7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Agent

If you’re looking to sell a home, it’s important to have the right agent by your side. Here are seven questions you need to ask a real estate agent before hiring them.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

The decision to sell your home is a big one, so you want to make sure you have the right person representing you. Today, I’ll go over seven questions you need to ask a real estate agent before hiring them.

Find out how hiring them will specifically benefit the sale of your home.

1. Are you a full-time professional and how long have you been practicing?
2. How many homes have you sold? Ask how many homes they usually sell monthly and annually. The National Association of Realtors has calculated that half of practicing real estate agents sell fewer than two homes a year.
3. What active networks are you participating in? Find out how hiring them will specifically benefit the sale of your home.
4. Are you an active member of the National Association of Realtors? Make sure they belong to associations that will confirm their expertise and facilitate the sale of your home.
5. Do you hold a broker’s license, and what is your errors and omissions insurance policy coverage? You want to make sure you’re covered if there is a liability issue during the course of the sale.
6. Do you employ a staff, and what level of expertise does that staff carry? You want to work with the best, and an agent’s team should be an extension of the agent.
7. Are your affiliates committed to your success? Have them give you an example, so you know the people they work with will help ensure your home sale.

If you have any questions about the process of hiring an agent, or general questions about real estate, please give me a call or shoot me an email. I would be happy to help.

Why Does K&T Wiring Affect Insurance and Home Sales?

Knob and tube wiring comes with many disadvantages. Today, we’ll go over how K&T wiring can impact your home sale, insurance, and renovations.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Knob and tube wiring, or K&T wiring, was used by electricians until about a couple of decades ago. There are a few reasons why K&T wiring is not as prevalent in new homes.

First of all, what is knob and tube wiring? This wiring installs a pair of lines that run from the fuse box from a single supply wire. After they hit the first switch, the supply wire divides into two switching wires. At the second remote switch, the two wires come together to be a single supply wire again. Finally, the supply wire gets routed from the second switch light fixture, and then there is a single return back to the fuse box.

K&T wiring presents a number of disadvantages. For instance, when you sell your home, many home insurance companies won’t insure the home if it has knob and tube wiring upon transfer of ownership. The truth is that knob and tube wiring is never included as a safety grounding conductor. It also doesn’t confine switching to the Carter system. Finally, inline splices in the walls without a junction box is also considered a downside.

Knob and tube wiring comes with many problems.

Knob and tube wiring is allowed in certain industrial and agricultural uses today, but it is no longer practical for residential use. Modern home buyers find that K&T wiring systems lack the capacity for today’s level of power.

First-generation wiring systems have become susceptible to abuse by homeowners who would replace blown fuses with fuses rated for a higher current. This over-fusing of the circuits subjects wiring to a higher level of current, risking heat damage or fire.

K&T wiring may also be damaged by building renovations. For instance, if you add insulation to the property, dry, brittle wires can expose that insulation to sparking and fire.

The U.S. National Electrical Code forbids the use of loose-blown or expanding foam insulation over K&T wiring. K&T wiring is designed to let heat dissipate into the surrounding air. As a result, making energy-efficient upgrades to previously uninsulated walls usually requires replacing the electric wiring in that wall.

Another risk is that as K&T wiring gets older, many insurance companies will not write policies unless all the wiring in the home is replaced or an electrician attests that the wiring is in good condition. In fact, many lenders are unwilling to finance a home with K&T wiring unless the electrical system has been upgraded. In some cases, partial upgrades may be acceptable.

As you can see, there are many disadvantages that come with knob and tube wiring. If you have any questions about K&T wiring, insulation, or home insurance, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you in any way that we can.

A Simple Selling Strategy for Home Sellers

Using a price reduction is an effective strategy for selling your home. Here is everything you need to know about when and how to use them.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

If you’re selling your home, one effective strategy you can employ to get it sold quickly and for top dollar is to use a price reduction. Here is everything you need to know about when and how to use them in our market:.

When is the best time for you to implement a price reduction? If you haven’t had any showings or received any offers over a period of 30 days, the basic rule of thumb is that your property may be as much as 10% overpriced. If you’ve had absolutely no activity whatsoever on it, it could be even more overpriced. Moderate activity on the house in conjunction with low offers indicates that it may be priced as little as 5% over its true market value.

How do buyers view price reductions? Buyers always see price reductions as an advantage because as the price comes down, the buyers consider the property to be more affordable, especially when considering the other competition. Never assume that your price reduction is going to work against your best interests with buyers.

Your price reduction will not work against your best interests with buyers.

What advantage does a price reduction create? First and foremost, a price reduction will be more attractive to buyers than other properties in the same segment of the market because your property then becomes a better bargain.

