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Archive for the 'Buyer Info' Category
Moving To or From Cambridge? Get a Permit for That Moving Truck
Moving to Cambridge - Get a Moving Van Permit
Parking your car can be enough of a challenge in Cambridge. Finding the equivalent of three adjacent parking spaces for your moving truck can be close to impossible.
With just a bit of planning you can reserve a space – a really big space! – with a Moving Van Permit from Cambridge’s Traffic, Parking & Transportation Department.
Moving Van Permits:
- Application must be submitted six business days in advance
- Cost is $25 for a truck up to 49 feet or $50 for 50 ft+ per day
- If the reserved space includes metered spaces there’s an additional $10 per parking meter fee
The Traffic and Parking Department will post signs reserving your space for the allotted time. A bit of advice – be generous with your time expectations – a move always seems to take much longer than you anticipate.
Click here for info about the Cambridge moving van permit and an application. Be sure to disable popups before clicking on the link for the application.
I can say from personal experience that this was the best money I spent for my move to Cambridge.
Assessment – Appraisal – Asking Price – How to Value Cambridge Real Estate
It’s often easy to get confused about how Cambridge real estate is valued – assessment, appraisal, and asking price – what’s the difference and what do these terms and numbers mean? Assessment vs appraisal – asking price or market value – what’s it all about?
The Assessment
Valuing a Cambridge Home
The assessment is the value placed on the home by the City’s assessors. Your property tax bill is based on your assessment. This leads to an odd dynamic – as a Cambridge homeowner you want your assessment to be as low as possible in order to pay less in taxes. But as a homeseller or a buyer of Cambridge real estate you usually feel better if the assessment is higher. For buyers, that’s often because they’re confusing the assessment with the appraised value or market value – which are often very different.
The City of Cambridge uses a very convoluted method to determine appraisals which I won’t attempt to describe here. I once watched a televised City Council meeting during which the City Assessor tried to explain to the City Councilors how Cambridge assessments are calculated. It was a looooong presentation that made me feel a lot better about not being able to summarize the methodology in a sentence or two.
The assessment often varies widely from the market value of a Cambridge property and usually that should not be a matter of concern. For some time a Cambridge house that was priced closed to its assessment was the rare exception. Then the City reassessed properties and in many cases the new assessments were far higher than the property’s value on the real estate market. There doesn’t appear to be a discernible relationship between current assessments and current real estate values.
While assessments can sometimes be of interest when comparing a number of properties in on area, in general the assessment shouldn’t be the number you focus on when you’re looking at Cambridge real estate.
The Asking Price
The asking price or market price for Cambridge real estate should be based on recent sales activity for comparable properties. When a real estate agent works with a seller to put a property on the market for sale, the agent prepares a comparative market analysis to determine the market value of the home. Sometimes there haven’t been comparable homes listed for sale recently. The realtor will use his or her knowledge of the marketplace to determine a suggested value for the property. Ultimately, the seller, with advice from the agent, decides on an asking price. The response from buyers will determine whether that is the “right price” or if the home’s value in the marketplace is lower or higher.
The Appraisal
The Bank Orders an Appraisal for Your Cambridge Home Purchase
There’s one more number or value that needs to be determined before the sale is closed. After a buyer has an accepted offer on a property and has applied for a mortgage, the lender will have an appraisal done on the home. The appraiser will compare the property to similar properties that have sold recently – usually within the last six months. The appraisal will be submitted to the lender and as the buyer you’ll usually be able to get a copy of the appraisal by your closing date.
In short:
Assessment = City’s value for property tax purposes
Appraisal = Value for bank for lending purposes
Asking price = Seller’s price that buyers will decide is either too high, too low, or just right
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Elizabeth Bolton is a Cambridge real estate agent at Coldwell Banker on Huron Avenue. Contact Liz if you have more questions about buying or selling real estate in Cambridge Massachusetts or nearby.
My Offer Was Accepted – What Happens Next?
Congratulations! Your offer on a home was accepted and you’re probably wondering what happens next.
Things to Do When Your Offer on a Home is Accepted
Perhaps you’ve been searching for real estate for weeks, maybe months. Finally you’ve found the perfect house or condo, decided to make the leap, written an offer, perhaps gone through a round or two of negotiations, and finally come to terms - the seller said yes. The offer to purchase was signed, you’re on your way. Now you’ve got several things to take care of right off.
In Massachusetts, the home buying process has two main steps – the initial offer and the purchase and sale contract. The purchase and sale contract is typically scheduled to be signed about ten to fourteen days after the date of your offer. During that period you’ll need to:
- Schedule an inspection and get back to the seller with concerns if any. The deadline for your inspection response will be in your offer. It’s typically about one week after the date of your offer on the home.
- Engage a real estate attorney to represent you during your purchase. Massachusetts is a state where almost all buyers and sellers work with an attorney during the home buying or selling process. Your attorney and the seller’s attorney will work to draft the purchase and sales contract which is a more fully fleshed out agreement between you and the seller.
