I participated in a website tool today that could get you started down the right path!

Credit.com offers a tool to consumers to “grade” their credit report.  Best yet, it is FREE, no detrimental ”inquiry” is created, and I completed it in 8 minutes!

Go to the Credit Report Card on www.Credit.com

The site will give you a score of A+ thru F on several scoring categories used by credit scoring firms.  They also describe what to do and not to do in trying to fix the issues.

Also review my past blog post on credit reports and your score.   MetrowestHome.com Blog Post on Credit Scoring

The Money Magazine article I found this in also recommends www.CreditKarma.com as a 2010 recommended website.  It will show you how changing one factor might affect your credit score.

 Ed Daniels, of Re/Max Executive Realty in Hopkinton, Massachusetts can be reached at 508-341-7880 with any MA real estate questions.  Covering the Metrowest Boston real estate market, the MAhome Team has served clients in buying and selling homes since 1998.

The real estate market peaked around June of 2005, so swallow hard and check out your Massachusetts hometown!

Holliston Aquaduct?

In reading the Holliston TAB the other day I came across the following article:

Five of Six Holliston Wells Have Significant Problems

As a citizen in town who likes to keep up with how the town is managed, I was amazed to hear this news.

Even more disappointing was the early quote in the article from Larry Weise, Chairman of the Board of Water Commissioners.  Mr. Weise was reported to say the town has two issues threatening the town’s water supply:  Quantity and Quality.

WHAT?  That sums up water supply… Quantity and Quality!  There is nothing else.

For several years I have followed the water supplies in the Metrowest region as perhaps a “more informed Layman”.  I don’t pretend to understand the geology of aquifers, but I certainly understand that there is science behind the water supplies.  I understand that even private wells pull from a common source.  

On the flip side, homeowners generally don’t follow this stuff.  They hate water bans during 2 weeks of rain showers.  Townspeople hear high levels of X in the water supply and immediately start showering in Poland Springs.  I swear, Ashland residents still think water is contaminated from the old Nyanza paint factory.  Fact is…  water wells are upstream from the site and Hopkinton even buys some of their water from Ashland wells!

One thing that I DO know as a taxpayer, I would much rather deal with water wells than ignore them.  The Holliston Water Commissioners have obviousily ignored the problems.  5 years ago it would have been a lot easier to make the case for taxpayer money to go to well improvements.  Little tougher now!

Medway just is fighting thru the terrible situation of waiting too late for replacement/repair of a well.

Medway MA Master Water Plan 11/09

The Town of Holliston presented an all-around State of the Town recently and here is the presentation:

Holliston Plans of the Town 11/09

The latest report I could find regarding the Report on the town’s water was the Annual Report for 2008:

Water Report for 2008 -  Issued 6/09

On September 3rd  2009, the Water Department issued a notice because the DEP required it.  The town had discovered some level of surface water getting into one of the town’s wells.  The DEP regulations required that they notify the residents.  In this notice, they also stated:

We are currently completing a Master Plan of the entire Holliston Water System evaluating the best approach for cost effectively continuing to meet all federal and state regulations and provide all our residents with the highest quality water.

Upon searching for this Master Plan for the Water System, no mention of it on the town’s website or thru a google search.  I will keep hunting for it.  I am also interested as to why the last meeting minutes posted to the town site for the Board of Water Commissioners is from 8/26/09??

As a Realtor selling Holliston real estate, Buyers get access to all the press and reports on the internet, and we will have property values affected negatively if we don’t get our act together.  The town needs to feel confident about water Quality AND Quantity, and this is a non-negotiable!

Ed Daniels is a local Holliston resident and taxpayer, concerned citizen over water supplies in the region, and a Realtor hoping to sell many homes to families moving to Holliston.  To talk about everything regarding Holliston Real Estate, or other Metrowest homes, call 508-341-7880.

Over the past 4 years, $8.8 million has been secured to work on the prostheses needed for lower limbs. This company also works on technology for arms and hands, but the leg technology has more challanges to get right.

All the local politicians have visited the company to show off how the federal funds are being put to good use, like this video of a recent visit .

Holliston does not have a very large commercial base, primarily due to the restrictions caused by private septic systems.  Some people in town believe this helps to keep Holliston feeling like a “small town” that they have grown to love.  On the flip side, increased local business helps with the tax burden and employment for local residents.

Great job to Liberating Technologies and the work they do!

Ed Daniels of Re/Max Executive Realty markets real estate in Metrowest Boston and can be reached at 508-341-7880 or Ed@MAhome.com

Statewide the single family home sales increased 4.1% over 2008.

Single family median selling prices fell 6.8% compared to 2008, falling from $311,000 to $290,000.

MAR separates out these reports into “regions”.  Metrowest area of Massachusetts falls within the region of Greater Boston.  This region saw the following results:

• A 2.6% increase in sales over 2008
• Median prices declined 3.6% compared to 2008
• Median price is $434,000 in this region

Condominium sales statewide also increased slightly compared to 2008.  From 15,039 to 15,361, a 2.1% increase.

