers with cash are a welcome sight in today’s credit-crunched market where jumbo loans, in particular, are hard to come by. If you’re fortunate enough to be a cash buyer, your chances of getting a great deal on a luxury property will increase exponentially.

4. Invest the time.

As with any major investment, spending the proper amount of time on evaluating a high-end home is essential. Be prepared for this to take much longer than the walk-through of a typical home. Investigating a luxury property means taking careful note of a variety of details, such as how the home was constructed, security systems that may have been put in place, architectural and design highlights, outdoor areas and special features.

5. Devising the offer.

Making the right offer on a luxury property is tricky—lean heavily on the guidance of your agent. In market’s better day, luxury sellers were known to be very particular about who was buying their property as well as the final selling price, usually having the financial wherewithal to stay in the home until the right offer came along. While these tendencies still exist, many of today’s luxury sellers are in a distressed property situation. Be sure to carefully weigh these factors with your agent prior to making an offer.

Home Repairs Do Not Have to Be Difficult

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:05:26 +0000

No matter how sturdy a home is, sooner or later maintenance will be required. When this happens, you will have the choice to do some of this maintenance work yourself, or you could opt to utilize a home repair service to do it for you. This largely depends on how much experience you have in repairing things in your home. For example, hanging a picture on the wall does not take too much knowledge and expertise, as all you would need is a good drill and a little bit of know-how. On the other hand, if you need some major plumbing repairs, then you are better off finding a reputable plumber to do the job for you.

When it comes to painting, it really does depend on whether you have some experience and know-how, and how much you enjoy doing it. For some people, painting can be extremely therapeutic. They will gladly paint every room in their home without any fuss. For others, painting a wall can seem like an extremely messy job, and in most cases, it will be a job badly done. In a situation like this, you are better off using a professional painter.

One of the best ways to find a good quality home repair service is by going on the internet, as this allows you to quickly find a specialized repair service within your area with just a few clicks of your mouse. In addition, you are also able to do a little research on the repair service beforehand.

If you would like a local referral I keep a list of professionals. Please call or email me for more information.

It is Time to Buy?

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 11:06:45 +0000

Is it time to buy a home? According to a Gallup poll done on 1/17/2012, 67% of people polled say yes!

According to Gallup, “Overall, there is good reason for most Americans to think now is a good time to buy a house. Interest rates remain near historic lows. Home prices are down sharply, providing many incredible buys.”

According to the November 2001 National Housing Survey conducted by Fannie Mae, buyers cited their major reasons for buying a home. Here are the results:

80% Having a good place to raise children and provide a good education
79% Having a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
75% It allows you to have more space for your family
69% It gives you control over what you do with your living space 69

So despite what has been a negative sentiment towards the housing market, buyers and the general public still think that homeownership is the way to go.

Multi-Family – Newton, MA 02466 is now new to the market!

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:03:09 +0000

Large side-by-side duplex. Great commuter location. Walk to West Newton commuter rail, Express bus and Woodland station green D line “T”. Or hop onto Mass Pike and drive 15 minutes to Boston. Unit #84 Needs updating and has a lower level private entry in-law unit. #82 Needing vision has a walk-up attic and unfinished basement. Garages & parking for 8 cars at back of property. 13,622sq.ft. lot. MR1 zone.

This property features 13 total rooms, 5 full baths, 7 bedrooms, 0.31 Acres, and is currently available for $599,000.

For complete details click here.

Rental – Newton, MA 02458 now has a new price!

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:01:41 +0000

Owner occupied house offers a clean, partially furnished apartment available April 1st. Private entry. Full kitchen including table and chairs. Combo Living/Bedroom with w/w carpet, will leave twin bed and couch if needed. Full bath. Basement storage, washer/dryer hook-ups. Tenant pays gas heat (newer furnace) & electric. Off-street parking, tenant clears own snow/ice. Walk to Whole Foods, Newtonville commuter rail. NO PETS, please don’t ask. Tenant pays real estate fee.

This property features 2 total rooms, 1 full bath, 1 bedroom, and is currently available for $875.

For complete details click here.

Buying a Vacation Home

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:04:58 +0000

Rates are low, home prices are still low and the thermometer is heating up. If you are dreaming of a vacation home; right now there are some great deals for buyers looking for a second home. Money Magazine offers some tips on what you need to know before you take the leap on a second home.

1. Now is a good time to pounce
In many second-home hot spots, prices are still close to their five-year lows. According to Fiserv, single-home prices in Napa, Calif., for example, are down 47% from their 2006 peak; the average house in Ocean City, N.J., costs 24% less than it did in 2006. And though a few hard-hit markets like Las Vegas, Tucson, and Miami could fall a bit further, most economists believe the biggest declines are behind us.

