Quick Reference For Home Buyers & Home Sellers

Buyers and Sellers! Welcome to my collection of articles written especially for you. To facilitate navigation in certain sections I created this page to re-organize these articles by topic. Hopefully this page will prove useful!

General House Hunting Articles	Things about Housing Everyone Should Know
Good Towns for Buyers, Good Towns for Sellers	Home Buying, Step by Step
Common Housing Problems and What to Do	Financing
Common Expenses when Buying or Selling Homes	After You Move In
Remodeling Slideshows for Kitchens, Baths, and others!	Newsletters

House Hunting

Coolest Map of the Commuter Rail you will find for house hunting.
Town Assessments and Home Prices, Why are they Different? Most buyers are confused about town assessments. This may help.
House Styles: An overview A useful overview for new home buyers who are not familiar with home styles and the role they play in what you might purchase. Send me pictures of homes that you aren't clear on, and I'll let you know what they are.
Real Estate Terms and Definitions: Helps you sound like a pro!
Massachusetts Towns Tax Rates, from most to least: Taxes are an important part of any town. Although higher taxes generally correlate with more services and better schools, this is not always the case. You can also see this list with year over year changes alphabetically AND sorted by the biggest changes in the rates.
Relocating to Massachusetts: Strategy Guide Moving to a new state is stressful and difficult. But with the right strategy, you'll be thrilled where you end up.
What is 40B Zoning and how does it impact affordable housing. And what is affordable housing?
Buying New Construction: It's not a Toaster. Everyone likes new. But with housing, new is not always better. Find out why.
Buying Condos An innovative look (with Map) of many of the condo associations in Metrowest.
How to Buy a Foreclosure without Getting Ripped Off. Are you ready for the major leagues?
Should I use a Buyer Agent?
Using an MLS E-mailer Many people are not using them. Why?
How to Read My Market Analysis Reports (and you should!)
Do I need to Use the Same Agent to Buy and Sell?
Best Month to Buy or Sell Real Estate Every year is different, but there is a typical seasonal pattern.
My own consolidation of the 2013 MCAS for a quick overview
A Summary of the 2009 MCAS for easy consumption
What is a betterment? What do home buyers and home sellers need to know?
Thinking about buying a pool? Here's what you need to know about Gunite and Liner Pools.

Things about Housing Everyone Should Know

How much more will I pay if my house has Heating Oil instead of Nat Gas? The answer will shock you.
Matt's four part series on Home Heat Distribution System
House Hunting Myths I could have a lot more than five, but these are pretty common.
What Everyone should Know about Foundations You can't have a good house without a good foundation.
Well Water and City Water: What's the Diff? Never had a well before? Suspicious of city water? Your questions answered.
Title Insurance: What is it, do I need it, and how much am I going to get charged for it?
Top 10 Things Everyone Should Know about Condominiums
2x4 vs. 2x6 construction. Is it really a big deal?
A good overview on how to get up to speed on how to read a Title V report Learn how to evaluate this component of your house!
Household Dangers! Well, potential dangers is probably more accurate.

Good Towns for Buyers, Good Towns for Sellers

These articles, when published, are among my most popular.

2016 Wrap-up - Most expensive and least expensive.
Fall Numbers: Home Prices, Hot Markets, and Historical Price Tracking.
Spring 2015 Dollars per Square foot , Price changes since 2012 , Hottest and Coldest Towns
2014 Price changes since 2012!
August 2013: Original Dollars per Square Foot Analysis, and Metrowest Change in Prices
Hottest and Coldest Towns, March 2014
Hottest and Coldest Towns, July 2013
Hottest and Coldest Towns in Metrowest, June 2012
The First Look at $Dollars per Sq foot February, 2012
Best & Worst Towns to be a home buyer or seller, January 2012
October 2011: Best & Worst Towns to be a home buyer or seller
April 2011: Best & Worst Towns to be a home buyer or seller
January 2011: Best & Worst Towns to be a home buyer or seller
Most Expensive Towns
How to Find a Safe Area to Buy a Home

Home Buying and Selling, Step by Step

Getting Organized for the Big Clean before Selling.
I know I need to Declutter. Got any ideas how? Yes, indeed.
Home Staging Basics for Potential Sellers
What to know before going Condo!
Next Steps after Signing an Offer (buyers)
Next Steps after Signing an Offer (sellers)
Included and Excluded - Don't Assume you know what's included!
Our growing Checklist Section for buyers and sellers!
Lead Paint Inspections Why you may consider doing a lead paint inspection.
Should you Drop a Contingency to make your offer more attactive?
Closing on Your Home Checklist
Local Town Numbers and Utilities

Common Housing Problems and What to Do

What is Title V, and What do I need to Know? Title V affects 30-40% of all homes in Metrowest. Know what it is, and what it means.
Radon Radon is very common in this area.
How do I know if a Basement Gets Water? Sump pumps for everyone!
Knob and Tube WiringSneaky Cost alert!
Arsenic in Well Water It's not unsolvable, but forewarned is forearmed.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors. The Seller's responsibility, but it can't hurt to be up to date.
Ice Dams. Good Education on how they form, and how you can prevent them.

Financing

Should I get pre approval from a lender BEFORE looking at homes? It may be more important than you think.
What is a 203K rehab loan?See a property that's a Diamond in the rough but needs money for repairs? A 203K may be the answer to your needs.
Should I get an Adjustable or Fixed Rate Mortgage?This age old question is a math problem - but can reduce risk or save you money if answered correctly.
How to Stop paying PMI?Understanding how your lender calcualtes your home's value is key.
Is my Condo eligible for FHA financing?When borrowing for a condo, both you and the condo complex must qualify.
PMI is expensive. But Pre-paying PMI at purchasecan save you thousands - if you don't move anytime soon, that is.
What the heck is a commitment letter? You can read about them hereand learn what you need to know about this important aspect of your financing.
Does the Seller REALLY pay closing costs? Would you pay them if you were selling? Thought so.
Will TRID screw up my closing? Maybe. Turns out the FEDS aren't done messing with home buyers.
With an FHA loan, you'll need an FHA appraisal There are some differences and restrictions - let's see what they are.

Common Expenses when Buying or Selling Homes

Closing Costs: Who wins when the Seller Pays them?
What are typical closing costs for a home mortgage?
What is a Home Owners Association Fee?
PMI and Pre-payment Options
Declaration of Homestead
Property Transfer Excise Tax that Home Sellers Pay
All about Title Insurance

After You Move In

Oil Delivery Contracts
Should I Purchase a Fence?
My Top Ten Ways to Save Money On Your Home is a good start for homeowners.
Are Solar Panels a Good Investment?
How to take care of your driveway and concrete walks
The latest in Lighting: LED lightbulbs, subtitled, goodbye, crappy CFLs!
What should the humidity in my home be?
Ouch! My taxes are too high - should I file an abatement to get my assessment reduced?

Remodeling Ideas for Kitchens, Baths and Other Slideshows

Each of these links will take you to a slide show full of great ideas!

Investing Tips

New Landlord Starter Guide
Security Deposit Overview (not legal advice)
Can I buy a house for Free?
Thoughts on buying 1-bedrooms as Investment Properties
Time to Sell? Don't make these Mistakes
Buying Property at Auction - With Limited Funds
Signing Leases - Avoid Rookie Mistakes
Pre-Foreclosures - How Do I Buy One?
Flipping Example
How to Buy Short-Sales
Make Money on That Foreclosure Purchase!

Newsletters

You can read back issues of my newsletters here.

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.