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Completed redone ranch in Shrewsbury |
Fantastic Ranch in Shrewsbury! This one has been completely redone, with great space throughout. I doubt it will last long!
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Nice Hip Roof, Classic Exterior Color, Shutters too
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Completely updated and modernized kitchen |
Do Good Things Today!
Matt Heisler
*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.
Well, Francona caused a bit of a stir today when he announced the Opening Day lineup in Texas.
It is as follows:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF,
2. Dustin Pedroia 2B,
3. Carl Crawford LF,
4. Kevin Youkilis 3B,
5. Adrian Gonzalez 1B,
6. David Ortiz DH,
7. Mike Cameron RF,
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
9. Marco Scutaro SS
This lineup raised eyebrows in two places. First was at clean up. Now we all know from last weeks entry where the "everyday" lineup was discussed, Gonzales was clean up and Youkilis was fifth. So What Gives? Was Francona hiding his intentions from the rest of the league? Doubtful. Second, Much ado is also being made about JD Drew not starting, but if you've been reading here, you know that Cameron is going to see action against tough lefties, and that JD Drew has hit his way (or "not hit" his way) in to a platoon situation, despite Francona's comments to the contrary. And that's what we have opening day in Texas, a lefty starting, so that was not a surprise to me.
Cameron's too good a player not to get at bats, and he historically has killed lefties. Francona has a track record of using qualified bench guys more than most, keeping the starters fresh, and this is obviously an indication that he and Drew have "had the talk", that Ortiz got last year. If it doesn't look like a true platoon, it'll only be because Cameron will play for Ortiz and Drew on some sort of rotating basis, but I'll be surprised to see both David and Drew in a lineup against a lefty. Should Drew hit his way out of the platoon, we'll see Cameron hit for David in these situations, and if Ortiz hits lefties (Note: Very unlikely both Drew and Ortiz will hit lefties this year, but IF), Cameron will be the hard luck loser. I fully expect Cameron to see 250 ABs by seasons end, and that's if everyone stays healthy - someone will get hurt (and that includes Cameron), so those numbers could change, but he's going to play a lot if healthy.
But that still leaves us with the big mystery: Why move Gonzales fifth? I don't see any difference here with Youk fourth and Gonzales fifth - you still have one of your top two hitters hitting fifth, so I have the same complaint with this lineup as the other "everyday lineup" from that standpoint. Basically, I think, with the lefty on the mound, Francona is moving his lefty/lefty issue further down the lineup. As noted previous, it's not that much of an issue, especially if Gonzales returns to his historical lefty crushing numbers, which I'm sure he will at home. But they are on the road, so why not move the risk lower in the order? Makes sense to me, and it probably takes a little pressure off Adrian G, who will probably want to hit two home runs during each at bat to show he belongs. (Breathe AG, Breathe!!)
I'm pretty sure that's all it is. If anything, it's an indication of how highly Francona thinks of Youk - he basically thinks they are both the same offensive power players. I think eventually that Gonzo will be better, most do, but he hasn't done it yet in a Sox uniform, and until he does, Francona looks like he'll give the nod to Youk in these situations. And he probably should, he sure as hell has earned it. Look for the everyday lineup to reappear as soon as a righty is on the mound. But at least it'll keeps us glued to the lineup cards for a week or two.
Only time will tell who will end up with more ABs in the fifth spot. I still would like to see Crawford there- which would eliminate moving the guys around based on the opposing pitcher, by the way - but it's not going to happen without some surprising developments.
Do Good Things Today!
Matt Heisler
Next up, 10 Clarendon, a four family investment property. This was a tricky little sale - but virtually all income property is! Being a landlord is not for everyone, but once you get the hang of it, "passive" income can be very satisfying! Note to those out there looking at income property - the market east of 495 is very expensive - not too many desirable positive cash flow properties out there, so watch your step (and your wallet).
Do Good Things Today!
Matt Heisler
Find Your Next Home or Check out the Competition!
Question about the terms used here? Check my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Statistics. All statistics are for Single Family Homes.
Framingham, MA, Massachusetts: Well, the stats don't show much change. We've got the first month of foreclosure and short-sale data for Framingham in this report, and I am actually surprised at the tiny number of bank owned properties in Framingham. A few more short-sales in town, probably in line with expectations. The market-time in Framingham is up a couple reports in a row, showing a moderation in activity. But it's hard to know at this point if this is just seasonal slow down hitting the data, or an effect of the limited inventory. 150 homes for sale in Framingham is a super low number for such a large town, and even though I don't see any evidence of price appreciation, I have a hard time believing it'll stay that way with so little inventory.
ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL! No matter if your town is HOT or COLD, a real estate agent who knows the market can help you position your home for sale. (That would be me.) For more detailed reporting on home selling, including breakdowns by price range, contact Matt Heisler of Heisler & Mattson Properties directly!
Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of Heisler & Mattson Properties. He has been selling residential real-estate for over 20 years. He has given several talks on real estate, including presentations on first-time buyer tips & tricks, and profiting in real estate investing in Massachusetts. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community. *All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.
Question about the terms used here? Check my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Statistics. All statistics are for Single Family Homes.
