You Have the Right to Remain Silent.. Anything You Say..."

Anyone who has ever watched a crime show on TV can finish that sentence. We all know about Miranda rights when someone gets arrested. Hopefully, no one reading this blog will ever have to hear those words but there is a good chance that you or someone you know will at some point talk to a real estate agent or broker about buying or selling a home.

If you are like most people, you don’t think about “rights” or “relationships” when you contact a real estate agent; you just want information about a property or a town or about financing. The agent will ask questions about where you live, where you work, when you need to move, how much money you make, your source for financing, how much you want to spend on a property… all kinds of personal and financial information that you would want to have kept confidential; and certainly not shared when you want to win a negotiation.

Now this is not legal advice (you need a lawyer for that), just a heads up for buyers and sellers that in Massachusetts whenever a consumer asks a real estate licensee to discuss a particular property, the licensee must disclose in writing whose interests the licensees represent, the buyer or the seller, or both. Without such a warning consumers can make tactical mistakes in negotiating the best possible deal, such as disclosing their bottom line price to a real estate licensee who is actually the seller's representative..."anything you say can and will be used agains you..." How about a seller asking for advice about pricing their property; what if that agent represents a buyer who may have an interest... who does that agent work for?

A recent investigation by Patrick-Murray Administration's Division of Professional Licensure shows real estate licensees regularly fail to disclose whose interests they represent. Investigators found 94 percent of licensees checked were not in compliance in Boston. Pairs of investigators from the Division of Professional Licensure, posing as consumers, visited 200 real estate offices throughout Massachusetts and found that in only 12 instances, or 6 percent of the time, real estate licensees properly disclosed to consumers whose interests they represent.

Have you contacted a real estate agent lately…did they provide the Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure form for you to sign?

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Market Reports - Weston, Wayland, Sudbury, Maynard, Stow

Sudbury Housing Market Contrary to National

Once again as national new reporters continue to talk about huge numbers of unsold housing inventories and prices dropping, the number of homes on the market in Sudbury MA is down by 28%! And, median and average sale prices for the month of January were up!

There are currently 89 single-family homes available for sale in Sudbury compared with 124 one year ago and of the 89, eight have accepted offers with contingencies waiting to clear so really there are 81. Lower inventory generally leads to higher asking prices, and this is what’s going on in Sudbury. More...

Maynard Real Estate - Open House 2/10 - Win Bahamas Trip!

7 Taft Ave, Maynard MA

Open House - Sunday 2/10 1 to 3 P.M.

Enter to Win a trip to the Bahamas

Rare find! 4 car garage, 1/2 acre lot, 4 bedrooms, cul-de-sac with river views - lots of recent improvements... stop by, enter to win!

Listed by Marilyn Messenger, William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance - Sudbury, Wayland, Weston, Maynard, Stow, Hudson and west of Boston MA.

Sudbury Real Estate Market Conditions 1/15/07

Welcome to the Sudbury Real Estate market conditions report:The Sudbury MA real estate market is still doing better than what most of the headlines are saying. The good news for homeowners/sellers is that the number of homes sold Sudbury during 2007 increased by 17.6%! The not so good news is that prices were down, but not substantially when compared with other investments during 2007. The median sale...more

Visit http://www.marilynmessenger.com/ for the latest real estate market conditions for Sudbury, Wayland, Weston, Maynard, and Hudson... complete MLS listings, real estate news and information.

Home for the Holidays – Smart, Serious Buyers Buy Now!

Contrary to popular belief, holiday time can be a great time to be in the market for real estate. I’ve always said that smart buyers come out at Thanksgiving! In any market, there are many good reasons for this. Here are just a few:

1. Time to look. Companies give shopping days at this time of year – why not shop for a new home? Even if your ... More...

Find your next home at http://www.marilynmessenger.com or drop a note to marilynmessenger@realtor.com for advice from your local area expert in Sudbury, Maynard, Wayland, Weston, Hudson and west of Boston MA.