Median selling prices for condos fell greater than single family homes, with a statewide decline of 7.2%.  Our Greater Boston region had condos faring better than the state averages with only a 5.4% decline for the area.  The median selling price for a condo in Greater Boston is $330,000.

For the full press release from MAR and podcast review of the marketplace, click here.

One other newsworthy point with this review is regarding inventory in this marketplace.  December 2009 supplies of single family homes and condos were at its lowest level since December 2001.  The December peak was in 2006.  This is the 21st  straight month that inventory has gone down compared to the year before for both homes and condos.

Ed Daniels is with Re/Max Executive Realty of Hopkinton MA.  A Realtor for 12 years, Ed can be reached at 508-341-7880 for any additional questions about the housing market.

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.

Here is a quick bullet of Holliston’s Marketplace:

• Average selling time over the past year has been 122 days on market.
• Median price is $350,000 over the past 12 months. Same as previous year.
• There are currently 36 Active single family homes on market.
• Holliston has 3.2 months of inventory currently – Under 4 months is considered a Seller’s Market
• Sellers are getting 95% of Listing Price over the past year.  91% of Original Asking Price.

 Just so that I am not coming across those readers that think I am a typical Realtor reporting only the “positive” stats, I have reported Median prices as opposed to Average prices.  This is because Average prices create a higher weight to the higher end priced homes and Median prices do not. 

That being said, the average prices for the past 12 months were $388882, down from the 12 months previous of $396328.  This results in a 2% decline in average prices in Holliston.

I have a buyer currently looking to spend up to mid $500K in Holliston, Medway or Hopkinton.  I just mailed a postcard to 400 Holliston households asking them if they were considering a move.  In 12 years as a Realtor, I can say I have never done this before. 

I believe this type of low inventory will result in upward price pressure for Holliston housing stock in 2010.

In attempting to find the government office that would have the actual deleading certificates of compliance, I got the expected runaround.  First, all sites that referred me to the lead paint programs had a disconnected phone number.  When I reached somebody, they put me into a voicemail system where I left a message.  I am on day 2 with no phone call returned.

The deleading programs in Massachusetts are some of the strictest created, and the federal guidelines followed this state’s lead.  But as usual, the implementation of a good idea falls on its face when put in the hands of government.  Budgets have to get cut, they slash these types of departments!

Well, at least the website has good records of dates and inspectors.  I hope this will be enough for my buyer, because I am not expecting a call back from the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP)!

State Site for Deleaded Properties

I am a trained Moderate Risk Deleading Owner after an 8 hour training class, so if you have any questions regarding lead paint, please feel free to call me at 508-341-7880.

One of the terrific parts of the Holliston High Football team’s success is seeing the town’s excitement over their hometown.  The crowds were awesome all season long, and there is great pride from our school children.

This vote takes about 15 seconds, so click here and lets show how spirited the citizens of Holliston are!

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/sports/hs_friday/high-school-friday-team-player-of-the-year

Holliston did one of these votes a few years back with a local electric company.  The company was going to give lights for a playing field for the most votes.  Holliston won that contest and we now have Granite City Electric lights over our baseball field.  Let’s show that spirit again!

A seminar done by New Energy Solutions of Franklin, Massachusetts explained some products and services that will drastically lower homeowner’s heating bills.

This is not just the addition of solar panels or wind turbines, but lower cost options that use unique products that you may have never heard of. 

Check out the website of New Energy Solutions to see the following products in more detail:

Kshield Attic Barrier:  Go into your attic over the summer and you can feel why your insulation gains heat.  In the winter there is still a small amount of heat that escapes past the insulation.  Need a better explanation of this?… click here. 

This thin reflective material will reduce your air conditioning costs in the summer and stop heat from seeping out in the winter.  Fed Tax Credits:  30% up to $1500.

Inflector Screens/ Shades / Verticals:  Same general concept as the attic barrier, these carbon fiber mesh screens reflect heat in the summer and act as a passive solar collector in the winter.  

Imagine your window shades generating the equivalent of a 600 watt heater from a 4×4 foot window.

H.CR22a Hydro Carbon:  What??  Don’t worry, this is just a fancy name for taking out the freon coolant in your air conditioning unit and replacing it with an ozone friendly and more economical material. 

It reduces the energy needed to run the air conditioner by 25-60%!

Power Demand Control:  Placed on your electric panel, this product stops spikes and surges from entering the home. 

Click here to see how it reduces your electric bill by 15-20%.

Put a call into Rob Donadio to come out to your home to have a free evaluation of your home and how New Energy Solutions can help you to save energy and money.  He can be reached at 508-528-8389.  Keep warm!

Ed Daniels can be reached at Re/Max Executive Realty in Hopkinton MA.  The direct number is 508-341-7880 or email is Ed@MAhome.com