Hitting the Wall, First Time Homeowners Blues always starts with a little fear, then a determined attitude that you can own a home.  First keep your good credit score, create some savings and gather a down payment.  From there go to the internet and search. Don't get caught in traps that want your email address and phone number. Do look for sites that provide real information and are easy to navigate and hard to leave.  Hard to leave because they have all the information you need. Aren't all the best real estate websites those that lure you in with information and keep you there with actionable and usable information.  It is not just about real estate, but what real estate is, which is community, schools, neighborhoods, support and services.  The hard part is getting all this into your ... 08/11/2014

Westwood, MA 02090 Luxury Homes  There were 166 homes sold in Westwood over the last 12 months.  MLSPIN supplies us this data regarding the sales. Single Family Listings: 166    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 2,477.14    Avg. List$: $782,364    Avg. List$/SqFt: $326    Avg. DOM: 57.49   Avg. Sale$: $770,551   Avg. Sale$/SqFt: $322 14 Longmeadow Drive interior Luxury homes are defined as those homes in the top ten percent of the sales in your MLS area.  The MLS area for MLSPIN includes a lot of the Boston Area.  $855,000 puts a house in the MLSPIN area into a luxury category. For a town like Westwood, MA 02090 with an average sale of $770,551 the top ten percent of this town starts your sale price at $1,386,991.80.  Using this as the least expensive home let's see what happened in Westwood during t... 07/12/2014

Begin at the beginning has a call coming into my phone from a client. This client used me as their agent to secure a rental in one of my areas.  Rentals are not my business, but my business is driven by making good people thrilled with my knowledge and service.  The rental went smoothly for two years and when it was time for them to buy they called me.  Yesterday we closed on their new home and they were thrilled, again, but that is not this story.  This story has Angela calling me because someone just came to their door trying to rent their place and he sounded desperate.  I don't like it when a client opens a door for a random person because I have my sign in their lawn.  Yes, I secured the rental listing on this property while working as my renter's Buyers Agent.  No stone unturned ... 07/10/2014

Luxury defined. You be the final judge, but before you get there we can look at various ways luxury property is defined.  Price is always the key.  The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (ILHM) defines Luxury as the top 10% of the market in terms of Sales Price.  The ILHM does it by your MLS region, and we are in the Greater Boston Association of Realtors® (GBAR) here.  We are also Massachusetts Association of Realtors®, (MAR), all under (NAR), the National Association of Realtors®.  The top 10 percent of the market will flucuate each day based on what closed that day.  The look at prices over the last month and the last year and come up with an average.  Earlier this year it was $855,000 and above was the top 10% of the real estate market for the GBAR region.  If you live in Wellesley... 07/01/2014

Real Estate is a full contact sport that takes some time to perfect, like all sports.  At first I was very reluctant to knock on people's doors. I hated it when people came to my door to solicit me.  I was sure everyone felt the same way I did.  I didn't even want to call people in the morning because I thought I was intruding on their privacy, same with the evening when they would be home.  I sent letters, I walked the farm and dropped off postcards and just listed/just sold materials and would engage with anyone walking their dog, or gardening in the yard. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" I would start.  "Nice day to be out, don't you think," I might comment.  I was always looking for a way not to intrude, not to be a sales guy.  I hated sales guys.  I still hate sales guys.  Yesterday I go... 06/03/2014

"It's all about you," is a phrase I have used for years at the end of all my emails.  Only every once in a while do I get someone who takes issue with it.  I will get an email back with indignant and accusatory language.  How dare you say it's all about me, it's all about you ass****.  Was one such snappy retort.  It stopped me in my tracks.  I know that email and writing in general does not carry the intent and feeling of a face to face conversation, lots is lost in the way people read your words.  Lots depends on their mood, they temperament, how things are going in their day, the content on what they are reading to name just some of the ways we are misinterpreted. It's all about you is how YourStories Realty Group feels about our clients, prospects and colleagues.  We truly do care a... 05/15/2014