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Tudor Style offers Something Different |
Clinton, Massachusetts The Clinton housing market has stabilized, but as noted in the last report, because sales it's because sellers have given up. Either way though, the sellers on the market now likely find themselves in better shape than they were at the end of the year. I would expect the average market time to decrease if the active/solds ratio stays steady, but the homeowners have not returned for the spring market, which will be good for those that remain. Some buyers will be able to negotiate good deals with sellers who have been waiting for offers for some time.
ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL! No matter if your town is HOT or COLD, a real estate agent who knows the market can help you position your home for sale. (That would be me.) For more detailed reporting on home selling, including breakdowns by price range, contact Matt Heisler of Heisler & Mattson Properties directly!
Question about the terms used here? Check my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Statistics. All statistics are for Single Family Homes.
Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler
*All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.
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Boylston has had plenty of snow - but not enough buyers satisfy sellers. |
Looking for Boylston Homes for Sale?
Show Me Boylston, MA Homes for Sale
Question about the terms used here? Check my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Statistics. All statistics are for Single Family Homes.
Boylston, MA , has seen no real change since last month - certainly nothing like we saw in Ashland. Boylston is further West, and typically we see market demand build in the East and push out West. Will it push as far as Boylston? Only time will tell. Days on Market are up, showing that sellers are sticking it out and waiting for spring, buying activity remains modest at best. Buyers: With average market time at 200 days or more for many sellers, some will be approaching market time for a year. Those sellers tend to be motivated, so that could be a place to look for you next home.
ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL! No matter if your town is HOT or COLD, a real estate agent who knows the market can help you position your home for sale. (That would be me.) For more detailed reporting on home selling, including breakdowns by price range, contact Matt Heisler of Heisler & Mattson Properties directly!
Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of Heisler & Mattson Properties. He has been selling residential real-estate for over 20 years. He has given several talks on real estate, including presentations on first-time buyer tips & tricks, and profiting in real estate investing in Massachusetts. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community. *All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.
A 203K Mortgage is a more complicated loan product, designed to help homeowners purchase property that needs immediate work in order for the home to be ready to live in. It is an FHA loan, which means that is government backed, which is a way of saying that the risk on the loan is held by Uncle Sam. Generally, it comes in two parts, and these programs can have differences over time, but typically, you get a "regular" mortgage for the original purchase, and a "home equity" for the work that needs to be done. After the work is done, the loan "converts" to a "regular" mortgage. These loans can often be used with little money down - sometimes less than 4%.
A 203K loan makes sense when a perfectly good property has one or two major issues that are keeping it from being sold, to the point where the price of the home is far below market value. Here's an example. Let's say a home needs a new roof. Now NOBODY wants to buy a home that needs a new roof. Let's say further that similar homes, that don't need new roofs, are selling for 350K. This home is on the market for $325K, and a new roof is estimated at 10K. Well, that means you could spend 10K, and then have a home worth 350K, meaning you "made" 15K in equity. That's nice.
Now, it's equity, so you can't access it right away, but it's nice to get paid for renovations, and that's what the 203K is about. Could you use a 203K in a situation where you don't make any money? The answer is yes, but WHY would anyone do that? By agreeing to do the work, you're taking on risk that the estimate will be low - and you still need to pay for a new roof - so to use a 203K to fix a home and not build any equity is not a situation that I think makes sense. Can you use a 203K to LOSE equity. Let's take a situation where you purchase the home at $340, thinking you've got 10K to spend on a new roof, but when you redo the roof, the underlayment needs to be replaced. Oops. Now you'll spend 15K, and you'll be in for $355K when it's only worth $350. You could have a scenario happen like this. Now the bank is going to use appraisers to help you out - they will try to limit your exposure to 110% of the expected value - but it could happen. So for a buyer to have, in my opinion, a successful 203K loan situation, you need: A) A good understanding of what the home will be worth when the work is done B) Reliable estimates as to the works cost, and what can go wrong C) A home that will pay you back for the effort and equity you build.
The programs are designed for owners, not investors. That means you can only use a 203K on one home at a time - you can't own two homes under this program. But as long as you intend to own the home, most of the guidelines for a 203K are similar to traditional financing. You'll need the credit, work history, and income to qualify for the money, and the home must be worth (within 110%) of it's projected future value. There's a lot there, but basically if you qualify for a traditional loan, you can probably qualify for a 203K. The home needs to meet certain guidelines as well, but most of these can be addressed as part of the process.
Doing work on a home is rarely simple. Navigating through contractors, ideas, plans, architects, and the desires to do "perfect" rooms can sabotage any home improvement project from being effective equity builders. There is definitely the risk that you go significantly over budget and run out of funds. But if you think you can handle the responsibility, and desire an opportunity to make a home with your signature stamp, this can be the way to go.
Lots of types of repairs and updates can be done with 203K funds. An incomplete list: Painting, Decks and Patios, Bath and Kitchen remodeling, Structural repairs, New siding, additions, lead paint mitigation, heat and A/C repairs, plumbing, roofing, flooring, and increasing disabled access.
More Great Financing Info!
Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler
Question about the terms used here? Check my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Statistics. All statistics are for Single Family Homes.
