2. You deduct it: Mortgage interest, property taxes and some costs involved with buying a home can be deducted from federal income taxes.

3. Interest rates: The cost to borrow mortgage money is at an all-time low. If you’re going to buy, this is the time to jump into the market.

4. You invest in it: Rent money is gone forever. Mortgage payments build home equity ownership interests.

5. You save for the future: Home equity is a ready-made savings plan. Sell it and you can make up to $250,000 cash without owing any federal income tax on the profit.

6. You can predict expenses: Unlike rent, a fixed-mortgage payment doesn’t get more expensive over time.

7. You pick it: Choose from different neighborhoods, styles and price ranges.

8. You create it: Decorate, renovate, get a pet or paint the walls whatever color you want – it belongs to you.

9. You live in a neighborhood: You and your neighbors take pride in the local schools, roads and more – and you work together to build a friendly community.

10. You spend money on yourself: When you buy a chandelier or hardwood floor or kitchen cabinet, you’re spending hard-earned money on yourself and building your equity at the same time.

A multi-family home is a home with two or more rental units. The most popular for the 1^st time home buyer home is the two family home. These homes offer the best square footage and easy landlord management (you only have one rental unit to take care of).

There are many benefits a multi-family property can offer. The following are a few example good examples:

1) When a buyer applies for a loan, the income derived from the rental unit(s) can be incorporated into the loan equation, increasing your purchasing power and possibly increasing your loan amount.

2) The income earned each month from paying tenant(s) will help to offset some mortgage payments, property taxes and utility expenses, reducing out of pocket cost to the property owner. No single family home or condo can do that.

3) Over time, the rental income will increase because of market rents. After a few years, the out of pocket expenses reduce and income increases to the owner. It's not unusual to see a multi-family owner purchase a single family home, keeping their multi-family home too. At this point the rental income can support the property itself and allows the owner to purchase a second home. Now the owner has an income property which is a nice little nest egg for future use. I've seen, over my years as a REALTOR, home owners accumulate more than two homes increasing their rental income.

In the past few years, the multi-family market has changed. In 2007, investors were purchasing these homes and then converting them into condos, selling each unit off separately. These purchases increased the market value of the home to where they were un-affordable to the regular owner occupied buyer. When the market crashed, prices dropped dramatically, but the damage was done. There are now less conventional multi-family rental homes than before. The banks are stricter in their lending practices, leaving a struggling market place for multi-family homes.

Waltham’s rental market is on the up swing for the moment as I write this. In the past month, rental prices have increased on an average of 12% and are still rising. 2002 was the last time the rental market had a boost like this.

For the some people a multi-family purchase is a great stepping stone and can be a lucrative investment.

Well, here I go! This is about a simple, maybe not so easy, repair/maintenance you can do to prevent basement flooding and water damage to your home. CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS.

I know it seems simple enough to clean them out but, seriously, a lot of people don't. For the most part, it's not that easy. It requires climbing a ladder and heights, the two things that people don't like or are scared to do.

It has to be done. Cleaning your gutters will ensure rain water will flow off the roof and not into your house. I've seen houses that will get water in the basement after it rains, simply because the gutters plugged. You also need to make sure your downspouts are clear too. It doesn't take much time before our little friend the chipmunk builds a nests in them which further clogs them up. A clean gutter and downspout makes it very difficult for our furry friend to build a home. While cleaning your gutters, you should check to see how far the downspouts push the water away from the foundation. If they just drop all the water against the foundation, it's going to eventually find its way in to the house. To help move the water away from the house, add downspout extenders. They help channel the rain water away from the foundation. Downspout extenders are very affordable, easy to install, and come in all sorts of sizes, style and length to fit any job.

Sometime you need a little more than an extender to help channel the water away from the house; you may need to grade the land around your house so there is a slight slope. This naturally will channel water flow away.

Rain water mitigation will reduce the likelihood of basement flooding. Water problems are big hot buttons in real estate and it can cost a home owner, not only in repairs, but also in equity. Homes with water issues loose value and have an increased market time. If you can fix a water problem, it's worth it for many reasons. Basements are becoming new living spaces and having a home with a new space or the potential to have a new space constructed will increase saleability and overall value.

So why is the market slow? I believe there are a number of reasons which are all contributing to the slowdown. One, is the total number of buyers out looking for a home. It’s more difficult to qualify for a home loan than in the past. The banks and mortgage lenders are being very selective and stringent in the pre-approval process. This will limit the number of buyers in the buying pool. Also buyers are increasing there search area and looking in multiple communities. In the past, a buyer may have had two communities they concentrated on in their search area. Today, it’s not unusual for a buyer to have three or even four other communities, thinning the flock of buyer even further. Lastly, until inventory decreases we’ll have a slowing of the market. It takes buyers a lot more time to view all the homes in their price range and as more homes come on the market, buyers are reluctant to "pull the trigger” because, the buyer feels a better home could be just around the proverbial corner and are waiting to see if it will come on the market. Lastly, buyers are also waiting for prices to drop even more.

