Website:  vonweisslaw.com The Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) became effective as of March 31, 2012.  The MUPC contains certain family protection provisions meant to assist with the immediate support of surviving spouses and children. One such family protection provision is the exempt property statute (not to be confused with the discretionary family allowance). Under § 2-403(b) of the MUPC, the surviving spouse has the right to remain rent-free in the decedent’s house for six months after the decedent’s death.     Under § 2-403(a), the surviving spouse, or children if there is no surviving spouse, are entitled to up to $10,000 of exempt property from the decedent’s probate estate.   The $10,000 first comes from "household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances and pe... 02/02/2014

Website:  vonweisslaw.com The Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC) became effective as of March 31, 2012. The MUPC contains certain family protection provisions meant to assist with the immediate support of surviving spouses and children. One such family protection provision is the discretionary family allowance (not to be confused with the exempt property statute). Under § 2-404(a) of the MUPC, the personal representative (person in charge of the estate) has the authority to pay a "family allowance" to the surviving spouse and "minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support and children  who were in fact being supported by the decedent."   Unless the court orders otherwise, the personal representative's discretionary authority to pay a family allowance is capped at a lu... 01/30/2014

     It's always been my favorite argument that, unlike paying rent, your thirty year, fixed rate mortgage could never go up. Of course, your real estate taxes go up a little every year, and so will your insurance. Ever since my dad purchased our first home, a five room starter ranch in Brockton MA in 1959 for $12,500.00, which he thought was a little high, he would justify it by stating that they can never raise the mortgage by a penny. He'd tell anyone who would listen, " I made them put that in there, that's why I didn't mind paying a little more."     Once a year, when our tax bill came in the mail he would study it, then deem that all the politicians were crooks for personally raising our taxes.  He was none too happy about it when the Insurance man came to the house to explain tha... 01/10/2014

     If I had a nickel for every time that I had a home seller tell me that the smoke detectors work fine, I wouldn’t be rich but I would have a whole bunch of nickels.  Sometimes it is just better to skip the ion/photo speech and go to the how they work if there was a real fire and everyone was asleep mode.     What if you kept setting off false alarms near the kitchen or bathroom, and one of the kids took the battery out because it annoyed them, or alerted the family that they had spent too much time in the shower?  You would never know.     In a real fire, the firefighters don’t know who may still be in the house, if anyone, They just know that the house is on fire, their worst case scenario is loss of life, and that every second is vital.  The Brockton Fire Department, and its Fire ... 01/07/2013

            Brookfield Heights is a section of Brockton, MA that is nicely located in the Northeast part of the City, bordering the towns of Abington and Holbrook.  From about 1958 to 1962 the Campanelli Brothers built several thousand houses designed to appeal to the young, first time homebuyer. Nearly all of the designs featured an eat-in-kitchen,a family sized living room, three bedrooms and one bath.  It also included an attached garage, which was often modified into living space(s).      At the time, the demand came from young men and women who had grown up during the Great Depression, and were striving to build a better life for their kids.  The economy had recovered from World War II and Korea, and America was building automobiles, and roads to drive them on, at a feverish pace. ... 01/03/2013

The City of Brockton will be holding its' 'Santa Hat Day" this Sunday, November 18th in the downtown section in an attempt to break its' own mark in the "Guiness Book of World Records" for having the most people gathered in one place wearing Santa Hats at the same time.  This year they will be teaming up with the Town of Mullinger, Ireland in an attempt to set the record for greatest number of people in two continents wearing Santa Hats at the same time.      Registration will begin at 10am in front of the Parking Garage and the Official Tally will be taken at 1pm.  Be there, or be square.          11/15/2012

