When: Wednesday, September 29th from 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Where: Medford Fire Station 5
Zero Medford Street (at the intersection of Medford Street and Main Street)

Each spring and fall I team up with a local real estate attorney, John Masciarelli, and we offer a free seminar to the public to help educate people about what to expect if you decide to sell your property. John and I discuss marketing, the legal aspects of selling, current market conditions and leave plenty of time for your questions.

Learn What To Expect In This Market When Selling Your

* SINGLE FAMILY HOME * MULTI-FAMILY * CONDO * INVESTMENT PROPERTY

John Masciarelli, A local real estate attorney and I will discuss:

• Foreclosures and Short Sales
• How Do We Determine Value?
• Can I Sell My Property Without Paying Capital Gains Taxes?
• How Do We Prepare Our Home For Sale?
• How Do We Sell Our Investment Property With Tenants?

For those who pre-register: we will review the most recent sales in your area. Sign up by September 28th by calling (781) 446-9720 or reserve your seat below.

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Why rent when you can own this 2 bedroom corner condo and take advantage of today’s low interest rates? This sunny condo has been freshly painted and features new carpeting and vinyl flooring along with a new stove and refrigerator. There is an open floor plan in the main living area so you can be in the kitchen while still being part of the activity in the living room.

Do you have a lot of “stuff”? This condo has many closets as well as a large private additional storage space in the basement.

There’s coin operated laundry just one floor down the back staircase making laundry day easy. This unit comes with the right to park one car in the Highland Ave. driveway on a “first come” basis.

The condo is located only 0.6 miles to the Malden Center T so you can leave your car at home and commute to work. Don’t feel like cooking dinner? Take your choice of the many nearby restaurants in Edgeworth.

Problems can occur when a seller pays off a mortgage but the discharge (the paperwork from the bank showing that the loan has been paid) is not recorded at the Registry of Deeds. This happens a lot when people refinance. No one thinks any more about the discharge until right before the closing. With bank failures and mergers, it’s quite possible that the bank that held your previous mortgage might not be in business. That makes it even harder to track down and obtain the discharge.

If you’re thinking of selling, you can go online to the Registry of Deeds to see what liens are oustanding on your property.

Most title problems related to discharges of old mortgages can be cleared up in a few days, but there are the odd cases that can take weeks to straighten out. Save yourself a headache down the road. If you refinance, make sure that the release for your old mortgage is recorded at the Registry of Deeds.

1. Sign the deed in advance transferring ownership to the new owner. Your signauture must be notarized. The deed is the only paperwork in Massachusetts that must have your original signature.
2. Give a limited power of attorney to someone who will be attending the closing. Your real estate attorney is normally the best person to handle this. They will then sign the rest of the closing documents for you.
3. Give your attorney a copy of your drivers license. This proves you are you to the buyer’s bank and the closing attorney.

That’s all there is to it! Some sellers do choose to be at the closing, but realize that it’s a choice, not a necessity in Masschusetts.

So how can you put your house for sale and make it as easy as possible for buyers and their agents to see your house?

4 Ways To Make Your House Showing Friendly

1. Leave the house for all showings. Buyers need to feel comfortable opening the cabinets and closets. They need to try the house on for size and don’t feel comfortable doing this if the seller is home.
2. Make sure the house is ready to show each morning. Pop the dishes in the dishwasher and make the bed. A last minute showing can be a great buyer.
3. Use a lockbox. Gone are the days when real estate agents will pick up keys at the listing agent’s office. I’d rather have the keys securely at your house.
4. Use a showing service to schedule showings on your house. My clients always know which agent is showing their house when and have the ability to confirm all appointments. We can block times that aren’t good for showings so that agents can see the time frames that are bad before they try to schedule a time with their client.

The easier your house is to show, the better chance you’ll not only find the right buyer, but they’ll also have the time and space they need to try the house on for size and want to make it their own.

Malden T living at this beautiful 2 level condo! Main living level has open floor plan & Juliet balcony to bring in the sun. Start your day with coffee at the breakfast bar. Spacious MBR with 2 closets & private balcony for relaxing. Gleaming hardwood floors on main level, stairs & 2nd floor hallway.New Berber carpeting in bedrooms. Freshly painted, central air, economical gas heat and cooking too. Stackable washer/dryer and additional storage. 2 covered parking spaces. 1/2 mile to Malden Center T. WalkScore of 74

I’ve added a new wide angle lens to my camera set up and I’m very pleased with the results. As usual, I spent a lot of time researching my decision and choose a Raynox lens because of their low distortion rates.

Look at how much more of the room you can see. Now instead of just shooting the seller’s furniture, I can show off so much more of the house itself!

Beautifully Maintained 2 Family Near Tufts
$539,900
www.55Woods.com

Meticulously maintained 2 family home near Tufts. Sunny owner’s unit has modern kitchen. Central air keeps you cool in summer. Hardwood floors throughout (even in the kitchens). Bonus den and office on 2nd floor. Newer gas heating systems (2001 & 2007). Replacement windows or Anderson windows everywhere except back porches. Recessed lights. The owners have maximized outside enjoyment with a deck and garden. There’s even a sour cherry tree & peach tree. 1/2 mile to Tufts and 1.3 mi to Davis Sq.

The positive side to the story is that my family learned about credit freezes. Many times identify thieves will use your information to apply for new credit. This way they can have the new credit card sent to their address and by the time the victim finds out, it’s normally too late. If you put a freeze on your credit with the 3 credit reporting agencies, Experion, Trans Union and Equifax, then they will not give out copies of your credit report to anyone new. (This will not affect any companies you currently have credit with.) Reputable lending companies won’t give out new loans or credit cards without access to your credit report.

You can freeze your credit online, by phone or by mail. Here are the credit freeze links for each of the credit reporting agencies:

• Equifax
• Trans Union
• Experian

You can temporarily lift the freeze if you do want to get new credit because you are buying a house or you’d like a new credit card. In Massachusetts there is a $5 fee per credit reporting agency for each time you place or lift the freeze. In some states, the fee is $10. IMHO, $15 is a small price to pay to know that no one is taking out a mortgage in my name that I don’t know about!

My father’s story has a happy ending – the police caught the thieves and the case is being prosecuted by the DA.