Massachusetts Real Estate and More

The City of Boston Takes a Serious Look at Energy Scoring     Engergy Scoring, or the use of "uniform" rating tools designed to help property owners, landlords and prospective consumers of real estate to evaluate the energy efficiency of one property over the other, sounds appealing.  But is it a...

Do odd-priced listings attract more or less attention?   I recently ran into a situation with a listing agent who put a new listing on the MLS for $232, 574.  This struck me as unusual, so I spoke with the agent and asked her "why the odd amount?", thinking that she would tell me that this was a ...

  US EPA names Wellesley MA as the first Green Power Community in Massachusetts   On Tuesday, September 4, 2012, the Town of Wellesley was named by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the first Green Power Community in Massachusetts, and the second in all of New England at a ceremony at W...

If it's good enough for Rob and Laura Petrie, it's got to be retro   I think I have just "aged" myself by making a reference to Rob and Laura from the Dick Van Dyke Show, which was a '60's classic.  I still remember the "bedroom scenes" where not only was television more politically correct, but ...

  Would you dig up St Joseph after the sale of a home?       The heading is a bit tongue in cheek, but the point is real.  I recently had an experience where an uninformed (see, I can be nice) real estate agent and seller's attorney took a rather unsympathetic view on my buyer's wishes.  The Mezu...

  Just When You Thought You Understood Agency Law, the Black and White Turns Grey        Answer:  Unless you have a listing contract in place with a seller before your appointment, anything that they tell you can be used against them if your buyer client subsequently makes and offer to purchase t...

The Tenants You Love So Much Are Actually Hurting Your Chances of Selling Your Home   We've all had them - the showing with Tenants From Hell.  If you live in a state like Massachusetts, where Tenant Rights reign supreme, you probably know what I mean.  Like a scene from the movie Pacific Heights...

  New Jobs Created By Lenders Actually Slows Down Home Sales This post is a bit tongue-in-cheek.  But I just couldn't help myself from falling out of my chair when I read this little tidbit from a fairly large mortgage lender.  After reading it, if you are scratching your head thinking "...are th...

Holidays unleash a myriad of emotions for new home buyers I'm the type of guy who reads e-mails and then replies.  Not "reply to all" but just a simple "reply" to the sender.  I also get really, really  mad when someone forwards my emails to other people without my acknowledgment.  Case in point....