  Business relationships drive business. The company you keep, the friends you make in your career, in many ways are a reflection of your career.  If the people you work with are calm and organized chances are you highly value those traits.  Working with good people can make the difference in your professional life.  I have always looked to people working at the top of the profession for insight and wisdom.  Gary Keller says, “Success leaves clues.”  I completely agree.  You can tell when someone is practicing mastery what they are doing, and how they do it..  This is true in all walks of life.  Some people like what they do and do it well, some people don’t.  The point is be around smart, successful people and start to do what they do.  Business relationships drive business.   David Kr... 04/22/2014

Assessment, year to date, Boston Area Move In Homes, YourStories Realty Group with Keller Williams, MastermindEast-Borino, Family, Occupation, Recreation and Message in the first quarter and now 21 days into the second quarter.  Best practices in business dictate that you review your goals and tasks daily, not yearly.  Certainly you should physically pull out and read your yearly goals--this is a minimum. The very act of reading your goal will excite you and remind you of what you wanted to do.  Remember back in Nov-Dec when you began writing your Goals for the year?  You had excitement and anticipation.  Pulling out your goals regularly reminds you of that positive energy. The more positive energy you have going through your system every single day is going to pull you along.  Being pu... 04/21/2014

Michael Mahoney of Remax Way reviews the current status of the Westwood Mass real estate market. You can see more in the video below. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Westwood, check out http://www.HomesinWestwoodMass.com 04/11/2014

The Power of Many-Active Rain Meetups are where you can find that answer than can put you over the top.  Meeting with other professionals who are actively looking to do better on a daily basis is a way to build your business, today.  They always say that birds of a feather, flock together, well so do really smart and successful agents.  No doubt you have people in your office who do nothing but complain.  You know agents who sit in their home office in their jammies until noon doodling on the computer and posting cat videos to their friends.  That is not what an Active Rain meet-up is all about.  Sure we are social, but we are also focused on getting to know other top bloggers and agents.  Sure we compete in the same business, but don't all the most successful people know each other.  L... 03/27/2014

The Company you keep, the friends you make in your career in many ways are a reflection of your career.  If the people you work with are calm and organized chances are you highly value those traits.  Working with good people can make the difference in your professional life.  I have always looked to people working at the top of the profession for insight and wisdom.  Gary Keller says, "Success leaves clues."  I completely agree.  You can tell when someone has a clue about what they are doing and how they perform their work.  This is true in all walks of life. Some people like what they do and do it well, some people don't. Some people like it but do the work very poorly. The permutations go on, but the point is get around smart successful people and start to do what they do.  A lot of t... 02/20/2014

I have to confess I had not read the Community Guidelines since first starting here on Active Rain in late 2009.  I see they are far more specific than I remember them and far better at explaining what this community is truly about.  This community for me and for so many others is a WEALTH of information and a TREASURE of wonderful, professional people willing to open up, lend a hand and be a strong shoulder when you are overwhelmed.  I have made many friends here and have put into my bucket lists trips to places I would never think of going just to meet some of these people in person.  For that reason I want to be one of those people. I pick up the phone when a member calls, I return all the emails, I comment on other's blogs who have commented on mine. This just seems like common cour... 01/14/2014

Westwood, MA 02090 2013 Single Family Housing Report reveals just 236 houses that were on the market, sold, expired, canceled or are currently under agreement.  Westwood is a town south of Boston with a good school system and a great community. From Wikipedia In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Westwood 13th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. Boston Magazine listed Gay Street in Westwood on its list of the Best Streets in the Boston area. It is currently the 20th wealthiest town in Massachusetts.[1]                                                                                        Westwood Home for Sale 142 Gay St Single Family Active Listings: 23    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 4,715.65     Avg. List$: $1,580,900    Avg. List$/SqFt: $335     Avg.... 01/07/2014

In 2013 there were 150 homes that closed within the year for Westwood, MA. This is a decrease of 25 units as there were 175 homes that closed in Westwood for 2012. The average list price for the homes that closed in Westwood for 2013 was $721,585. The average list price for the homes that closed in Westwood for 2012 was $746,682. The average sale price for the homes that closed in Westwood for 2013 was $710,263 The average sale price for the homes that closed in Westwood for 2012 was $713,231. The average market time for the homes that closed in Westwood for 2013 was 66 days. The average market time for the homes that closed in Westwood for 2012 was 125 days. Thinking of selling your home in Westwood or other Norfolk county towns, call or email me...I would welcome the opportunity to sh... 12/31/2013

