Buyer’s Choice Realty blog

For an interesting read and one broker’s opinion about home buyers this year, head over to REALTYTIMES®. Author Mark Nash, a real estate practitioner in the Chicago area, has done a concise job summarizing what is in and out for home buyers. According to his bio on the site, Nash has been doing his year-end “What’s in, what’s out for homebuyers” series for some years and has been featured on television and in print.

One of the ‘what’s in’ headlines surprises me and I’m not entirely confident it applies to the majority of real estate agents. The headline: Real estate agents as a housing resource, not a salesperson. While we at Buyer’s Choice Realty act as consultants to our clients, there is still evidence that the vast majority of agents care much more about getting sales than helping people, providing them with solid information, and educating them realistically, especially when such information may cause a prospective purchaser to hold off on buying a piece of property.

I hope this trend is changing, because consumers have the right to be educated about purchasing real estate, and need to know that it may not be right for them at this time based on their income, job safety, budgeting, etc.

If you are thinking about purchasing real estate in Massachusetts in 2009, call or email me to discuss your particular situation. Everything you tell me will be kept confidential, and since I only work to help home buyers, you can be sure you have my undivided loyalty. For a no-pressure situation and objective information, contact Buyer’s Choice Realty. Our past and present clients will attest that we have your best interests in mind.

800.25.BUYER (ask for John)

Literally. Here in the north shore town of Beverly, MA, a multimillion dollar mansion burned to the ground Thursday night into Friday morning. Thankfully the owners were away and no one was hurt. Why did this house burn completely? Not because of a lack of response from fire crews.

The house was in a secluded area off a private road in Beverly, and the nearest fire hydrant was an estimated 1200 feet away! The first fire truck arrived one minute after a 9-1-1 call was made by a neighbor. That’s fast. Trouble was, they had to run miles of hose, and the first responders didn’t have enough length of hose in their truck. Neighboring town Peabody sent a fire company with plenty of hose, but by then it was too late, and the crews just made sure that the fire did not spread. It consumed the house faster than they could string hoses up to fight it. Unfortunate, but avoidable. Something to think about if you are in the process of building your dream home. Privacy and views are wonderful, but ashes are not.

The fire inspector determined that the fire was caused by rags covered with paint solvent that spontaneously combusted.  Below is a picture of the flames in action.

picture from wbz-tv.