- Apply for mortgage financing. Your offer will spell out the deadline for filing a mortgage application, usually no later than the purchase and sale date. Nowadays the banks are not processing applications as quickly as they have in the past so it is a very good idea to get this process started sooner rather than later.
- When you sign the purchase and sale agreement you’ll need to provide an additional deposit – typically enough to equal 5% of the purchase price of the home you’re buying.
There’s a lot to do in the first couple of weeks after you’ve found your dream home. Once these hectic days are past you’ll have less to do – or more time to pack I guess!
SEARCH FOR CAMBRIDGE REAL ESTATE
Elizabeth Bolton is a real estate agent in Cambridge Massachusetts and author of My Offer Was Accepted – What Happens Next?
Unanticipated Expenses When Buying a House or Condo in Massachusetts
What sort of unanticipated expenses might you encounter when buying a house or condo in Massachusetts?
You’ve been saving for years, you’ve carefully budgeted the money you need to buy a condo or your first house, you think you have a handle on the costs – and then an unanticipated expense hits you at the last minute. Ouch! What are some of the miscellaneous costs of buying a house or condominium in Massachusetts?
Insurance for Home Buyers
Insurance- When you buy a house the bank will require proof – an insurance binder – that you’ve paid for a year’s homeowner’s insurance coverage. Most likely the bank will set up your monthly mortgage payment to include money towards future insurance payments. This money is held in escrow by the bank which typically collects money towards your property taxes as well. Even though you’ve just paid for a year’s coverage the bank will also collect several months worth of that monthly escrow amount.
Condominium associations are covered by master insurance. As a condo unit owner you will be responsible for a portion of that coverage which is typically budgeted and paid for with your condo dues . If you’re buying a new condo it is not uncommon for you to be required to reimburse the developer for insurance payments he has made in advance. For example, if the developer paid for a full year’s coverage you would be required to pay your unit’s portion of that bill.
Master insurance for condos typically covers the building “from the studs out” and condo owners are encouraged to get an additional policy to cover the contents and finishes of their unit. Until recently that coverage was not required as a condition of your mortgage but due to changes in lending guidelines, it is now a requirement to get a mortgage. The coverage is called HO-6 insurance and lenders and others involved in the home buying process are just getting a handle on what’s required. Lenders are requiring coverage equal to 20% of the appraised value of your condo and you would then get additional coverage for your possessions, etc. Your attorney, lender and insurance company can provide guidance.
Title Insurance
Title Insurance is an unexpected expense that buyers often don’t find out about until quite late in the process since it is usually paid for at the closing. As a buyer you assume all costs incurred by the bank making your loan. You will pay for title insurance to protect the bank – that’s not optional. Title insurance coverage to protect you is optional however.
When I bought my first house I wasn’t spending any money that I absolutely didn’t have to and chose not to get title insurance. In the years that followed, however, I repeatedly read real estate attorneys’ newspaper columns that advised homeowners “if you had title insurance you would be ok” in response to some question about a problem (or disaster!) they were having with their house. I’ve made sure to purchase title insurance ever since. Like much insurance it’s coverage you may never have to use but sure will want to have if some problem comes up – documents that were misfiled, problems with what’s deeded to you and what isn’t – the problems that title insurance covers are varied and unexpected and often come up years down the road when you’re trying to sell your home to move to a new place. Title insurance will help to address those unexpected problems.
Contribution to Reserves
If you’re buying a new condominium in Massachusetts most condominium associations will require you to contribute two months of condo fees to the condo association’s reserve account. This means that the new condo association will have a balance in the bank to deal with any issues that come up.
Heating Oil
If the house or condo that you’re buying is heated by oil you’ll be required to reimburse the owner for the oil in the tank. Shortly before the closing, the seller will get a statement from the oil company that gives the value of the oil in the tank.
Better to know what to expect so the unanticipated expenses when buying a house or condo in Massachusetts don’t trip you up at the last minute.
Cambridge Foreclosures – Bank Owned Real Estate in Cambridge MA
Last night I came across something in a book that suggested blog posts should be short. Mine usually aren’t but it seems this one probably will be.
Are There Foreclosures in Cambridge?
Not so many as it turns out. Here and there we notice one or two foreclosures listed for sale by the banks but they typically sell fairly quickly. There were also a couple in the big auctions that were held in Boston.
With a quick scan of all the Cambridge real estate listed for sale in the MLS I found only one bank owned condominium currently on the market. It’s a six room three-bedroom condo on Windsor Street, midway between Inman Square and East Cambridge. It sold in 2006 for $390,000 and is currently listed, post-foreclosure, for $238,900.
There haven’t been many foreclosures in Cambridge or in Arlington, Watertown or Belmont. There are more foreclosures and short sales in Somerville and Medford, however, so stay tuned for a longer post!