     Brockton High Schools Marciano Stadium will be presented a 22' tall Statue of the Brockton Blockbuster on September 23rd.  A gift to the city by the World Boxing Council, the $250,000 sculpture has been on display in Mexico City. Rocky Marciano was born in Brockton, the son of immigrant Italians who were lured to the city by the opportunities for work in the bustling shoe factories.      Rocky's love of sports eventually led him to the boxing ring where he rose to become the Heavy Weight Champion of the World, and retired as the only undefeated Champion in history with a 49-0 record.  Although he was small in stature by heavy weight standards, his ability to take a punch allowed him to deliver knockout blows that devastated his opponents.       The site for the impressive work of a... 09/04/2012

     The 2012 Junior Golf season begins this Tuesday with the start of the Tuesday Night League. We are hoping to build a traveling team this year, with the help of Head Pro Brian Mattos.  He is trying to arrange a 'home and home' series with a couple of other courses in the area.  This is not as easy as it seems.  Whereas Tuesday is a slow night at DW Field GC, it could be a busy night at some other courses, so the away matches may have to be on a Wednesday or Thursday.       One of our young golfers has graduated from Brockton HS (Golf Team Captain) and will be going to college in North Miami, Florida.  Bill Kougias started his golf journey in our first year at age 12 and regularly shoots in the low '70s.  Mike Mason will be assisting us this year, prior to his Senior year at Catholic... 06/25/2012

What’s Selling – and What’s Not – in Brockton MA 02302 in January 2012   On average, homes for sale in Brockton MA 02302 in January 2012 are on the market for 123 days before they are sold. However, homes in some price ranges are taking a longer time to sell as compared to homes in other price ranges.   The absorption rate is the ability of the real estate market to absorb or sell all of the houses for sale in a given amount of time. That means it’s the rate at which available homes are sold in a specific real estate market during a given time period. In other words, the figure shows how many months it will take to exhaust the supply of homes on the market if no other homes were listed for sale.   The higher the absorption rate (or the less the number of days homes are on market), the h... 02/27/2012

The Trend in Home Prices in Brockton MA 02302 in January 2012 – Improving, or...?   Sales prices of single family homes in Brockton MA 02302 in January 2012 on average have been falling in recent months! Home prices in January 2012 on average are down 40.6% compared to January 2011, and are down 39.5% since July of 2011.   The average listing price of single family homes for sale in Brockton MA 02302 in January 2012 was $123,400, down 25.4% from a month ago. Compare this to the current median sales price of $95,000 - where half of sales are above this amount and half below it.   Below is a chart of the trend of median sales prices of single family homes sold in Brockton MA 02302 over the past 5 years through January 2012:     While the number of single family homes sold per month in Jan... 02/27/2012

What’s Selling – and What’s Not – in Brockton MA 02301 in January 2012   On average, homes for sale in Brockton MA 02301 in January 2012 are on the market for 127 days before they are sold. However, homes in some price ranges are taking a longer time to sell as compared to homes in other price ranges.   The absorption rate is the ability of the real estate market to absorb or sell all of the houses for sale in a given amount of time. That means it’s the rate at which available homes are sold in a specific real estate market during a given time period. In other words, the figure shows how many months it will take to exhaust the supply of homes on the market if no other homes were listed for sale.   The higher the absorption rate (or the less the number of days homes are on market), the h... 02/26/2012

The Trend in Home Prices in Brockton MA 02301 in January 2012 – Improving, or...?   Sales prices of single family homes in Brockton MA 02301 in January 2012 on average have been falling in recent months! Home prices in January 2012 on average are down 10.1% compared to January 2011, and are down 5.5% since July of 2011.   The average listing price of single family homes for sale in Brockton MA 02301 in January 2012 was $166,905, down 10.1% from a month ago. Compare this to the current median sales price of $156,000 - where half of sales are above this amount and half below it.   Below is a chart of the trend of median sales prices of single family homes sold in Brockton MA 02301 over the past 5 years through January 2012:       The number of single family homes sold per month in January... 02/26/2012

The Brockton market has been hit hard by the hosuing crisis. Thousands of homeowners are underwater and a short sale is a viable solution to enable many to get out of a bad situation. My team and I have negotiated over 30 short sales since 2007 and are certain we will get your short sale approved. To learn more contact the Boston Trust Realty Group Team and let us help you today! 617-674-2077 http://btrealtygroup.com 01/19/2012