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Lots of Snow in Ashland |
Ashland, MA , Massachusetts: Look out folks, the buyers seem to be back in Ashland. Since the last report, a whopping 17 homes have sold or gone pending. The inventory has been significantly cut, and the market looks really good for sellers right now. With just 25 single families on the market, I would expect bidding wars for attractive property. In fact, roughly 25% of the past sales sold at or above asking - clear evidence that buyers are bumping into each other. Buyers should be prepared for competitive situations for properties that are desirable and new to market.
ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL! No matter if your town is HOT or COLD, a real estate agent who knows the market can help you position your home for sale. (That would be me.) For more detailed reporting on home selling, including breakdowns by price range, contact Matt Heisler of Heisler & Mattson directly!
Matt Heisler is a real-estate professional and owner of Heisler & Mattson Properties. He has been selling residential real-estate for over 20 years. He has given several talks on real estate, including presentations on first-time buyer tips & tricks, and profiting in real estate investing in Massachusetts. As a Vanderbilt University alumnus, he is proud to serve his local community. *All information is posted in good faith and is assumed to be reliable, but may rely on third party information sources.
A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is more fully written as a "Deed taken in lieu of Foreclosure" or "Deed taken instead of foreclosure." It's occasionally misspelled (but phonetically correct) as "Deed in Lou of foreclosure" Basically,
Foreclosure cost each bank a certain amount of money - typically thousands. For most banks, there comes a point where they realize that foreclosure is inevitable, but it may make more financial sense for the bank to cut a deal with the homeowner and take possession of the home - by getting the deed - rather than pursuing the foreclosure process the entire way through the courts or other systems. This can be an effective way for the bank to cut their losses, and for the homeowner to save a lot of time and effort fighting the foreclosure, and just moving on.
REO is short hand for a property that is owned by a financial institution. Usually, these properties are taken through the foreclosure process when the owner of the home stops making full payments, or becomes "in arrears" on their loan payments. But there are other ways, and taking the Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is one of them. Many of these properties have multiple loans on them - first and second mortgages. Both financial institutions need to go through the foreclosure process for compensation, and then they have to fight each other for compensation after the home is sold (although typically they resolve the arrangement before sale). HUD properties, Fannie Mae properties, these are just other ways of saying the property is an REO property, and the financial institutions now hold the Deed.
As noted earilier, a Bank would offer to take the Deed from the homeowner to save the bank money. In a state like Massachusetts, where currently the foreclosure process can take over 500 days from start to finish - on AVERAGE! - that's a long time to wait between checks. Simply put, taking the Deed before Foreclosure can save the bank thousands! So clearly, there's financial incentive for the bank to make an offer to the homeowner. On the homeowners side, well, getting foreclosed on is no fun, and the bank can offer an end to the court dates and wipe the homeowners obligations clean - as long as they get the house.
Anytime you are thinking about purchasing a home that has been taken in Foreclosure, you should, especially now, be at least AWARE that the Foreclosure could be challenged. If the Foreclosure was not done properly, (Hello, Robo-signers), there is the risk that you could get tied up in a legal battle for the home. Now, I'm not much of a rabble-rouser, so before you read on recognize that the chance of that is really, really, small. But that doesn't mean no chance. In situations where the Deeds were taken Lieu of Foreclosure, the chance that it can be challenged goes down, as the number of statutory situations that can be challenged is far lower (the process is simpler) and ultimately you have two parties AGREEING on a solution. There's no agreement in Foreclosure, where the Foreclosure Process is one person saying NO, and the bank saying Yes, and Judge making a determination. At any rate, protect your self with Title Insurance for these properties, that's a really good use for it.
Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler
I've been collected this data on the blog, and, as is my way, I like to summarize it up and publish it for my growing following (thank you readers!). Now, don't just look at the graph and run away, I have some information you need to know! First off, this graph is based on the data of the AVERAGE of all sales in the last six months from the MLS listings. So unlike most real estate price statistics, I'm using an Average, and not a Median. The differences between averages and medians aren't huge, but I will tell you something you can't see from the graph.
It's wrong.
Now, it's NOT TOTALLY wrong. It's not useless. But I will tell you that Medfield and Sudbury are far more expensive than Southborough. But my definition of expensive is what you're paying a square foot to own a home, and Sudbury and Medfield are much more expensive by that definition. So what's up with the graph? Well, Southborough sold a slew of very expensive houses last year. And since there were only 86 sales, these sales pushed the average price metric through the roof. It also dragged the median way up, which lead to a mention in the Boston Globe that Southborough had seen some of the greatest price appreciation in Massachusetts. The Moral of the Story: Medians and Averages are dangerous to look at and draw firm conclusions from over small data sets.
Now having said that, overall the graph is fairly accurate, and as long as you don't take it too literally, useful for understanding where you can get the largest, newest home for the same dollars.
I'm sure you're wondering, if you've read this far, why didn't I just published the square foot metrics? Well, I'm not tracking those numbers just yet, they are much more difficult to get, and have their own issues. But perhaps with a little encouragement in the comment section, I could be persuaded.
Do Good Things Today!