First Time Homebuyer $8000 Credit
I read some survey results this afternoon that indicated over half of prospective first time home buyers didn’t know about the $8000 credit. Time to write a blog post!
The 2009 first time home buyer credit is limited to 10% of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000. We don’t have any real estate in Cambridge or Somerville available for less than $80,000 so buyers who qualify for the credit will be eligible for the full amount (with restrictions by income as explained below).
Who Is Eligible For the First Time Home Buyer Credit?
- First time home buyers who purchase a principal residence between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.
- The purchase date is defined as the date the closing occurs and title transfers to the buyer
Who Qualifies As a First Time Home Buyer?
- The definition of a first time home buyer eligible to receive the credit is a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three years preceding the purchase.
- Both spouses’ homeownership history is considered when determining eligibility. If either spouse has owned a home in the last three years neither will be eligible for the credit.
- If the homebuyers are not married the credit may be allocated to a qualifying partner even if other partner[s] do not qualify.
- Ownership of vacation or rental property not used as a principal residence does not disqualify a buyer.
What Kind of Property Qualifies for the Credit?
- A condominium, single family house, co-op, mobile home, or houseboat (!) used as a principal residence
- The home must be in the United States
- Vacation properties and rental properties are not eligible
What Are the Income Limits for the Tax Credit?
- Buyers with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of up to $75,000 for a single first time home buyer and $150,000 for a married couple filing a joint return are eligible for the full credit.
- The credit is reduced proportionally for MAGI between $75,000 and $95,000 for single buyers and between $150,000 and $170,000 for married buyers filing jointly.
- Single buyers with a MAGI over $95,000 and married buyers with a MAGI over $170,000 are not eligible for the credit.
Does the 2009 Credit Need to Be Repaid?
Unlike the credit available to buyers in 2008, the 2009 credit does not need to be repaid unless the home is sold before three years have passed.
Please consult your accountant or tax preparer for more information. The National Association of Realtors website has a number of articles and links about the 2009 first time home buyer credit.
Cambridge Comes Out On Top
Today’s Sunday Boston Globe was chock-a-block full of real estate related articles. If you didn’t get your copy there’s still time to hit the corner store. There’s loads to read for the real estate obsessed.
The Boston Globe Magazine was all about real estate with the cover article titled “Top Spots To Live: The Best Communities in 15 Categories”. The Globe polled realtors for their votes. I’m a realtor but I don’t remember voting. But even without my admittedly biased vote, I’m happy to report that Cambridge placed more times than any other Massachusetts city or town.
And the winners are….
Cambridge was anointed “Top for Singles-Friendly Activities and Night Life”
Cambridge also won Honorable Mentions for:
- Fitness Minded Folks
- Foodies
- Arts Lovers
- Hipsters
- Public Transit Fans
Somerville was the winner in the “Top for Hipsters” category and won Honorable Mention in the Singles-Friendly Activities and Night Life category. I remember years ago when Utne Reader magazine called Somerville one of the hippest places in the US. At the time I thought it was a stretch but Somerville has been trending in that direction ever since. With a vibrant arts community, rejuvenated Davis Square (not to mention Ball Square and Union Square), and a forward-thinking local government, Somerville deserves the kudos.
Arlington received Honorable Mention in the Foodies category. Arlington has become a hot bed of restaurants since the blue laws regulating the serving of alcohol were relaxed.
Melrose received Honorable Mentions in both the Car Commuters and Public-Transit Fans categories due to its easy access to commuter routes and to the three train stations in town.
Brookline won in the category “Top for Great Schools and Kid-Friendly Activities” and received Honorable Mentions in the Retirement Lifestyle and Public-Transit Fans categories
I’d say we did alright – no wonder we love living here!
And if you’d like to live here too and want some help with your search – I’m just a phone call or email away!
What’s A Fee Simple Townhouse?
A townhouse is a multi-level dwelling attached at one or both sides to one or more other units. In Cambridge, townhouses are either deeded as condominiums or have a fee simple deed. If you are thinking of buying a Cambridge townhouse you will want to understand the form of ownership – will you be getting a condo deed or will you own the townhouse by a fee simple deed.
Form of Ownership
Condominiums
The owner of a condo owns his or her individual unit and has a percentage share of the condominium building and grounds that are owned in common by fellow members of the condo association. The condominium documents – a master deed and declaration of trust – spell out the percentage interest, define the common areas, and gives the legal description of the individual units.
Owners of condos will share in the costs associated with maintaining the common elements. Costs are apportioned by owners’ percentage interests as defined in the condo docs.
Fee Simple Ownership
When you own a townhouse with a fee simple deed you own your townhouse building AND the land on which it sits.
Even though your townhouse may not be in condominium ownership there still may be association regulations and / or fees. Make sure you understand what if any regulations govern the development and whether there is a governing homeowners’ association.
Do you have questions about buying a townhouse in Cambridge? I would be happy to help and I’m just a phone call or email away!
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