Fall in Love with a Boston Home This Valentine’s Day!

Are you ready to buy a Boston home? Now is the perfect time to do it! Consumer confidence is at its highest level in over a decade, which is expected to create a very robust Boston real estate market. Already, foot traffic is higher than usual this time of year. Boston homebuyers want to buy now, while mortgage rates are still at record lows. Don’t miss out!

As your Boston real estate agent, I would love to help you through the home-buying process. I have some tips I’d like to share with you on how to know when you’ve found “the one.” Similar to how you know when you’ve found the one to marry and spend the rest of your life with, finding the house you’ll spend many years living in is an important decision, too!

Here are some tips from RIS Media to help you know when it’s the one:

• The home makes you happy. It sound simple, but sometimes checking in with your intuition is the best way of knowing if you’ve found the right Boston home. Do you feel anxious, or like you’d like to keep looking, or do you feel excited and hopeful when you think about the home? Just like in a relationship, butterflies in the stomach can occur when you’ve found your Boston dream home, too!

• The home has a strong foundation. You need a strong foundation in a relationship, but also with a home. Of course, we’re talking literally with a home. Make sure to have an inspection done to find out if the Boston home needs any repairs, and if it does, if the Boston home seller is willing to pay for them. If the home is good to go, you’ve found a winner!

• The home meets your need. Why are you buying a Boston home? Are you relocating for work, or are you buying bigger for your growing family? Do you want to be closer to a bustling downtown, or further away in a family-friendly, quiet neighborhood? Consider the home and the area around the home, and if it suits all of your needs.

• The home supports your future. Don’t just think about whether the Boston home has what you need right now. Think about your future too, because you’ll most likely be spending many years living in this home! Can you visualize raising a family, or retiring as empty nesters, or living on your own in that particular neighborhood? Can you imagine nights out on the patio, and cooking dinners in the kitchen.

Whether you buy your Boston dream home this Valentine’s Day, or sometime in the months to come, I’d love to help you out! Contact me, your Boston real estate agent. I will help you make sure that you have found “the one” before you officially close on your new living space.

Patti Fine

Phone: 617-642-7585
Email: pf@pattifine.com

Patti Fine Real Estate

Greater Boston Area Homes

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Why to Buy a Boston, MA Home This Holiday Season!

As your Boston real estate agent, I’d like to first wish you a happy holiday! Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and right afterward begins the never-ending lineup of holiday events around Boston, MA. Hopefully you are feeling rested and ready to spend time with family and friends.

Did you know that the holiday season is also an excellent time to buy a Boston home? I know it doesn’t seem like it, since everyone is so busy and the weather is so cold. Plus, inventory decreases in the winter, as not as many Boston home sellers get involved this time of year.

Even so, there are many perks to buying a Boston home in the winter! As your Boston real estate agent, I’ve summed up these perks here for you:

• Only serious home sellers are out. If you’re eager to buy a home, now is the time to do it. Only serious Boston home sellers have their homes listed right now, which means they are more likely to negotiate a price and agree to closing terms. They want to sell as much as you want to buy!

• You have less competition. Only serious Boston homebuyers are out buying during the holidays, too. That means you have less competition among other buyers now than you will come spring. This gives you more time to make decisions and negotiate terms.

• Lenders are loosening their requirements. With less business in the winter, lenders have more time to help you, the process will go much faster, and the down payment requirements aren’t as stiff. If you don’t have a lot of money saved, now is the time to apply for a mortgage!

• You’ll see the house in a new light. Find out what Boston homes look like in the dead of winter. This will allow you to get an idea of heating costs, insulation quality, snow drifts, drafts and more. It’s easy to make a home look good in the summer, but winter is the real deal!

• Home prices and mortgage rates are going up. In 2014, almost all real estate experts predict that home prices and mortgage rates will rise. This means more money upfront and a higher monthly mortgage. The sooner you buy, the less it’ll cost you!

As you can see, there are many benefits to buying a Boston home during the winter season. However, with less inventory of homes in the Boston real estate market right now, you might have to lessen your home requirements and know that you might not find exactly what you’re looking for. Or, maybe you will! There is only one way to find out.

When you’re ready to become a Boston homebuyer, or you have questions, contact me! As a Boston real estate agent, I’m always here to help you, no matter the season.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a safe Black Friday!

Patti Fine
Phone: 617-642-7585
Email: pf@pattifine.com
Patti Fine Real Estate
Greater Boston Area Homes
Search Greater Boston Area Homes

How to Make Your Boston, MA Home Offer Stand Out

As your Boston real estate agent, I’m here to tell you that buying a Boston home in the winter, around the holidays, is a great idea. I know it doesn’t seem like it is, but you have less competition from other Boston homebuyers, and agents and lenders are often less busy and have more time for you. Also, you get to see homes in a whole new light. It’s easy to make a home look good in the summer, but what is it like in the winter? Feel any drafts? How high is the heat set?

With home prices continuing to rise and with low inventory in the Boston real estate market this time of year, it’s important you learn how to make your offer stand out to Boston home sellers. Boston.com shared some tips recently that I have summarized here for you:

• Likeable. Letting the seller know why you’d like to live in their home is a good step to take. Chances are, the Boston home seller fell in love with their home while living in it, so they’d like to know they are selling it to someone who will make it just as meaningful. Write a letter! Speak from the heart.

• Quick inspection, no repairs. A Boston homebuyer shouldn’t need more than five days to get an inspector to the house, especially in the off-season, so don’t take 15! The Boston home seller could still turn down your offer. Make it quick, and consider an “as is” approach, where you’ll have the option to accept the house or walk, but the seller doesn’t have to make repairs.

• Noncontingent offers. With so many cash buyers out there now, waiving the contingencies on financing or appraisal are options to stand out from the rest of buyers. Just realize that both of these methods are risky. Only agree to these if you have a trustworthy lender or a good amount of money saved.

• Escalated offer. You don’t have to hold out with your best offer, and play the counteroffer game. If a seller has numerous buyers interested, they could just accept the best offer and run with it. Don’t be afraid to make your first offer your best offer. You could also add an escalation clause.

• Get preapproved. It’s almost standard now for sellers to only choose Boston homebuyers who are preapproved. Visit a lender in Boston, MA before you even begin your home search, and get a preapproval letter to verify that you qualify for a loan.

For more details on each of these, check out the Boston.com article or contact me with questions! 

You don’t have to do all of these, or any of them. They are just examples of how you could stand out in a group of homebuyers when inventory is low. As your Boston real estate agent, I can help you determine what the best action is for you to take as a Boston homebuyer this winter.

Patti Fine
Phone: 617-642-7585
Email: pf@pattifine.com
Patti Fine Real Estate
Greater Boston Area Homes
Search Greater Boston Area Homes