Video - Fierce Nor'easter Hits Outer Cape

The same storm that beat up the northeast as a second punch after Hurricane Sandy took a swipe at the Outer Cape today. The Cape Cod Times sent their video team out to check out some Outer Cape beaches.

 

Home Inspections Help Buyers

Shortly after we get an accepted offer, Buyers should hire a professional home inspector to conduct a home inspection. This provides two very important functions...

1. it provides the Buyer with a detailed list of work that needs doing on the inspected home. The intent is to uncover serious flaws in the home that may be hidden from view or may need a professional's training to detect or assess.
2. and it may provide 'ammunition' to renegotiate the terms of the offer.   

As a Buyer's agent, I insist that they have their 'offered' new home inspected. Fortunately on the Outer Cape we have a number of great home inspectors.

Read this article that I found on the Nashua Telegraph's website. "Home inspections an essential tool for buyers" 

Endangered Sea Turtles Rescued Off Cape Beaches

This is the time of year when the declining Bay water temperatures take their toll on the turtle population. The hook of Cape Cod blocks a number of turtles from their trip south as they follow the warm water's retreat as winter approaches. Unfortunately, many turtles die from hypothermia as they are forced to survive in water considerably colder than they are accustomed to. Luckily, many come ashore in search of warmth only to be found by volunteers who save them from certain death. This year, the number of endangered Kemp’s Ridley turtles found on the Outer Cape's Bay beaches seems much higher than 'normal'. Catch the details in the following stories...

• Endangered Sea Turtles Rescued Off Cape Beaches - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston (video)
• Stunned by the cold, more turtles wash up on Cape beaches - Boston.com

Working Remotely - From the Beach!

Bloomberg Businessweek ran a story this week about working from the beach. With the aid of the internet and appropriate additional technologies, many knowledge workers can work from almost anywhere. This story puts it all together.  I see many folks who have relocated to the Outer Cape to, essentially, work from the beach. Read the BBW story... Here. 

The photo to the right was taken from the website of the Cape Cod Beach Chair Company. Go check out their wonderful products...Here.

What Is Radon & Why Do I Care?

You cannot see, smell, or taste radon. But it still may be a problem in your home. When you breathe air containing radon, you increase your risk of getting lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets into the air we breathe. Radon typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Radon can also enter your home through well water. Your home may even trap radon inside.

Although the Outer Cape isn't thought to be a high risk radon area, it doesn't hurt to be a bit smarter about it. Check out the EPA's home buyers' guide to radon ... Here.

A Home Inspection Option - Before the Sale

Generally, on the Outer Cape, we suggest that the potential buyer does a home inspection prior to the formal contract known as the Purchase & Sale Agreement. This usually happens immediately after we get agreement on the buyers' offer. The buyer pays about $400 to get a qualified and licensed inspector to inspect the home.

Another option is to have the home seller do a home inspection prior to putting the home on the market. By doing so, and fixing what needs fixing, the seller can assure prospective buyers that the home is in tip-top shape and thus demand a higher selling price. The buyer, of course, can still do an inspection. A recent HGTV FrontDoor website makes a strong argument for this method. Read the article ... Here.

Have A Happy Holiday Season!

As we close out another year, I'd like to extend the best of wishes for your Holiday season and a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. And, I thank you for continuing to think of me when it comes to real estate in Eastham and the Outer Cape.

I expect next year to be very interesting. I'm projecting an improvement in the real estate landscape. Stay tuned!

Tough Market Real Estate Marketing

I found an article on CNBC.com that pretty well summarizes what a home seller needs to do to make their property the most attractive property that a buyer sees in their 'hunt' for the perfect home. These rules apply for homes of all shapes, sizes, and locales.

Of note - I believe that the extreme 'seasonality' of the Outer Cape changes the discussion about a home's stale-ness factor discussed in the article. Here, except in extreme cases, the days-on-market often reflects the season the house entered the market, whether its been a rental property, etc. Read the article ... Here.

Truro Is 300!

On July 16th Truro will be celebrating 300 years of history as an incorporated town on the Outer Cape. The occasion, and in fact, the year will be marked by parties and parades and fireworks and so much more. Check out the Truro-300 website...Here.