According to data from the MLS the following facts of record will show that: in the first six months of 2011:   243 homes sold with an average List Price of $170,270 and a final sales price of $164,408 in the last six months :   268 homes sold with an average List Price of $174,352 and a final sales price of $$169,401. These are statistics for single family homes listed and sold in Brockton MA in 2011 through the Multiple Listing Service. 01/04/2012

A home inspector working in Brockton MA is required to perform a home inspection to the Massachusetts Home Inspector Standards of Practice. A copy of the standard will be provided to the client by the home inspector. A copy of the Massachusetts Home Inspectors Facts for Consumers sheet will be provide by the seller or seller's representative.The MA Home Inspector Standards of Practice is written for the professional home inspector. United Inspection Service has created some easy to read Consumer Information Sheets illustrating what is included and excluded in a Standard MA home inspection. Clear client communications (3c) are one of our core values. See the easy to read one page consumer information sheets for each of the systems in a MA Home Inspection.Visit the Brockton MA Home Inspec... 12/26/2011

     For the 4th year in a row the City of Brockton will host a 'SANTA HAT' day to break it's own record for the most people in one place to be wearing one.  The Downtown event will be distributing more than 14,000 hats to school children and adults for the event.  The City already holds the world record.  Officials will record the count, which begins at 2:30.     In the late 1800's James Edgar became the first department store Santa Claus at his store on Main St.  From there the idea was adopted by Macy's and other retailers throughout the country.  11/17/2011

  Why am I in Foreclosure in Brockton, Massachusetts?     In the mid 2000’s it was so easy to get a mortgage on your property.  The house had value and the banks would on occasion even lend more than you were actually paying for the property.  Of course when your loans are not backed by any type of collateral and the time comes to collect on the loan it is tough to get reimbursed for money that has been spent with nothing to back it.    For many years the bank would generally loan you 90% of the purchase price of the property.  That way you have some skin in the deal and it will be harder for you to walk away from your hard earned money.  For most people to come up with $10,000 to buy a $100,000 house it will take them a long time saving which makes it difficult to give that up if you h... 07/19/2011

HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE BROCKTON FAIR YET? The yearly Brockton Fair is being held this week.  Today's events for the fair include amusement rides, refreshments and game booths.  The cattle show starts at 7 p.m. and there is a comedian performing at 8:30 today.  The best show is at the grandstand, which will feature the Purina Agility Dogs, today at 7:00 p.m.  Located at Belmont Street (Route 123) Exit 17 off Route 24 in Brockton.  Have fun at the fair!   Hello, welcome to my blog and welcome to the South Shore of Boston, MA.  If you are a potential home buyer and you are interested in a South Shore neighborhood, please contact me today to start receiving listings and open house schedules.  Let's connect so we can begin visiting houses.  I can answer any other questions you may have regardi... 07/07/2011

If you are a Brockton resident facing foreclosure and don't know where to turn, FYourLender.com can help. FYourLender.com provides a FREE service to distressed Brockton home owners that will enable you to sell your home, avoid foreclosure, get your debt forgiven and put you on the path to personal and financial recovery. In some instances home owners are even provided relocation financial assistance depending on their situation. FYourLender.com can offer this service for free because the banks will pay a fee to FYL for successfully negotiating a short sale. In addition to this service FYourLender.com also offers every home owner a $500 short sale approval guarantee. So If FYL cannot get a short sale approved, they will pay the Brockton home owner $500, no questions asked. This is a grea... 05/15/2011

   For the 33rd year in a row Dave Gorman will be running the Saturday morning road races for kids 14 years old and under.  For only a dollar the kids participate in a 2.2 mile run around D.W. Field Park in Brockton.  The races start at 10am, with sign ups at 9:30 in the Pentangle parking lot near the tower. This is family fun and they have ribbons for prizes to the winners, or for any other kid who Mr. Gorman thinks needs one.  04/17/2011