Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

This holiday season, Buyers Brokers Only, LLC again will be collecting new, unwrapped toys for the annual U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program as an official drop-off location.

The mission of Toys for Tots is to collect toys during October, November and December each year and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. The national effort is administered locally, and is funded and supported by the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, a not-for-profit public charity. The success of the program relies heavily on community involvement and volunteer support.

The Massachusetts real estate recovery continued in October.  

Single-family home sales rose again in October, increasing nearly 19 percent from October 2012, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported November 26, 2013.

The real estate market for single-family homes in Haverhill, MA has increased in 2013, in both sales and median price, according to data provided by The Warren Group.

From January to September 2013, the median sale price for a single-family home in Haverhill increased 14 percent to $250,000 from $219,000 during the same time period in 2012. For the month of September, the median price stood at $275,700 compared to $210,000 in September 2012, an increase of 31 percent.

The price of a single-family home in Braintree, Massachusetts has increased through September 2013, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Massachusetts home buyers should know home inspectors do not check smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors during a home inspection; however, state law requires home sellers have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors checked by their local fire department before the sale of their home.

Despite the comfort of knowing that the local fire department has inspected smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors for code violations before they purchased their home, new home buyers – now homeowners – can further protect themselves by considering the following fire safety tips at home.

No one thinks a fire at home will happen to them, yet according to data from the Massachusetts Fire Incident Reporting System, there were 31,229 fires reported in Massachusetts during 2012 that caused 39 civilian deaths, 322 civilian injuries, 531 fire service injuries and an estimated $257 million in property damage.

The median price of a single-family home in Northborough, Massachusetts has increased through September 2013, but the price of a condominium has decreased, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

From January to September 2013, the median price of a single-family home in Northborough, MA increased 2.59 percent to $356,000 compared to $347,000 during the same nine-month period in 2012. For September 2013, the median price increased to $399,750 from $297,500 in September 2012; an increase of 34.37 percent.

The price of a single-family home in Medfield, Massachusetts, as well as home sales, have declined in 2013, according to data provided by The Warren Group.

From January to September 2013, the median sale price of a single-family home in Medfield, MA decreased 6.15 percent to $572,500 from $610,000 during the same period in 2012; however, in September 2013 the median price slightly increased to $619,900 from $616,000 in September 2012.

Buyers Brokers Only, LLC wants to help local organizations in and around Haverhill, Massachusetts participate in the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program by offering to collect holiday cards and mailing them to the American Red Cross for distribution to military members, veterans and their families.

Investors or first-time home buyers that were hoping to grab a foreclosure property to rehab in Massachusetts may only have a few opportunities left. 

The number of foreclosure deeds recorded statewide decreased from 6,491 foreclosure deeds in the first nine months of 2012 to 2,382 foreclosure deeds through September 2013, a 63 percent decline, The Warren Group reported October 29, 2013. Foreclosure deeds are the final step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts.

Rising interest rates were expected by some to slow the red hot Massachusetts real estate market, but Bay State home buyers have not been deterred and home sales and prices have increased throughout 2013. 

Last month marked the best September for Massachusetts single-family homes sales since 2005, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported October 22, 2013, and median prices increased in September, the third quarter and through the first nine months of the year. 

The price of a single-family home in Belmont, Massachusetts has increased in 2013, according to data provided by the Warren Group, the publisher of Banker & Tradesman. 

From January through August 2013, the median price of a single-family home in Belmont, MA increased 15.07 percent to $782,500 compared to $680,000 during the same eight-month period in 2012.  For August 2013, the median price increased to $818,000 from $662,500 in August 2012. 

Massachusetts first-time home buyers, and really any home buyer, should keep in mind that certain personal and financial moves may hurt their chances of, or disqualify them from, obtianing a mortgage loan or delay their closing. Several seemingly innocent financial or personal changes by a borrower during the loan process may have unintended consequences. The following are 12 things a potential home buyer should not do when seeking a mortgage.