How will a price reduction affect the competition? A price reduction will cause your listing to be shown more frequently, which will increase the number of times your property will generate an offer, and, in most cases, it will cause your property to sell in a shorter period of time.

What happens when the list price falls below market value? One of the great realities of a free market system in our economy is that when a list price falls below market value, it will attract more buyers. This will usually result in multiple offers from buyers, which will bring the value back up to equal or above market value.

If you have any other questions about selling your home in the Merrimack Valley area, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you!

How to Optimize Your Real Estate Transaction

There are many advantages to hiring a professional Realtor. We have nine of them to share with you today.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

There are certain decisions in a real estate transaction that your professional Realtor can help you optimize. As a home seller, there are a number of decisions you will be faced with. Some of the very important ones involve the following nine items, which we have compiled into a list. Here are a few things a good Realtor can help you with:

Having a professional Realtor on your side is a huge advantage.

1. Pricing properly. It’s critical that you hire someone who keeps a close eye on the market. A Realtor knows exactly what trends are on the market and can help your price your home in a way that will maximize your property’s impact on buyers.

2. Negotiation. How can you capitalize on each offer that comes to you? A real estate agent has professional negotiation skills that will help you maximize every opportunity.

3. Marketing. How are you going to market your property? What are the most effective ways to implement marketing? A good Realtor knows how to market your property effectively.

4. Inspections. You want to get the best results when negotiating inspection requests with the buyer, and a Realtor can help you do just that.

5. Appraisals. We know how to get the best results from your appraisal.

6. Financing. Having someone that understands financial nuances is important. Not every bank and lending institution operates on the same level.

7. Legal requirements. Every transaction has some restrictions and a Realtor can help guide you in determining which requirements need to be addressed.

8. Timing decisions. These are critical. You need to determine when each facet of the transaction will happen and how that affects interest rates and property taxes.

9. Psychology of business. When you’re dealing with an important decision, the psychology of a professional Realtor can keep everything together from beginning to end.

As you can see, having a professional Realtor is a huge advantage when buying or selling a home. If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

What Goes into Effectively Pricing Your Home?

What happens when comparative market analyses, Zillow Zestimate, and assessments on a property come in at drastically different values?

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

I’m excited to share a story about pricing property with you today.

Recently, we were involved with the sale of a property located in Carlisle, Massachusetts in which we represented the seller. This was a very beautiful ranch-style five-bedroom home with three baths; however, we did experience some confusion when trying to accurately price this property.

The first comparative market analysis of the home that I brought to the seller indicated a value of about $760,000. Zillow estimated the property’s value at about $794,500, and the assessment from the town came in at $632,000. When all was said and done, the list price of the property ended up being $799,999.

A property’s uniqueness can affect its sale price.

The reason that I conceded to the seller’s request to list it at this price was because upon further research, there hadn’t been any properties of this size that had sold in the town for the past 10 years. This uniqueness seemed to warrant the higher listing price.

Here’s the rub: the appraisal came in at $700,000 after we entered into a contract for a purchase price of $800,000. So what was the final sale price? Long story short, the property sold for $800,000 – the full price that it had been under contract for. Even though the appraisal came in $100,000 below the agreed-upon price, there was enough legitimate leveraging value to make the deal at this price.

If you have any other questions regarding pricing property or anything else, please give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

How to Choose from Multiple Bids on Your Home

When you’re a seller with multiple bids on your property, which is the best bid to take? Is it the one with the highest price? Is it the one with the best terms?

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Let’s say you don’t want to have to move for 90 days, but the buyer with the highest bid wants you to be out of your house within 30 days. Or maybe the highest bid has all kinds of additional terms, like being subject to appraisal, subject to home inspections, and subject to meeting FHA criteria. The decision you have to make is whether it’s worth it for you to encumber the property with those requirements just to get a higher price on the property, which may ultimately be deflated.

Is the encumbrance worth the higher price?

If you have any questions or concerns about what to do in a multiple bid situation, we’d love to help you out. Give us a call or send us an email - we look forward to hearing from you!

Should You Hire a Team or an Individual Agent?

If you're selling your home, there are many advantages to working with a team rather than a single agent. A real estate team can be more accommodating to your needs and help you on short notice.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Should you work with an individual real estate agent or an agent that works as part of a team?

If you hire an agent who is actually working with a small professional team that can service your needs, there are some distinct advantages. For starters, you can almost always have immediate support with a team in the event that your agent is busy with another aspect of the business or your transaction. 

Additionally, teams can accommodate buyers on short notice. Say your lead agent is on an appointment and a buyer wants to see your home without much notice. It's much more likely that a team will be able to accommodate that buyer without the lead agent immediately available. 

Teams are much more versatile than individual agents.