Home pricing can compound the issue because while new listing are coming on the market, sellers have a tendency to price their homes a little hirer than the current market will bare. I’m not saying the homes are being over priced but, sellers are pushing the limits at the beginning of the listing period. If a seller chooses to over price their home in the beginning, then as the listing sits, small price adjustment are necessary before a home may attract a buyer. The first price reductions on a property may be considered and assessed in the second to third week in the listing period, again adding to the slowing market place.

I believe the market place is poised to get stronger. As employment is on the rise and more people feel more secure in the jobs. For additional information regarding the current market refer to my housing reports for Single Family, Condominiums and Multi-Family properties.

Manage your money: New mortgage rules: MyFoxBOSTON.com

The Home Protection Plan is a product used by some REALTOR’s, like me, to add a layer of confidence and saleability to a home. In general, you can compare it to an extended warrantee for a car. The program protects all the "working” components and mechanical systems of a home from unexpected and costly breakdowns and repairs for one year after the buyer takes possession of the property. It covers plumbing, electrical, heating (some time limited), Air conditioning (sometimes limited) and most appliances. The program can even extend to the seller during the listing period.

Why would you want this? That’s simple, older homes have older working parts which buyers notice. A buyer walking into an older home starts thinking "what if” this breaks, or that fails? A plan like the HPP can take away the feeling of unknown "costs” with older homes and give the buyer a level of comfort that if "something” breaks, it’s covered and won’t effect their tight operating budget.

The HPP allows older home to compete with younger homes in the market place and is known to help a house fetch a better price. My past buyer clients know the HPP as a "DEAL SAVER” allowing them to buy a house the really love knowing a mechanical breakdown won’t break the bank. The HPP also can also help home inspection negotiations.

I always use the ERA Home Protection Plan and stand by the product. There is a fee to the program which will cost about $400. I personally feel this program is fantastic and have seen what it can do for both sellers and buyers. That’s why I will cover the cost of the program every time.

If you want further information on the HPP, please give me a call. I’d be more than happy to tell you all about it.

I have a quaint 2 bedroom Ranch style home with 2 bedrooms and 1 full bath. house at 178 College Farm Rd. listing number 71161030. The asking price is $254,900.

The house has a very large foot print. (A homes foot print is the size of the overall foundation.) In this area of Waltham, finding a home with such a large foundation in this price range is challenging. The rooms consist of entry 4 season front porch, large fire placed living room, large dining room with built in cupboard, eat-in kitchen with access to basement and back 3 season porch, 2 very large bedroom, and a semi- finished basement. The home has, according to the owner, hardwood flooring under the carpeting, a one car garage under and walk up attic.

The home will require much needed TLC such as, paint, and decorating, windows, landscaping, updating of bath and kitchen and a renovation of the basement. The home is in livable condition and you can easily complete the work over time. I would suggest having the hardwood floors refinished prior to moving in. Because of the overall size of the house, I believe all money invested in this house, over time, could be made back in equity. Waltham housing market has always been strong with only small reductions in value even in the worst economy. With all work completed on the house I could easily price the house around $339,000. I do not think that would be unreasonable.

My seller is motivated and is exited to find a buyer for her home. She has lived in the house since it was first built.

If this home is in your price range and you’re not scared to roll up you sleeves and get your hands dirty this home may be what you are looking for.

Please contact me personally if you have any interest.

In other towns like Weston, Wayland and Sudbury, private septic systems are the norm. Today’s typical newer installed systems are little engineering marvels. In a nut shell, all waist water from the house pipes into a big tank where the solid waist stays and the liquid moves, via gravity, to the distribution box which is situated next to the big tank. The distribution tank then feeds the liquid down a series of pipes that spreads out over a large area of sand and gravel called a leaching field. The pipes have hole which allows the liquid to "leach” into the sand and gravel, filtering it back to the ground water.

Older homes, that have original septic systems, will usually have a cesspool. A cesspool is a large round tank made from concrete blocks with lots of large holes in it surrounded by gravel. The liquid is "leached” out from the sides and bottom of the tank through the gravel. Older cesspools fail simply because of many years of use; the gravel becomes clogged with solids. The tanks leaching properties diminished and the system stops functioning property. If this happens a new system must be installed. This is not cheap. On average a new basic septic system can cost $15,000 or higher. The more complex the system required for the property and home will increase the price exponentially.

