I feel that Massachusetts does a pretty good job, either thru grassroots organizations or towns saving money, in providing recycling opportunities to the local residents.

Ashland Recycling Program Info

Framingham Recycling Program Info

Holliston Recycling Program Info

Hopkinton Recycling Program Info

Medway Recycling Program Info 

Milford Recycling Program Info

Millis Recycling Program Info

Natick Recycling Program Info

Sherborn Recycling Program Info

Check out the previous posts regarding related sites:

Hazardous Waste Dates

Asbestos Removal Article from 2008

I hope you find these links as a useful source of information whenever you are searching out information on your town’s recycling program.

Below are results from each Metrowest MA town and the vote counts for either Scott Brown (R) or Martha Coakley (D):

Town    -    Winner   -   Vote count

Ashland            Brown     3467 vs 2897

Bellingham    Brown     4090 vs 2179

Framingham     Coakley     10329 vs 9149

Franklin            Brown     8828 vs 4470

Holliston          Brown     3725 vs 2921

Hopkinton       Brown     4123 vs 2600

Marlborough     Brown     6817 vs 5037

Medway            Brown     3641 vs 2044

Milford             Brown     5432 vs 3561

Millis              Brown     2430 vs 1383

Natick          Coakley     7208 vs 6954

Northborough     Brown     3816 vs 2486

Shrewsbury      Brown     7867 vs 5242

Southborough     Brown     2689 vs 1845

Upton              Brown     2125 vs 1138

Westborough     Brown     3822 vs 2996

Results for other towns not posted here can be found by

 clicking this link.

Good luck to Scott Brown as he heads to Washington to help all citizens of Massachusetts.  The people have spoken with their votes and now it is his job to take care of us!

Ed Daniels of Re/Max Executive Realty is a local Realtor and home owner in Metrowest Boston.  

He can be contacted at 508-341-7880 for help in learning about the Metrowest area and buying/selling a home.

The purpose of the bylaw may be reasonable on its face, but it wouldn’t make as much sense if it was affecting you directly.  The basics on this new law is:

1.  
   1. Landlords must register their multi-family home with city hall.  $50 per unit cost.
   2. A fee is required for each unit, and it is measured and inspected by the city.  $15 per unit annually.
   3. Penalties could be $300 per day if you fail to comply.

The stated purpose of the bylaw is to help in the increased issues with overcrowded rental units and unsanitary conditions.  Noble idea, but there are already laws regarding this!

Here is the Boston globe article on the subject.  Click here.

I am a landlord of a 14 unit building in Shirley, MA.  I am regulated by the State Sanitary Code.  It covers the gap that is allowed in a window, the temperature that the building needs to be at different times of year, railings, screens for windows, etc. etc. etc. 

See the 35 pages of Sanitary Code here.  I need another regulation like a hole in the head!

As a resident, your town hall officials are going to have more work to inspect and document all of the town’s multi-family housing stock.  As a landlord, you are opening your doors to a city official to pick apart your investment.

I hope that my tenants keep their place in the same condition I keep my own home, but the reality is that they do not.  Most of the rental units are very poorly maintained.  We are talking about cleanliness and care of the property.

Early in my experience as a landlord, a tenant who did not want to pay for their rent decided to unleash the Board of Health on me.  I spent several inspections where the tenant pulled off the smoke detector and broke a pane of window glass prior to the inspection so that I would fail.  I had to have the inspector come over right after I installed the glass for the 3rd time and I put up a new smoke detector while the inspector watched.  It was the only way to pass the health code.

Additionally, there are town by-laws that regulate many different areas that naturally regulate the number of people who generally live in a unit.  One example is parking.  Residential zoning in Milford requires 2 off-street parking spaces per unit.

OK, I admit that after researching the section  of town bylaw, Fire Marshall Code, and State Building Code, I have not been able to find a clear defination of how many persons can live in a residence.  I expected 2 per bedroom, or 2 per 500 sq ft, or something like this.  It is tough to define, and maybe that is why it has not been defined.