Remember, when you sell, you'll then need to buy. A team can compete better in a seller's market like we're seeing in the Northeast. A home we listed recently had 30 showings in the first two days. When the market is this competitive, it's critical to have a team to accommodate your needs right away when the house of your dreams is listed on the market. A team will also be able to accommodate the other party's schedule as well as your own. 

Finally, with a team, you'll have members with specialized expertise. The team could be comprised of a lead member who is a professional negotiator, then a computer expert who is very good with contracts and interfacing with attorneys, someone who is a buying expert, and a staging expert. 

If you have any questions about working with a team to sell your home, feel free to reach out to us. We'd love to tell you about what makes our team so effective to work with when you're buying or selling a home. 

Does Your Attic Have Insulation That Contains Asbestos?

Vermiculite insulation is often found in homes today as a result of an inspection. This type of insulation—usually found in attics—contains asbestos. 

It's not absolutely necessary to have it removed, and some people decide to keep it and contain it without disturbing or touching it. It does serve as an insulator, but many people decide to have Vermiculite insulation removed, and it should be done by a certified removal company. Typically this insulation will be replaced with asbestos-free insulation that's safe for the environment. 

When you have this done, it creates a clean, safer environment to live in.

If you have any further questions about Vermiculite insulation or about real estate in the Merrimack Valley market, give us a call or send us an email today. We'd be happy to help.

5 Factors of FICO Scores that Determine Your Buying Future

Looking to buy or sell a home in Merrimack Valley? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at(978) 852-3001 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Thanks for tuning in today. Let's talk about FICO scores.

Fair Isaac Corporation investigates the history and creditworthiness of clients and customers across the country. There are a number of different credit agencies such as Experian, Equifax, and Transunion, which actually compile data with billions of pieces of information regarding creditworthiness. When you're selling or leasing to a prospective client, it's important that you understand their creditworthiness is a criteria, which in most cases will enable us to predict the creditworthiness of a prospective client. 

There are five different categories of payment history, which are reviewed in order to determine creditworthiness. 

1. Payment history is the first, which accounts for 35% of the FICO score.
2. Amount owed compromise is a 30% factor.
3. Length of credit history is 15%.
4. Newly opened accounts and inquiries amount to 10%.
5. The mix of credit cards, retail accounts, installation loans, installment loans, and mortgage loans determines the final 10%.

"Credit agencies compile data with billions of pieces of info regarding creditworthiness."

The credit score itself can range from between 350 to 850 as far as a general score, and those scores 720 and above are considered excellent. Between 680 and 719 is good, and the scores from 620-679 generally garner a closer look from lenders. Scores between 585 and 619 put someone at a higher risk for default, and a score of 584 or below makes the lender question whether or not to make credit available.


If you have any questions about creditworthiness or any other real estate factors, please feel free to reach out to me today. I'd be happy to speak with you.

Changes Enacted by the NAR Affect Our Local Board

Looking to buy or sell a home in Merrimack Valley? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at(978) 852-3001 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

I wanted to talk about some of the advancements that are taking place on our local real estate boards in terms of arbitration disputes and resolution. Ombudsmen are actually now being made available to local real estate boards to try and help resolve conflicts or misunderstandings or communication breakdowns. 

One of the great benefits is that it helps parties when either clients or brokers or agents get into disputes about a certain transaction. An ombudsman will be appointed in such a way that they can help achieve a quick resolution of any kind of a dispute.

Some changes were enacted by the new committee for the National Association of Realtors in 2015. 

• Mandatory processes to ensure timely payment of arbitration awards
• Streamlines grievance committee review or ethics complaints and arbitration requests 
• Steps to prevent costly and unnecessary continuances
• Expedited administrative processing and time frames for arbitration
• Enhancements to the National Association of Realtors model citation policy and ombudsman policy
• Simplification of disclosure requirements in print and online advertising
• Enhancements to encourage informal dispute resolution settlement
• Strengthen procedures to penalties for non-compliance to discipline
• New effective dates of policies adopted by the NAR Board of Directors to assure timely implementation of new initiatives

If you have any questions, thoughts or concerns about arbitration or disputes, please feel free to reach out to me. 

Foreclosure Solutions in the Merrimack Valley

Looking to buy or sell a home in Merrimack Valley? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at(978) 852-3001 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

If you or anyone you know is going through a foreclosure, I have some advice for you to give them. It will make them incredibly happy after going through such a tough time.

1. The first thing that you can do is have them talk to a real estate professional that is highly skilled with short sales. Short sales offer benefits foreclosures do not.
2. Have the person know that after three years, their credit will be reset and they will be able to purchase again if they qualify, if they’ve had a short sale. Foreclosures can take anywhere from seven to 10 years for credit to heal.  
3. With a short sale, the person can remain in the property for a longer period of time than in a foreclosure.
4. Short sales allow better creditworthiness. Although it is not ideal, they stand a much better chance with a short sale than a foreclosure.