Meanwhile, sales in places such as Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Palm Beach saw double-digit increases last year. “Now prices are starting to move up,” says Myrtle Beach broker Rod Smith.

2. A home is a better deal if it’s rentable
You may think you’ll keep the retreat all to yourself, but it’s still smart to shop as if you’re going to rent the place out. That’s because a home’s rental potential can affect its resale value, says Fredericksburg, Texas, agent Catherine Jeffrey.

Before you bid on a house, make sure the homeowners association or township allows short-term rentals (many do not). And keep in mind that renters prefer homes with at least one bathroom for every bedroom, says Jeffrey.

3. Don’t count on rental income to pay your bills
The typical property rents out just 17 weeks a year, says Christine Karpinski of vacation-rental site HomeAway.com. Plus, you’ll need to pay for cleaning, maintenance, insurance, and maybe management fees (at least 15% of income).

Sales of doomsday bunkers up 1,000%
To get a handle on a property’s income potential, ask a management company for a history of rental dates and rates for homes comparable to the one you’re considering. If your monthly loan payment is less than or equal to one peak week of rent, you’re likely to break even, says Karpinski.

4. Your loan rate depends on how you use the house
Lenders have raised standards across the board, but they’re giving extra scrutiny to vacation homes. Use the property primarily as a second home and you’ll pay about the same mortgage rate as you would on a primary residence, says HSH Associates vice president Keith Gumbinger. If you need rental income to qualify for the loan, however, the house is treated as investment property — so you’ll have to fork over as much as 25% for the down payment and pay up to one percentage point more in interest.

5. Tax benefits can be sweet
Rent the house out for two weeks or less and you won’t have to report a cent of income to the IRS — and you can still deduct property taxes and mortgage interest.

Stay there for less than two weeks or 10% of rental days, whichever is greater, and you can deduct operating costs — everything from cleaning fees and maintenance to linens and repairs — in addition to interest and property tax. Use and rent a lot? You’ll have to allocate the write-offs between personal and rental use, which gets tricky, says Rick Shapiro, a CPA in West Hartford, Conn. So talk to your tax guy before you buy.

Discover Your Home’s History

Jeanne Marrazzo The Real Estate Lady — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 11:04:52 +0000

Many homes in our area have stories to tell. If you live in an older home, you may want to know its hidden secrets. You may have wondered who slept in your bedroom or when the home was actually built. Your home holds many clues to its history and its prior owners. With some detective work you will be well on your way to uncovering your home’s hidden past. Here are some hints to get you started.

Gather Information

In order to get started you will need to uncover all of the information you have, you will want to gather your deed and title paperwork. Make note of the first owner, year built, and the year the original owner sold it. You will also want to know the names of all the owners, as well as the years they bought and sold the property. All of this information may not be available on your deed but you will be able to find it at town hall or the registry of deeds.

You may find clues in the names of owners and years owned. Pay attention to details and look for clues. Some clues to the history of the home may be: a family that owned the home for a long time, multiple property turnovers and inconsistencies in property or land descriptions.

Tackling the Records

Wading through the mountains of information may be difficult but don’t get discouraged. Information about your home’s owners will most likely be contradictory. Census records dating back to the year your house was built are likely available at your public library, a nearby university or your local historical society or museum. Review census rosters from the year closest to the one your house was built. Census records from the 1800s and early 1900s have lots of fun and interesting information and often include the names of all those living in a household at the time, their ages, occupations, places of birth, and sometimes more. You may also want to search for census data on the U.S. Census website.

Getting Help

Some of the language on deeds and title paperwork can be hard to understand put older language in the mix and it can be even more confusing. Ask friends who are lawyers, title-company employees or experts in historical documents for help. You can also turn to the internet for help. Use the internet to dig up any information you can find about the families who lived in your home, as well as the surrounding streets, neighborhoods, and landmarks. If prior owners of your home are relatives you can use genealogy web sites for research.

Getting a Feel for the Times

Read through newspapers from the year your house was built. You will start to get a sense of the historical times. Keep notes on everything you find that mentions your house and its occupants. In those times local papers covered social news of all kinds—dinner parties, haying trips, visits from out-of-town relatives—in addition to chronicling everything from world events to weather. They often covered construction of new homes, and may offer you information on where the builders got the materials used to build your house, why they made certain design decisions, and more.

More Information

For more information regarding researching homes you may want to try some of the books listed.

American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home, by Lester Walker, Overlook Press, 1981
How Old is This House? by Hugh Howard, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1989
House Styles in America, by James C. Massey and Shirley Maxwell, Penguin Studio, 1996
Old American House, by Henry Lionel Williams and Ottalie K. Williams, Bonanza Books, 1957
A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia and Lee McAlester, Random House, 1984