Milford residents: your town hall officials are going to have more work to inspect and document all of the town’s multi-family housing stock.  As a landlord, you have additional fees each year and now open your doors to inspection.  That is bad for every landlord.

Finally, we ask who gains from this new by-law?  Renters cannot share costs living with “overcrowded” living situations and will have to figure out how to live with more money going towards rent.  Renters will most likely bear the additional fees being put onto landlords shoulders.  Citizens will most likely experience more city costs with managment of this program and legal fees to enforce it.  Neighbors to these overcrowded residences may be the only winners, even though they could have complained to the Board of Health prior to this by-law.

Bad idea Milford!

Ed Daniels – full time Realtor for The MAhome Team of Re/Max Executive Realty welcomes your comments about this local issue.  The Team would be happy to counsel you regarding anything about the local real estate market.  Ed is also an owner of a 14 unit apartment building.  The MAhome team can be reached at 508-341-7880.

There is a survey that I discovered that does highlight some customer satisfaction numbers you may find interesting.

Surveys are interesting subjects because there always seems to be a motivation behind them.  This survey was conducted by The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS).  This government body seems to give hospitals a tool to get better at their care, but more importantly, it gives the consumer a way to compare hospital care.

My wife and I are about to have our second child.  This time around we are using Newton-Wellesley Hospital, as opposed to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston the first time around.  The choice was strictly based upon health insurance reasons, but if it wasn’t, I would use this site to try to evaluate the level of care.

Our method of choosing a hospital prior to a site like this would be asking a handful of friends about their personal experience during their stay.  You can see how this might get a little difficult if you are talking about personal matters with your health.

The Metrowest Daily News wrote a good article about the site and the method of the surveys.  Click here for the full story.

The link for the HCAHPS can be reached by clicking here: www.HospitalCare.hhs.gov.

Here in the Metrowest area, there are several regional hospitals for residents to choose from:

Metrowest Medical Center     Framingham, MA

Milford Regional Medical Center     Milford, MA

Marlborough Hospital     Marlborough, MA

Newton-Wellesley Hospital    Newton, MA

UMass Memorial Medical Center     Worcester, MA

Metrowest Medical Center - Leonard Morse Campus    Natick, MA

 The survey asks questions of patients regarding noise, cleanliness, communication with staff, clear home recovery instructions, among other areas. 

It allows hospital management to track how they do compared to other hospitals and where they are lacking in the eyes of the patient.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital reported an 82% rating of patients who said they would definately recommend the hospital, which was the top score from the hospitals listed above. 

I am glad to hear that, and I am sure you will hear about it if I fall within the 18% who doesn’t!

This is not only a falsehood, but when buyers learn of the process, they usually run for the hills.

Let me explain how foreclosures work…

Home owners who do not pay their mortgage over time will have the bank try to take it over or sell it. The process is known as foreclosure, and the first attempt to sell the property is known as the auction.

The auction is advertised in a legal section of your local newspaper. To participate, you would bring a deposit check to the event. The bidder than stands on the curb and raises their hand if they are willing to pay x dollars for the home.

Notice how I did not say anything about looking inside the property, inspection conditions, or financing contingencies… this is because they don’t exist! You buy sight unseen, perhaps someone will still be living there when you end up buying it, and if you don’t show up in 30 days with payment in full, the deposit is retained by the auction house.

Not a great course of events for a rookie home buyer.

A bank representative is usually at the auction also. They are there to “bid” if the bank wants to buy it back rather than allow anyone else to “steal” the property. They will then prepare the home for listing with a local realtor. This is also known as a REO property, referring to the Real Estate Owned department of the bank.

A buyer can now preview the home, conduct an inspection, and negotiate on price, but at this point the bank usually spends a bit of money on the process and still is not going to allow the home to sell for an outrageous price.

There is certainly a lot more REO property in Massachusetts recently, but these properties are not for buyers who do not have financial resources or lack nerves of steel. They usually need at least cosmetic work, but most have quite a few inspection issues. There are companies out there that are in this business full time and they are also going to compete with your bids.