This can be a very tough time for people, but I urge you to reach out and speak to someone before they have to go through the awful process of foreclosure. Short sales are viable options in this situation, but many people simply don’t realize it.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Should You Wait for a Better Offer?

Looking to buy or sell a home in Merrimack Valley? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at(978) 852-3001 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Should you accept the first offer on your home, or hold out for a better one? In today’s real estate climate, we are in an extremely active seller’s market. It’s important for you to take advantage of this opportunity and sell your home for top dollar in a short amount of time.

That means once your property is priced at true market value, several buyers will be attracted to your property.

Recently, a property sat on the market for six months because it did not have a garage and it was priced a little above market value. We strategically adjusted the price and elevated the quality of the property using professional services like professional photography, home staging, and videography posted online. Once we achieved that, we began to get offers coming in.

Had we accepted the first offer, we would have lost $43,000 in leveraging for that client. What I mean by that is when the first offer comes in, it’s important to understand that other offers will follow when the home is priced right. The agent can leverage that first offer so you can achieve the best time frame for your sale, get the best price, and the best terms and conditions.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Quick Tips for Merrimack Valley Family Estate Sales

Looking to buy or sell a home in Merrimack Valley? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (978) 852-3001 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Family estate sales are happening more and more in our marketplace. Today, I’ll go over some important things you should consider when making family estate sale decisions. 

First of all, it is important that all the decision makers are included. Take everybody’s input and feedback. When you hire an agent, make sure you hire someone who will make everybody feel included but is also able to get everyone to come to a consensus. Your agent will help you make business decisions rather than emotional decisions. 

While hiring an agent, make sure they are able to interact well with everyone involved. People in your family all have different personalities, so your agent needs to be able to interact with each one of them so no one feels left out of the process. 

One of the greatest pitfalls in selling a family estate is pricing by committee. Pricing by committee happens when some members of the family think the estate is worth more than it actually is in the current marketplace. That one family member can cause the family to overprice the property, which undermines the success of the sale. 

As you can see, choosing the right agent is critical. They need to make everyone feel included, rein people in on occasion, and price your home correctly. They also need to have expert advice on staging, marking, and more. 

Last but not least, your family needs an end result that will bring a feeling of peace. You don’t want to cause any dissonance in your family throughout the sale process.

How Can I Serve You Outside of Real Estate?

Looking to buy or sell a home in Merrimack Valley? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (978) 852-3001 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today I just wanted to share with you a few things regarding my partnership with Business Network International. Joining BNI is the best decision I’ve ever made as a real estate practitioner. Our chapter has a powerful association of 44 members and we each support each other’s businesses.

None of our members are in competition with one another, so that allows us to be free in terms of giving our support. For example, when I’m helping you sell your home and we need to consult with professionals, I know I have a list of people who have high integrity and can get the job done. Members of our chapter include plumbers, carpenters, engineers, electricians, surveyors, attorneys, and others that demand service on a higher level.

By being with this organization, I’ve been able to serve my clients on a much higher level. Last year, our chapter referred over $2 million in business to one another. If you’re a businessperson, you actually have the opportunity to join the chapter too. Just visit bni.com or bnimass.com to learn more. If you have any other questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you!

How We Made Sure Karen's Aunt Understood Her Transaction

What was your experience working with Paul Brouillette?

“They sold our unit right away. He was selling my aunt’s unit, so he came up to do the evaluation, listed it, and sold it within two weeks. He sold it for $5,000 more than the asking price. He took time out of his hectic schedule and drove to my aunt’s house and sat with her for a long time, explaining things over and over and over again. She had to purchase a sales agreement signed by her, then he got stuck in rush hour traffic at the worst time of day just to make sure she understood every single thing that was on the contract.”

To contact Paul Brouillette, call (978) 852-3001 or email paul@paulbrouillete.com.

Thinking About Upscaling in Merrimack Valley?

Looking to buy or sell a home in Merrimack Valley? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (978) 852-3001 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

If you’re considering an upgrade, the first thing to consider is whether you benefit from that transition. Consider taking a look at the economic benefits and ask yourself if it’s affordable to upgrade at the moment. Will the resale of a future home be more than the resale of your current property? Be sure to consider taxes and appreciation as well

Lastly, ask yourself whether the new home will serve your family’s needs. Ultimately, will a new home enable a happier lifestyle? This is pretty important to think about because that’s the final goal anywhere in life!

If you’re thinking about upscaling, reach out to me today by phone or email. I’d be happy to mediate this conversation with you!