Spring is historically one of the busiest times of the year for real estate markets. As the weather warms and the days become longer, real estate sales activity begins to increase. Even in this challenging real estate market this should continue to be true this year.

As we enter this year’s spring market interest rates are at historically low levels and home prices have fallen significantly from their highs, making this a great time to buy a home. And if you are in the process of selling your home, now is the time to reevaluate your marketing plans.

In either case, having a good handle on local market conditions is crucial.

Buying With Confidence

Before you make an offer on the home of your dreams, you should very carefully evaluate the recent market activity regarding homes that recently sold and are presently on the market for sale that are in a similar price range and in the same general area. Let’s refer to the similar homes as “comparables” to the home of your dreams.

You need to know a number of critical facts, such as how many comparables are currently unsold, how long they’ve been on the market and their initial and current list price. Another vital need-to-know is everything about comparables that have actually sold during the recent past. Knowing the actual sales price, original list price, and the number of days they were on the market will provide a good sense of market conditions that will help you formulate your offer. Of course, your local real estate agent is a great source for this information and can help guide you through the process. If they cannot, you may need to re-think your choice of agent.

You should also work with a mortgage professional before you make your offer. Knowing how much mortgage you are qualified to borrow will help you narrow your search and make your offer to purchase more compelling to the seller.

If you want to save a lot of time and money – and avoid delays and misunderstandings – it behooves you to understand the current market conditions and trends in the area where you’re looking to buy – before you start the process. And once you’ve done that market research, comes the most important part of this exercise: relating that research to a winning plan and strategy.

Your market research should focus on your price range. You would want to find out current sales activity and trends in your price range, as well as the number of unsold listings, average sale price, average days of the market, and more.

The results of your research will clearly indicate whether you’re entering a Sellers’ or Buyers’ Market – and to what degree. This knowledge will help you plan and strategize the key activities you will soon be facing, such as: how to set your offer price, how to negotiate your offer, how much of a deposit should you make, and much more.

This approach will insure that you will control the process, instead of visa versa. As the old say goes: Prior Planning Precludes Pitifully Poor Performance.

The Purchase & Sale Agreement (commonly referred to as the “P & S”) is a legal document that establishes binding obligations between the seller and the buyer. A typical P & S addresses at least 29 separate subjects including the elements of the signed and accepted Offer to Purchase, which will be incorporated into this document.

When you have decided to make an offer on a home that meets you needs, your agent should guide you every step of the way. He or she should provide you information about recent market activity regarding similar homes recently sold or presently for sale that are in a similar price range and community. Based on this data, your agent should give you his or her opinion of what constitutes a fair offer price. However, ultimately you will make the decision on how much to offer, as well as how much higher you are willing to go if the seller presents a counter offer.

Because buying and financing real estate today are so interrelated, involving a number of critical processes, we believe your homefinding needs are best served by a real estate professional working hand-in-hand with a mortgage professional. Both of these professionals should work together to help you achieve your homefinding objectives, while protecting and promoting your best interests. This is the approach HouseSavvy uses when working with buyers.

Be flexible and open to considering a number of communities and a variety of styles of homes. As a first time buyer you are likely to have limited funds and may not be able to find a home with every feature you would like.

There are economic events occurring in each of six distinct geographic markets that can impact the value and marketability of your home, either positively or negatively. Consider: national recession or expansion; regional unemployment rates and trends; a depressed metropolitan area dependent on one industry; a major employer leaving a suburban market; big tax increase in a community; a new waste disposal plant in a neighborhood. The list is endless – and dynamic.

The first, and one of the most important steps in the home buying process, is obtaining a mortgage pre-approval. This is a letter from a mortgage lender that specifies how much of a mortgage they will grant you based on your representations. This amount – when added to the investment you intend to make – will let you know how much home you can reasonably afford. A mortgage pre-approval is also a powerful negotiating tool with home sellers.

When buying a home it’s always smart to carefully plan the whole start to finish process so that you end up with the right house at the right price with the right mortgage. You either control the process or it controls you, most often resulting in needless aggravation, wasted time and money, and unpleasant surprises.

Before you make an offer on the home of your dreams, you should very carefully evaluate the recent market activity regarding similar homes recently sold and presently on the market for sale that are in a similar price range and in the same community. Let’s refer to the similar homes as “comparables” to the home of your dreams.

You need to know a number of critical facts, such as how many comparables are currently unsold, how long they’ve been on the market and what was their initial and current list price. This data will clearly indicate the current trend as to who has the greatest advantage in negotiating favorable terms and conditions of the sale – either you or the seller. Another vital need-to-know is everything about comparables actually sold the last three months. What was the average sale price, days on market, and sale-to-list price ratio.

There are economic events in each of six distinct geographic markets that can impact the value and marketability of homes, either positively or negatively. Consider: national recession or expansion; regional unemployment rate and trends, a depressed metropolitan area dependent on one industry, a major employer leaving a suburban market; big tax increases in a community; a new waste disposal plant in a neighborhood. The list is endless – and always dynamic.

Ultimately it all comes down to supply and demand – are there more sellers than buyers?

The Fair Housing Law declares that it is ILLEGAL TO DISCRIMINATE on the basis of Race, Color, Religious Creed, National Origin, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Age, Children, Ancestry, Marital Status, Veteran History, Public Assistance Recipiency, or Handicap (Mental or Physical).

It is unlawful practice for owners, lessees, sub-lessees, licensed real estate brokers, assignees, managing agents, or unit owners to refuse (on the basis of membership in one or more of the above groups) the:

By law, Massachusetts requires that buildings or structures occupied in whole or in part for residential purpose must, upon the sale or transfer of such building or structure, be equipped by the seller with approved smoke detectors. The local fire departments enforce the provisions of this law.

If you’re selling your home you need to contact your local fire department to discuss the specific regulations for your community, the fee you will pay, and to schedule an inspection.

“Nicole’s Law” requires carbon monoxide detectors in any residence that contains fossil-fuel burning equipment (furnace, boiler, water heater, fireplace or other device), or that has an attached garage.

As with the smoke detector requirement, this law is enforced by the local fire department during its inspection prior to the sale or transfer of your property.

The Massachusetts Lead Paint Law states that sellers who own a home built before 1978 are responsible for removing all lead paint within their property up to a height of 5 feet from the floor, and for removing any such peeling plaster or paint no matter how far away from floor level if the premises are occupied by children younger than six years of age.

The homeowner’s legal obligation exists regardless of the homeowner’s knowledge of the presence of lead paint, and there can be strict liabilities for damages to a child age six or under incurred by ingestion of lead paint on the property.