While it’s only January and the prime spring market is still a couple months away, it’s NOT too early to be prepping for your home search if you’d like to buy this year. Our market moves fast, and you will need to be ready to go when the home of your dreams hits the market. Here are three things you should be doing now: 1. Assess your financial situation & get pre-approved for a mortgage Determine your comfortable monthly housing budget Figure out how much you have available

So you’ve just closed on a lovely condo in a brand new association – congratulations! Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and take care of a few logistical items: MEET YOUR CO-OWNERS Your first order of business should be to set up a meeting of the unit owners to establish roles and set expectations. For example: Who will be the point person for collecting condo fees and paying bills? Do you want to do your own snow removal and landscaping or contract that out? If you’re do

Yes, the stories you are hearing in all the local media are true — the housing market is still going crazy, multiple offers are everywhere, contingencies are being waived left and right and first time buyers are having a VERY tough time breaking into the market. Here are a few real world examples from the market so far this spring: At the beginning of March (very early side of the spring market), I listed a 438 SF condo in mid-Cambridge for $389 — already over any of the comp

This is my final post of a three-part series for Cambridge / Somerville homeowners who want to sell their homes and buy new ones, but aren’t sure how to best manage the process. I’ve already posted on: Strategy #1: Sell, but stay in your current home while you search for a new one Strategy #2: Buy first, then sell Today, I am going to tell you about an option that many people consider, and can make a lot of sense… While no one’s really crazy about the idea of having to move t

This is the second of a three-part series on strategies for homeowners who want to sell their homes and buy new ones. Yesterday I wrote about selling your home and then leasing it back from the buyer while you’re looking for the new place. Today, I am introducing another possible strategy, with more insight from my lovely clients… Strategy #2: Buy first, then sell I cannot emphasize enough that the first thing you should do when you’re thinking about making a move is to look

In a market like ours, where inventory is super low and trying to buy a home can sometimes feel like a competitive death match, one of the most common scenarios I encounter is homeowners who would LOVE to sell their home and buy a bigger/better/different one, but feel trapped by the market. They know they’ll be able to sell their current home, but are paralyzed by the fear of not finding a new one. While this fear is not unfounded, the reality isn’t quite so dire. It is, in f

A couple weeks ago, I had a listing for a condo in Cambridge that received ten offers. The same week, two of my colleagues had eight offers each on their listings. Another had 28. This was not an anomaly, nor is it likely to change anytime soon. So what’s a hopeful homebuyer to do? Well, I’m a big believer in the whole knowledge-is-power thing, so thought it would be helpful for those of you throwing your hats in the ring to understand a bit more about how your offers are bei

It’s been interesting this year looking at the search terms people use to find this blog. Aside from those looking for me specifically, or searching “Cambridgeville,” it seems the two most common searches that lead people here are regarding multiple-offer scenarios and portfolio loans. Since these seem to be the hot topics of the day,  I thought it would be worth reposting both articles, starting here with a Q&A on portfolio loans. I’ve added a couple additional points, which