Who's fault is it, because it is definitely not my fault. Come on, you have heard this before and probably said it too.  It is always someone elses fault. There is always someone else who could have helped and didn't, who promised things and broke the promise, who took advantage of your good nature, who used your talents and returned nothing, right?  I have some of this myself.  After nine months working for a "best friend" who got me into this business in 2010 I realized he had lied about everything.  He was using my talents to grow his business and taking 50% of everything I did.  I moved on. His office closed that same year. I did far more homework before signing with my second agency.  I went with one of the top international brands with a big footprint in the areas in which I wante... 12/27/2013

1-3-Granite-Cambridge-MA What the ER taught me about RE this week was a good bit.  First of all I have to say I am fine now, but that is not how I felt last Friday afternoon.  My stomach was distended and I had shooting pains throughout my whole body.  I am not someone who gets sick very often.  I am not a good patient. I don’t like being sick. Off to the emergency room I went around 8:30 PM Friday.  The pain was intense, you know, the kind of pain that makes you wish you were dead.  I sat in the waiting room being accosted by bad tv and other unhappy people.  When we (my wife was with me) got in to the ER I was giving an IV and sat on a gurney in this busy world where 20 minutes becomes 2 hours before anything happens. 3 Granite Street, Cambridge, MA Multi-family When I got into an ex... 12/25/2013

Homes Sold in Westwood Mass 02090 by Michael Mahoney Remax http://wwww.homesinwestwoodmass.com | Michael Mahoney Remax Real Estate agent and licensed Realtor Westwood Mass 02090 Today I review Westwood real estate and Westwood homes sold in the last week.  There were 4 closed sales in Westwood last week. These 4 sales only took about 37 days of marketing to get them sold.  Year to date there have been 145 closed sales in Westwood. If you would like the report on all of these closed sales just drop us a quick email to mike@mmahoney.com and let us know and we will get it to you.    You can always check out my Google Plus page @ http://plus.google.com/+michaelmahoney  I am a Westwood real estate agent with Remax. My web site HomesinWestWoodMass.com will have westwood market data and compre... 12/15/2013

In a numbers game, this is not the goal to be gathering points here and not serving our community.  Real Estate is a numbers game, no doubt. The number of human contacts you make each day and have substantive conversations about real estate is the real number to track. From that one number, the number of people you speak to in person, or on the phone in person, you can track your success.  All the other numbers pale in comparison.  The number of people in your database, the number of people who receive your newsletter, the number of magnets and Christmas cards means far less, just like the number of points you have in Active Rain. I am proud of the fact that I will go over 4,000 points this year, that was a goal.  I am more proud that I have had 25 posts that have been featured. To me t... 12/15/2013

Be Prepared For The Winter Storm Coming to Boston Dec. 15th With These Quick Tips  It’s getting cold, and that means you’re at risk for blizzards or ice storms. Depending on where you live, these winter storms can knock out the power for weeks. With these easy tips, you can be prepared for – and even enjoy – these storms.  Stay Warm  Losing power means losing heat, and that can be a pain. But trust me, you can live comfortably for a long time with no heat. The first step is to dress warm. Lots of light layers keep you warmer than one big coat, so layer up. Wear a hat or a hood as well. Your body loses most of its heat through your head. It’s also important to insulate your house. Put extra weather stripping or towels under the door and windows. You don’t want any drafts getting in.   Ke... 12/11/2013

Could you do me a favor, the agent asked me?  This was when I called to view her listing and I knew immediately I was in trouble with this one. She wanted me to call her office, speak to a specific Admin and tell her that I had spoken with this agent who will speak to the client, so that she could give me the lock box code now.  Jeez.  So off I went.  No surprise, the admin didn't answer and didn't get back to me.  Next day, with our walk through of this house scheduled in 2 hours, and I haven't heard from either Agent X or Admin Y my mind races.  I called Admin Y first..., voice mail again, and again, no pick up and no response.  Trying to not get annoyed doing all this agents work, I take a deep breathe and call her. "I am so busy, I can't remember the code, call Admin Y" implored Age... 12/11/2013