Before a house can sell, the septic system must be tested using a test called Title V. A system receiving a passing grade from Title V is only good for one year and won’t guarantee the system from failure later. Homes that have cesspools can also pass Title V, even though those types of systems are obsolete. Title V considers the rate of which water leaches from the system, how full the system is when it’s opened, the type of material used it its construction and the overall condition of the system, to name a few requirements.

If a system fails Title V, the failure is recorded in the health department. Under current state laws a failed system has one year to be replace. Replacing a system requires the homeowner to hire a septic system engineer who will design the system. There are a multitude of steps that needed before a septic plan can receive a stamp of approval from the town in which the home is in. After stamped and approved plans are submitted to a septic system installer/contractor and a new system can be installed.

It’s customary the seller has the responsibility of installing the new system prior to closing. However, in some cases the buyer may have to take on the installation.

One of my proudest achievements was being president of the club from 2008-09. It was hard work but well worth it. I learned a lot from my experience and expanded my communication skills.

One project I have been very involved with, for the last 9 years, is a fundraiser called Death By Chocolate. This past Sunday was its 10th year and it was fantastic. Death by Chocolate better known to the committee as DBC is a joint effort with the Rotary Clubs of Newton and Waltham. The basic idea is to invite chefs, restaurants, caterers, and other confectioners to compete in five categories; best brownie, best cake, best cookie, best candy and best unique desert. The vendors offer bites size pieces for tasting and judging. We then sell tickets to the public to the event where they taste and judge all the desert creations in each category. During the event is a silent auction and kids raffle give-a-way.

It’s a fun day of tasting tons of chocolaty goodness and meeting interesting people. The downside is all the hard work. That said, without these types of events The Rotary Club of Waltham and Newton could not give out scholarships, and supporting non-profits in the area.

I believe everyone should pay it forward. I also believe that you should do more than make a monetary donation. Your time is more valuable and more appreciative to those you are helping. So when you have an opportunity to jump in and help some body or group in need, please help. A little time goes a long way.

www.rotary.org

www.walthamrotary.org

The flood zone is determined by FEMA. FEMA calculates flooding risks by looking at 100 year flood cycles and 500 year cycles and then rates the area according to these cycles. From time to time FEMA re-evaluates and re-maps areas, which just happened this passed June in Waltham. After the re-mapping, a lot of home owners who once were not in flood zones found themselves now living in flood zones.

As a result of the re-mapping, mortgage companies/lender and/or banks started to check on current loans to see if the property was now situated in flood zones. If so, they would send a letter to the homeowner instructing them, they are now require to have flood insurance.

If you are looking to buy and you find a house in a flood zone, please don’t disregard it, do a little homework and ask a lot of questions. If a home has had flooding issues in the past, find out what precautions has the homeowner made to ensure it won’t happen again. Did they install a French drain or other water mitigation systems? Find out the cost of the insurance also. Most insurance companies can give you a quote based on the listing sheet information. This insurance can be pricey.

If you are a home seller and your home is in a flood zone, this could effect price a little, but it will affect saleability. If you own a home in a flood zone, price accordingly and be prepared to negotiate. Being creative in your marketing can help too. Lastly, always disclose, disclose, disclose. Make sure you tell the buyer everything you know. It will make for a smoother transaction.

For the past few year or so rates have been at historic lows. Many buyers and homeowners looking to refinance locked in rates pretty close to 4%.

Now, slowly the rates are climbing are hovering around 5% and experts say they will still keep creeping up. It had to happen and we the real estate business, have been warning that this was going to happen.

It’s still a great time to buy and sell. Yes with higher rates buyers price ranges are affected a little but 5% is a still a great rate. In 1992 when I purchase my home I paid 8%. As the rates came down I re-financed.

Just because rates are high doesn’t mean buyers should stop buying or sellers should stop selling. Buy now and refinance later. Waiting is always risky for both home sellers and buyers. If buyers wait home prices could go up and they could end up purchasing "less” home for more money. Seller can be hurt too. The best time to buy and sell is when you are ready to do so. Sometimes we don’t know we had a great market until it’s over.

To see if you can afford to buy a home, visit www.homebuyergo.com

The buyer, wanted to purchase a condominium in the mid to lower $200,000. As recommended by any REALTOR, she instructed her client to seek financing before searching for a home. Like most of today’s buyers, they didn’t have a large down payment; I believe it was roughly 5% and after speaking with a mortgage broker, the loan that best fit their needs was a Fannie Mae product.  My co-worker, having years of experience with this sort of loan, knew condominiums would have stringent requirements. She took it upon herself to ask the mortgage broker for a breakdown of the requirements and made sure any property they showed interest in, could qualify for the loan. She also confirmed with the mortgage broker that this loan was the right choice for her client.