My official recommendation in 2008, stick with the listed properties and do your due diligence on a property you plan on buying. Currently it is a slim margin of benefit that you will receive from buying a foreclosure and not worth it. It may be in the future, just not right now in Metrowest Boston.

Contact me if you have questions or concerns about REO properties or click here to view listings on the MLS.

As a full time Realtor in the Metrowest area for the past 10 years, I have seen mostly “good times”.

But were they?

My buyer clients were buying with multiple offers in the first few days a home was listed. Interest rates were good, but prices were climbing at double digit rates.

Ok, they were good times for Sellers.

Many of my home buying clients paid over asking price and had to convince the appraiser that the place was worth it. Many appraisers used appreciation factors in their assessments and the banks signed off on them.

So now is the “Good Times” for the Buyers! Here is why:

1. Interest Rates: They are falling again and today I was just told by my mortgage brokers that they have dipped to 6%. You can’t find 100% deals easily or have terrible credit, but others should take advantage

Call the MAhome Team if we can connect you to a professional, ethical and competitive local mortgage broker for a free pre-approval.

2. Motivated Sellers: There are the foreclosure and short sales, but overall most of the people selling in this market are doing it because they need to. Job change, growing families, or financial struggles are some of the reasons that they are moving.

You need to have a professional Realtor in your corner to deal with the “distressed” situations, but having a strong negotiator on your side will result in even benefits. Negotiate in your mortgage points or closing costs, have condo fees paid for the year, or have inspection issues corrected are some of these benefits.

3. Choices: Buyers of homes around Metrowest have lots of options. A few years ago buyers would be looking every day at the new to market listings. Today we could take your dream home criteria and have several days of homes worth to tour.

Make sure to visit the MAhome Team MLS search to see a map search. Slide bars to fit your criteria and watch the push-pins pop up all over the Metrowest area that are for sale!

http://www.metrowesthome.com/mls/

4. The Move Up Premium: It is not an easy environment to Sell a home, but WHEN you are successful, you will get a discounted price on the purchase.

For example, you are selling your home to get a “better” one. It will cost more and have lots more room and be located in the primo neighborhood. You sell your home for 10% less than you could have 2 years ago, it takes 6 months, but you did it! It listed for $390000, but only sold it for $351000.

Now, the move up home is in the $600K price range. You negotiate hard and get a good deal on the perfect place. You estimate it is 10% less than you could have bought it for 2 years ago! Therefore, you get the $660000 home for only $600000.

There it is… “losing” $41K off the sale and “discounting” the purchase by $60K. A buyer who is upgrading their home is doing better than they would 2 years ago!

Take advantage of a professional Realtor who will keep your best interests as the priority, the MAhome Team is that Realtor. If you know of someone thinking of buying or selling a home, who would appreciate the kind of service I offer, we would appreciate your referrals.

They compared local housing prices with other factors, including household income, population density, and interest rates. 

Generally, when home prices and incomes grow in tandem in a particular metro area, that market is probably fairly valued; when home prices rise much faster, the market becomes overvalued and a real estate slump is a real danger.

Link to Smartmoney Stats:  http://www.smartmoney.com/mag/download/december2007housing.xls

Link to SmartMoney Magazine Article:

http://www.smartmoney.com/mag/index.cfm?story=december2007-housing

Here are the stats that the article reports:

Worcester MA   Median Price of $244,300;  

10% overvalued;  -3% home price chg 06-07

Springfield MA  Median Price of $214,100;   

10% overvalued;   1% home price chg 06-07

Essex County MA Median Price of $333,800;

6% overvalued;   -3% home price chg 06-07

Boston-Quincy  Median Price of $345,100;

2% undervalued; -3% home price chg 06-07

Cambridge-Framingham MP of $$379,500;

5% undervalued; -2% home price chg 06-07

All of these areas fall within the study’s classification of “fairly valued”.  For all you people who are wondering where NOT to go buy a home because it is “extremely overvalued”, stay away from Miami, California, and Honolulu.  They recommend the “undervalued” markets of Dallas, Rochester NY, and Tulsa.