An Exciting “Mid-July Main Event” running from Thursday, July 16 through Sunday, July 19 and including a family picnic and concert, a beach party, a parade, fireworks, a re-enacted reading of the proclamation that established Truro as a separate town, historic walks and tours, games and dancing.

Pricing Your Home For Sale - Avoid These Pitfalls

Pricing your home for sale is an in-exact science. Not without it's pitfalls, both for the homeowner and for the Realtor. HGTV's FrontDoor.com website ran an article - "6 Pricing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them". Good advice, especially in today's market.

The good news is that the Outer Cape market seems to be improving, with a fair number of Buyers and a good inventory at all price ranges. Want details? - subscribe to my monthly newsletter...Here.

Pres. Obama's Housing Plan for Responsible Homeowners

It looks like President Obama's housing plan has a 'benefit' for the responsible homeowner (one who's continued to pay their mortgage payments on-time in spite of the realities of home value deterioration). The plan was carefully engineered to help only those 'responsible homeowners' who need help the most. Read the details in this CNBC.com article.

I have my own 'stimulus plan' for anyone Buying or Selling Outer Cape Cod real estate this spring. Call me for the details.

What Is A Contingent Sale?

Sometimes potential home buyers need to sell their current home in order to afford their 'next' place. Although not that common in Eastham and the Outer Cape (since many of the purchases are for second homes), it can be the norm in some areas.

The 'difficulty' is that the sellers aren't particularly interested in waiting for the buyers to secure a viable offer on their home. Sometimes the wait can drag on for significant periods of time, especially in the slow market that we have seen for the last few years. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that limiting for the sellers. HGTV's FrontDoor website has an article that details these contingent sales. Go to FrontDoor.com.

Oil Tanks Need To Be Double-Walled

One of the prerequisites of a house changing hands in Eastham (at a closing), is that existing fuel oil tanks must either be double-walled or must be demonstrably less than 10 years old. Eastham (and other Outer Cape towns) has instituted this new 'rule' to prevent to release of fuel oil into the fragile aqua-system of the Outer Cape.

• If a home seller has a 'new' single-walled tank, he needs to get a variance from the fire department. The fire department requires the tank to be stamped with the date of manufacture or that the home seller provide the invoice showing when the tank was installed prior to issuing the variance.


• Lacking a variance, the home seller must replace the existing oil tank with a new double walled tank and have the old tank removed. This is roughly a $2,000 expense.
  Of course, homes without an oil tank don't face this issue.

An alternative to installing a new oil tank is conversion to natural gas heating. Many streets in Eastham have buried gas lines, making this conversion a viable option. Although conversion can be costly, the expense can be reduced by taking advantage of promotions offered by the gas company as their way of locking you in as a new customer. Also, sometimes the Seller will grant the Buyer a credit, at closing, since they will not have to pay for the take conversion.

Lastly, buried oil tanks are forbidden and must be removed prior to closing.

Rental Room Tax Looming (Updated)

There is legislation afoot that will impose a 9.7% 'room' tax on seasonal rentals on the Cape (and all of Massachusetts). The state legislation to allow the towns to impose this tax is a near certainty. The towns may then impose the tax at their respective Town Meetings (Eastham's is May 4th). The 9.7% tax will be split, with the state getting 5.7% and the towns getting the remaining 4%. The purpose is to simply collect more money to cover budget shortfalls.

The discussion about this bill centers on 3 areas. Firstly, will this tax 'hurt' the summer rental business? Since most rental landlords want to keep their weekly rentals fees level (or slightly more) with 2008, the tax will be on top of the rental fees. The Outer Cape will then be 10% less competitive that other locations. This will hurt.

Secondly - Who will collect this tax? The current discussion is that the local rental agencies won't be collecting the fees, since they only represent a fraction of the total rental homes. Then who? and How?

Lastly - the vote. The vast majority of the landlords who own rental property on the Outer Cape don't live here. Therefore they will not get to vote at the town meetings. The taxes will be imposed by the folks who live in the towns, but they will not have to pay. This is certainly unfair to the rental homeowners.

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage at 37-Year Low

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage tumbled to a national average 5.17% this week, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began its weekly rate survey in 1971. Go to MarketWatch.com for the whole story. It won't be long until the full effect is felt on the Outer Cape. 2009 is going to be a good year!