Soon enough the buyer found a condominium, negotiated an agreed price and signed the offer. Before which, my co-worker spoke with the mortgage broker about the Fannie Mae requirements and confirmed this purchase would close.

Literally, 8 hours after the accepted offer, the mortgage broker soon discovered, under his guidelines, the unit did not qualify nor did the buyer qualify for a loan. Here’s the issue; since the mortgage broker was a secondary, "re-seller” for Fannie Mae, the already strict guild lines become stricter. The Mortgage broker, not being well versed in Fannie Mae lending, didn’t understand ALL the requirements at the time of the pre-approval and now could not qualify the buyer for a loan once a FULL application was filed.

As you can imagine the buyer was upset to say the least. My co-worker asked me for some help and in less than a few seconds I handed her a name of a trusted mortgage consultant who… Saved the day!

As REALTORs, we have a short list, of very good, qualified and trusted mortgage professionals who will get the job done. Always talk to your friends and family or anyone you may know, who has recently purchased a property, for their recommendations. Remember the less you put down and specialty loans will have more requirements to qualify. Always ask questions, no mater how dumb you might think they are.

For more about Fannie Mae visit: www.fanniemae.com

February is now upon us and it’s time to report on the real estate market conditions in Waltham, MA.

January showed a decline in sales across the board. There were only twelve sales in the single family market, eleven sales in the condominium market and one sale in the multi-family market (2 – 4 unit buildings). Prices have come down a bit, but that’s not unusual for this time of year. Inventory has decreased and I attribute that to the weather. I mean really, if your not in a rush to sell, why do it in this weather.

We’ll have to see what February brings us. I have a feeling the listing inventory will drop a little more. Potential seller will be slow to place their home on the market for a number of weather related reasons, but some are in the midst of fixing water damage to their home due to ice damming.

For the people out there thinking of buying and selling I have three words, GO FOR IT! for all you buyers, in this present market, some sellers are more willing to negotiate, especially if their homes have been on the market for while. If you thinking of selling your home keep this in mind, the listing inventory needs a boost. There are a lot of buyers who have seen the entire inventory in their particular price range. Any new listing will attract a LOT of attention. Remember to properly price your home.If you need help doing that Let me HELP, and click on the Free Market Analysis.

I invite you to look at the market data yourself. So please feel free to download it.

Sometimes I like to go off the beaten path of real estate and talk a little about home maintenance. This post is one of them.

Living in Waltham, MA and more importantly in New England; we have to face the fact we have all types of crazy weather. This winter season we have been hit hard with lots of snow. When it piles up, especially on a roof, it can start to cause serious issues. One of the most common is the ICE DAM.

An ice dam forms, when snow on the roof melts and flows into the gutters which also have snow in it and freezes. Soon the ice and builds up on itself, forming a dam which stops the water from flowing off the roof. As it backs up against itself, it keeps freezing backward up the roof where soon the water has only one place to go, under the roofing shingles and into the house. Common places to see water dripping in the house are around the top windows and doors. Ice Dams, once formed, are hard to treat. I found a simple, smart way to remedy this problem; and it gets the water flowing off the roof once again. Its call the Ice Dam Sock and it works.

The ice dam sock is easy to assemble with commonly found materials around the house. Find an old tube sock(s) or stocking(s) with no holes and fill it with standard ice melt. Once the sock is full, tie the end up and attach some rope, twine or heavy string to the end of the sock with the knot. You now have yourself an ice dam sock. Place the sock on the roof, making sure it’s perpendicular with the roof. In other words, one end of the sock is pointing towards the peak of the roof and the other is almost hanging over the gutter. In a short time, the melting power of the sock creates a channel for the water to travel directing it off the roof. After some time, you may want to move the sock to another area of the roof or for best results; make a few more socks. To help demonstrate this technique I found a video.

I really hope you don’t ever have an ice dam but if you do this trick may work, it did for me.

This is a great question! At the beginning of any home search buyers end up building a huge list of home they want to see. Which is OK to do but, there are some thoughts I have about seeing ALL OF THEM in one day.

I like to tell my buyers to do some of there own research before scheduling viewing. This will entail a drive by and neighborhood visit. I suggest any buyer to look at the area first, drive around the neighborhood and then drive by the property. Once this is done, in most cases the once lengthy home list narrows down. Now you it time to schedule appointments.

I strongly suggest scheduling only four and no more than five homes in a viewing day. After four homes most buyers start merging all the information on each house with the others. They begin to have trouble remember the specific features of each home which becomes a problem when they find one to purchase.  Remembering homes, even for an expert can be difficult. Smaller home viewing lists make it easier and more manageable and actually can speed up the decision process.

Making this process simpler at the beginning will yield quicker results. Taking notes on each house is always a good idea too.