Sudbury Real Estate: March Home Sale Prices Up 14%

Great news for home sellers in Sudbury. Sale prices were up 14% for single-family homes. Inventory in Sudbury MA remains low; less competition makes this a good time to put your house on the market for sale. Check out the video for more.

Visit www.marilynmessenger.com for additional details about the Sudbury real estate market including condominium/townhouses. You can also view reports for Wayland, Concord, Maynard, and Stow MA.

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Home Selling: What Kind of Showing Was It?

One of the most frequent calls from homeowners to their agents is about the listing’s inactivity due to the lack of showings. The homeowner commonly believes that the home is shown only when a buyer walks through the house with an agent.

Today’s buyers are more sophisticated than in the past due to the abundance of information available to the public on the Internet.  There are seemingly inexhaustible sites with homes for sale, valuation estimates and virtual tours.  There are extensive mapping sites with satellite images, traffic conditions, entertainment, shopping and other points of interest.

There are actually three legitimate types of property showings.  A knowledgeable buyer can view a home for sale online and make a reasonable determination of whether the home will fit their needs. Occasionally, buyers will drive by a home to get a feel for the home and also the neighborhood which might cause them to eliminate any further examination or consideration.

The third type, the physical showing, certainly gives the buyer the opportunity for the closest scrutiny but is generally reserved for properties that have passed the inspections of at least one other type of showing.
Sellers should be aware of the different types of showings and that a sales agent’s job is to help the buyer find the right home. The listing agent’s job is to market the home so that the right buyer finds it either through their own efforts or that of the buyer’s agent.

Communication is crucial to the success of the selling process. Real estate agents need to know what's going on with their listings and let their seller clients know what's going on in order for them to make the right decisions moving forward. If a property is getting lots of activity on line but few or none are resulting in visits to the house it means there is a disconnect between what the buyers expect to see for the price and what the photos and description show compared with other properties.

As a listing agent, I always provide to my clients. For online views I subscribe to updated service on Realtor.com, Trulia, etc. and can share the number of times the listing showed up in a search as well as the number of times someone clicked on the listing for details. For live showings, I personally follow up with each agent and share the feedback with my sellers.
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Like every industry, real estate has changed. Please contact me if you want to talk about how people buy houses in today's world. Visit www.marilynmessenger.com to see houses for sales, view market reports for Concord, Sudbury, Wayland, Maynard, and Stow; request a home valuation, and more.

The Perfect Last Minute Gift

It’s part of holiday tradition to celebrate with family and friends and to share gifts with our loved ones.  There’s no measuring how much is spent on the combined effort and money to find the perfect gift.

The challenge is to identify the right gift in the right color and size; something they really want and need; and something that won’t break the budget.

“Eight Gifts That Do Not Cost a Cent” are suggestions that have been offered on numerous Internet sites attributed to an anonymous writer.  They may be just what you need to find the perfect gift.

• THE GIFT OF LISTENING...but you must really listen. No interrupting; no daydreaming; no planning your response; just listening.

• THE GIFT OF AFFECTION...be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds.  Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

• THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER...clip cartoons and share articles and funny stories.  Your gift will say “I love to laugh with you."

• THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE...it can be a simple "thanks for the help" note or a full letter.  A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime and may even change a life.

• THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT...a simple and sincere, "you look great in red" or "you did a super job" or "that was a wonderful meal" can make someone's day.

• THE GIFT OF A FAVOR... go out of your way every day to do something kind.

• THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE...there are times when a person wants nothing more than to be left alone.  Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

• THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION...the easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone.  It’s really not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You.

Wishing you all the best at the holidays and throughout the year; enjoy!

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Of course, the gift of home is always a great gift to yourself! Holiday time is when families often talk about moving - people get engaged, change jobs, combine households, down-size, announce new babies on the way, need more room, finding a better place for parents who need assistance...If you find yourself having these kinds of conversations and would like to talk about your next move, please contact me or visit www.marilynmessenger.com to search for homes, get the latest market reports for Concord, Wayland, Sudbury, Stow, and Maynard; learn about buyer agency, or request a valuation report for your home. 

Mortgage Interest Deduction

Originally, in 1913 with the Sixteenth Amendment, Income Tax allowed a deduction on any interest paid by a taxpayer. Prior to World War I, most interest was paid for business purposes and very little paid by individuals. Credit cards, revolving credit, student loans and home equity loans that would charge interest would not become popular for decades.
However, by the 1930’s, the Federal Housing Authority was created to help people to finance homes. Later, other quasi-governmental agencies like FNMA, FHLMC and GNMA were created to help facilitate mortgage lending.

Even though, Congress never intended to use this deduction to encourage homeownership, it has certainly benefitted millions of people who couldn’t pay cash for their home. This deduction has made owning a home more affordable for tens of millions of people.

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 eliminated the deduction of interest on most personal debt with the exception of qualified mortgage interest debt. Two new terms were introduced to specify what was qualified.

Acquisition Debt is the amount of debt incurred, up to a maximum of $1,000,000, to buy, build or improve a principal residence or second home. It must be a recorded lien and the amount cannot be increased by refinancing. In other words, the acquisition debt is a dynamic amount that decreases as the loan amortizes.

Home Equity Debt is any amount up to a total of $100,000 over Acquisition Debt. It must also be a recorded lien against either the first or second home. It can be used for any purpose and is no longer restricted to medical or educational purposes.

In the example below, a person borrowed money to buy a home and the entire first mortgage was acquisition debt. The unpaid balance was reduced by the payments made and the acquisition debt followed accordingly. At some point in the future, after the home had gone up in value considerably, the owner refinanced a much larger amount.

The existing acquisition debt was transferred into the new mortgage. Any borrowed funds that were used for capital improvements could be added to the existing acquisition basis. The interest on those funds would be deductible.

The owner/borrower could also deduct the interest on up to a maximum of $100,000 of home equity debt. If there was still debt above the acquisition and home equity debt, it would be classified as personal debt and the interest on it would not be deductible. 



















Lenders are not concerned if they are making a tax deductible mortgage on a home. They want to make sure there is sufficient equity in the property to secure the mortgage should it have to be foreclosed. A homeowner should consult with their tax professional if there is a question about deducting the interest on their mortgage.

Click Here to use a Refinancing Analysis.
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