Boston Real Estate

Beating up the house

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:08:22 -0500

This is not the first time, and I regret to say, it will not be not the last� I just saw a house that was in foreclosure. We went upstairs first. The walls, and windows and fittings were all modern...

More foreclosures on the way for 2010

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:25:18 -0500

Looks like the foreclosure mess won�t be going away anytime soon. Just as all the hoopla over the extension of the home buyer tax credit starts to fade, along comes the The Mortgage Bankers Association to bring the market back...

Selling by the �list it and hope� method

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:50:47 -0500

Friday was a lousy day for me. It ended with the flooded house I'll tell you about someday. It started with yet another house that is on the market, but not really. This one is not a foreclosure or a...

Boomtime or bust, lack of decent, well-priced homes still a problem

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:35:57 -0500

Welcome to the Boston area, where you will find a wonderful selection of overpriced homes in need of work. That might be a good way of summing our market to a newbie perplexed at the idea that you can shell...

New HUD Lending and Closing Cost Regulations Aimed To Help Homebuyers

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:54:01 -0500

Today, Attorney Richard D. Vetstein. outlines the changes in lending that we both hope will lead to transparency and the final end to bait-and-switch lending. New, sweeping changes regulating how lenders, closing attorneys and title companies disclose loan and closing...

Desperate landlords make for happy tenants

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Ah, to be a renter again. Sometimes I get nostalgic for the good old days, a decade back when I was a renter. Especially when I look at the mortgage payment or think about the money my wife Karen and...

Cloudy times at NAR

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:54:15 -0500

Scott�s bear-baiting entry based on the NAR�s economist�s market predictions was published the same day I got my Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) and NAR membership renewal bill. These are not sunny times for NAR, even though Dr. Yun...

For jobless homeowners, a long overdue hand up

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Well, it�s amazing it�s taken this long. There have been countless federal and state proposals to shower tens of billions on so-called victims of subprime lending. But if you simply took out a boring old mortgage years ago and then...

Bank fraud for beginners

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:20:05 -0500

Sam Schneiderman, Broker-owner of Greater Boston Home Team teaches you how to commit bank fraud. Why would he do that? Because most buyers and sellers don�t understand how easy it is to get into trouble. Many loan officers and agents...

Realtors see sunnier 2010

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

OK, here�s one that is sure to get all the housing bears out there feeling downright surly again. The National Association of Realtors is forecasting that prices will rise 4 percent in 2010 after hitting bottom in 2009. Home sales...

Insulation nation

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:17:29 -0500

What is that stuff in the attic floor bays? If you are lucky enough to have insulation in the floor bays of your attic, what is it made of? If you are really lucky, you could have cellulose � stuff...

AD:

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:17:29 -0500

Who needs casinos when we have the housing market?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Massachusetts is just one of several states weighing plans to legalize casino gambling. There are all sorts of hand-wringing about evil slot machines luring grannies to their doom. But the real gambling, involving bets of tens if not hundreds of...

The intangible cost of incivility

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:20:09 -0500

When I thought about how to approach the question of what goodwill is worth in real estate, I thought of my friend, Nir Kossovsky. He�s a risk and reputation executive with Steel City Re. He works to understand the value...

Tax credit stupidity

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

The home buyer tax credit is a funny thing. I compare it to the big stimulus package. Something needed to be done to help brake the economic slide. But don�t look too closely at the details because they are downright,...

FHA Eases Condominium Lending Guidelines

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:22:33 -0500

Welcome back to Attorney Richard D. Vetstein. The FHA guidelines for condos are changing again. Here's what Atty. Vetstein has to say about them: With an eye on the volatility of the condominium market, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has...