Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

It's Valentine's Day, and we have seen the slick ads and pushy marketing for poetic greeting cards; delectable chocolates; bright red roses; and cute teddy bears promising true love and happiness. 

As part of a home inspection, home buyers may choose to have a radon test administered by the home inspector. Massachusetts home buyers should understand what radon gas is, how it is tested and what can be done to mitigate high levels of radon gas. 

What is Radon?

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that results from breakdown of radium and uranium in soil and rock. Because radon is a gas, it spreads out from the ground and into homes through foundation cracks and holes. It can move into any space that allows for air flow. Fieldstone foundations are more likely to have higher levels of radon, but cement is porous, so air can easily make its way through cinderblock and poured concrete foundations as well. Even new homes that are well-sealed and houses without basements can have elevated levels of radon. Radon can also be found in building materials, such as brick, stone or concrete.

A New Year's resolution is a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year.

The start of 2014 is a great opportunity for Massachusetts first-time home buyers to start making home-buying decisions that are in their best interest and resolve not to make bad home-buying choices just because other home buyers are doing it. 

Here are three resolutions for first-time home buyers in Massachusetts. 

Massachusetts home buyers will want to take into consideration the total cost of purchasing a home. Besides the price of a home and the cost of borrowing, as well as other costs, home buyers will want to consider real estate taxes in the city or town they plan to buy a home in. 

Local real estate tax rates vary throughout Massachusetts; however, there are some limitations to a city's or town's ability to raise property taxes. 

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.

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. 

Many Buyers assume that when they purchase a property, it will be delivered clean and move-in ready. That is not always the case.

In Massachusetts, properties are sold “as-is.” Unless there is specific language to the contrary in a contract / offer to purchase or a purchase and sale agreement, a buyer purchases a property in the condition that it is in at the time the contract is signed, wear and tear notwithstanding. There is nothing that requires a seller to remove trash and debris and/or clean the property prior to the closing. The condition of the property at the time of closing needs to be agreed upon in advance.

If the do-nothing landlord and the noisy neighbors weren't incentive enough, three straight years of rising rents in Boston have many renters weighing their first-time home buyer options.

For three straight years, rents in five of Boston’s student populated neighborhoods are rising while the vacancy rate has fallen below 2 percent, the Boston Business Journal reported July 19, 2013. Rental Beast, a Somerville-based real estate market tracker, compiled the data.

Many Massachusetts home buyers already desire homes close to public transportation, but the Bay State's gas tax hike that went into effect July 31, 2013 may increase the popularity of such homes.  

According to a study released March 20, 2013 by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Boston real estate values during the last recession performed 129 percent better on average if they were located near public transportation with high-frequency service.

This current Massachusetts real estate market has seen a significant increase in demand in home buyers looking to purchase over the past year. At the same time the number of homeowners willing to sell has plummeted, causing a dramatic decrease in inventory.

Many factors play a role in the condition of any real estate market, including, but not limited to, the economy, interest rates and employment; however, the most important factor is supply vs. demand. 

A recent Boston Real Estate Now blog post on the competitiveness of the real estate market in the Greater Boston Area indicated that "roughly 15 percent" of Greater Boston home buyers "waived the inspection contingency" in their offer to purchase.