Property Values in towns west of Boston..Ashland,Framingham,Natick and metrowest.

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Interested in more specifics on property values? Call me at 1-508-561-7424 or search here to access to all listings on Greater Boston Multiple Listing Service .

Price your home properly and re-evaluate every 30 days or less. There is nothing worse than overpricing your home no matter what anyone tells you. Statistically homes that are priced right sell close to the asking price. The market has undergone some corrections in the last 2 years ( 2007 & 2008) and it is extremely important to look at the statistics.Property must be priced for the market whether it is stable, in flux or rising.

I know, you are thinking right now that you won't have room to negotiate. You won't have to worry about negotiating because you won't have an offer! If you overprice you will lose those buyers who are meant to see your home. They will have bought something else and be happily dreaming of moving in!

Be cautious about listening to friends and neighbors. They don't understand the mechanics of the Real Estate Market. They don't know what today's buyers are looking for. Real Estate professionals are tuned into the daily nuances of the marketplace. Frankly, your friends and neighbors mean well, but they don't have professional expertise and the professional distance needed to evaluate the fair market value of your home. They will keep you married to a price that will be an albatross around your neck.

Ask a Realtor what it means to price your home ahead of the market. A price that will bring lots of offers in days and will possibly get you multiple offers and maybe even offers over the asking price!!!!!!! Think like a buyer! Put their shoes on and see through their eyes. Remember they have seen lots & lots homes......how many have you seen? Ask your Realtor for all the comparable sales and all the ones that didn't sell. It's can be a real eye-opener!

Make sure your house is spotless, uncluttered, inviting, quiet, smells nice and generally gets a WOW from prospective Buyers! That means get rid of all the junk and clutter that made your house a home! You need to make your home into a great house ready for company at a moment's notice. You are better off waiting an extra week or two to toss out basement & household clutter than put your home on the market unready for the buyer's sharp eyes.

Paint, wash walls, clean up the yard, plant flowers, sweep the front steps, replace burned out light bulbs, buy new sheets for the bedrooms and maybe some new ready-made curtains, box up items you rarely use and store away, bake cookies before showings, don't follow the buyers around and maybe even leave the house! Buyers today do not want to redecorate, repaint, redo or rejuvenate. They want a mint home in a nice location with all the conveniences at a fair price!

Think about offering a HOME WARRANTY and maybe having a HOME INSPECTION . It's better to find out about potential problems in advance than to be at the mercy of a buyer's home inspector. This is especially important when you may need to make substantial repairs and need several estimates. For example, if a new roof is needed you can be armed with several estimates and will know how much it may cost you.

Small repairs done before you put your home on the market will prevent an aggressive buyer from giving you a long laundry list that he will claim reduces the value of your home. A Home Warranty can bring peace of mind to a buyer so they won't be sweating the small stuff. This is especially true for first time buyers who are nervous "nellies" anyhow! It's just common sense to do all the things needed to remove any objections from the buyer's mind before the negotiating starts. Stack the cards in your favor!

location, location, location ?

Sally's Smart Moves

Seriously, hire an experienced agent who values giving you an honest opinion of value for your home. Someone who will give you the good news, the bad news and let you know if there is no news. Someone who has great communication skills. Someone who can be firm yet never shuts the door on ways to consummate a sale. Someone who is caring yet professional. Someone who can network with other agents to promote your home. Someone who is willing to use direct mail, cold calling as well as traditional ads and open houses to sell your home. Someone who has a "looooong" list of happy clients and will let you contact them.

Get a complete resume of the agent. It's important to know if your agent has kept up on all the issues affecting selling.....lead paint, radon, septic inspections, agency disclosures and the like. Finally, discuss fees, marketing programs, company back-up and home sale guarantees.

I love helping buyers and sellers come together in a win-win situation. I am effective, tough, fun, serious, and only concerned with your best interests. Why not call me at 508-561-7424 to sell your home today? You'll be glad to have a savvy Agent who eats, works and sleeps real estate for her sellers!

Unlike other environmental bogeymen, such as asbestos or nuclear waste, radon is a natural part of the environment. However, it is both dangerous and easy to detect and to reduce. Radon is an invisible, odorless gas that seeps up through rock and soil from subterranean uranium deposits. It quickly decays into minuscule radioactive particles that, if inhaled, can get stuck deep within the land, where they give off carcinogenic alpha particles. The scientific case against radon is based mainly on studies of tens of thousands of uranium miners who were exposed to it on the job and suffered greatly increased lung cancer rates as a consequence. Those studies show that smoking greatly multiplies the risk. Extrapolating from the miner's exposure, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that household exposure to radon is responsible for 5000 to 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year.

Typically, radon enters a house through cracks in the foundation, around water and sewer pipes, or in well water. Radon levels are almost always highest in a basement (or first floor if there is no basement), dropping off rapidly in the upper floors. It's a significant concern for homeowners who use their finished basement often, and not a concern for most apartment dwellers. High radon levels have been found in every state and in every type of house. Don't assume your house has low levels just because it's not on rocky terrain or your neighbor's house had a low reading. Radon levels can vary from month to month or even day to day and is influenced by rain and barometric pressure to the use of kitchen and bathroom fans.

To test your home call a qualified testing company or use a kit that is found in most hardware stores. Consumer Reports July 1995 rates most kits and is a useful guide to the subject. Kits range from $10.00- $25.00 and can take from 2 -90 days to test.

How Much is Too Much Radon?

Radon is measured in units called picocuries per liter. The average house has 1.3 "picocuries" of radon. The EPA has established a "safe" household radon of 4 pci/l as an action level.....if your house has more than that in the lowest occupied space, you should act to reduce the levels.

Fixing the Problem

The Radon Remediation industry is well regulated and finding help should be easy. Sometimes fixing large cracks that might let radon in by sealing it does the trick. The most common method is to install a pipe through the foundation slab to suck the radon gas away before it gets into the house. A small fan pulls the gas up to the roof where the gas dissipates harmlessly. Minor construction is involved and the cost ranges from $1000-$1500 in most cases. You can't guess whether a house has radon. You have to test it. (Reprinted in part from Consumer Reports Magazine 1995 June issue.)

What Happens When and If I Want to Sell or Buy a Home?

I advise sellers to be prepared for a buyer wanting to test for radon. If the level is above 4 picocuries one can investigate options to reduce the levels. Sometimes the parties agree to set aside the funds needed to remediate or a buyer can require a seller to have remediation done by a qualified license firm & retested. Sometimes buyers just want to withdraw from the sale and not deal with the issue.

This is just one issue that a Realtor needs to be aware of to give good advice to buyers and sellers. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions about radon 508-561-7424 or email me at svetter@metrowest-ma.com. This hot topic courtesy of Sally Vetstein of Re/Max Executive Realty.

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If you want to get an idea of what your money buys in MetroWest,
call Sally Vetstein at 508-589-2003 or email: svetter@metrowest-ma.com