What's Happening in Falmouth on Cape Cod?

October 2007

Oct. 21, 2007 - JUST FOR KIDS

Just For Kids
OK, I know it's a stretch, but why not have a blog for kids. Kids like to blog and maybe more so than us adults, and besides, they could teach us a thing or too about blogging and internet technology, even to us know-it-all e-PRO's. Question: why do parents, aunts and uncles bring little kids to Red Sox and Celtics games? Answer: to create the next generation of fans or fanatics. So the same thing for kids on a real estate website - get them familiar with and thinking and learning about real estate as kids because they will be the next generation of homebuyers and sellers and even real estate agents and brokers.
Enough already, here's "Just For Kids'" and don't forget to add your ideas and suggestions and make it grow;
www.capecodspecials.com/just-for-kids2.html
- DAVID

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Oct. 17, 2007 - Overpriced in Falmouth??

Is Falmouth Overpriced? By David F. Kelley
Here's a re-printed article from the Falmouth Enterprise on October 28, 2003 that might shed light on today's market. For instance, 268 single family homes for sale vs.496 today - 268 being a more normal number - and 431 solds vs 356 today. Like the old 'gold rush' this is a bit of history that seems to have led to today's slugish market.
Is Real Estate in Falmouth Overpriced? Good question, so let's find out.
During the first 3 quarters of this year (2003), 391 homes were sold at an average price of $445,000. In the same period last year (2002) 431 sold averaging $376,000 or $69,000 less, and 5 years ago (1998) 485 sold averaging only $230,000 or $215,000 less.
Do these price increases mean the homes were overpriced? Some of them probably were and generally It means they are worth more, but why? Possibly because our town has become very attractive to buyers, especially those who cannot afford the prices on Nantucket and the Vineyard and also the younger "Baby Boomers" who are now ready to buy second homes. (continued on link):
www.capecodspecials.com/overpriced.html
- DAVID

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Oct. 13, 2007 - BRIEF HISTORY OF FALMOUTH

A Brief History of Falmouth.
One of my favorite places in New England is the White Mountains in New Hampshire where I often hiked, skiied, camped and stayed in one of the several AMC huts on the Appalachian trail. The Appalachian mountains were formed over 500 million years ago, but what does this have to do with Falmouth on Cape Cod? Plenty as you'll see. Cape Cod only came into existence less than 15,000 years ago when the glacier that covered the area melted and created the Cape and islands from the dirt, rocks, and gravel imbedded in the glacier. Much of this material actually came from the White Mountains and Canada as the glacier scoured off the mountain tops and dragged it downhill to the ocean which untimately formed where I live in Cape Cod. Here's the story: www.capecodspecials.com/fal-hist.html - DAVID

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Oct. 12, 2007 - QUESTIONS TO ASK HOMEBUYERS

Important Questions to Ask Home Buyers.
According to the webstats on my website, these questions are a top 10 most visited page. Realtors know them, but it will help homebuyers to be prepared to answer them to better help their buyers agent.
* Are you a cash buyer, are you going to get a mortgage or pay for it by some other method?
* Do you have to sell another home before buying? If so, many home sellers will either reject an offer based on this or only allow a short period of time to place it under agreement.
* Are you pre-approved by a bank? It's very important to do as before you begin your new home search to know what you can afford and because many home sellers will only work with pre-approved home buyers.
If not, I'll be happy to suggest several local lenders for you to contact? Local lenders are preferable to off-cape banks for several reasons. There is lots of competition here and they work hard to get the business and earn your recommendations for future potential customers. They know the area well,
it's values, and the best people to choose for various things like appraisers, attorneys, etc.
* What is your time frame for buying a home? Is it under 3 months, less than a year, or no hurry?
* What price range do you want to work within?
* Describe what you are looking for in a home? A brief description followed by some specifics
such as style, size, age, no. of bedrooms and baths, location or area, neighborhood.
* Have you been looking for a while or are you just starting to look?
* Are you familiar with the Falmouth area?
* Would you like a map? If so, please let me know and I'll mail one.
* Are you working with any other realtors?
- DAVID

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Oct. 10, 2007 - THE RIGHTS OF HOMEBUYERS

The Rights and Responsibilities of Homebuyers.
Did you know that homebuyers have rights? Of course they do, but how often have you ever seen them written down so you could read them. Well if they have rights, they must also have responsibilities. Knowledge of both is very important for the homebuyer to know as it can avoid serious problems down the road if this knowledge is lacking. This info comes from the website of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and would be good to get familiar with before purchasing a home: www.capecodspecials.com/buyers-rights.html. - DAVID

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Oct. 5, 2007 - THINK LIKE A BUYER

Why Can't a Homeseller Think Like a Buyer??
Many homebuyers can be very secretive and difficult to get info from. The most intelligent ones on the other hand, are full of questions and want to know absolutely everything about any home that interests them and will study them like Napoleon planning a battle. In the final analysis when it comes to "decision time" they will make a chart comparing all physical details of each of the 3 or 4 homes that they are considering. This also includes time on market, sellers original purchase price, comparable sales vs current list price, price reductions, town assessment, potential upside, neighborhoods and their value, which home offers more for the money, plus anything else they can think of. Each of the 3 or 4 homes will have varying values and they base their offers and negotiation range on those values.
Homesellers on the other hand often base everything on a price that they want for their home. This price can be based on what a neighbor sold his home for last year, the prices they see in the paper, a price they need to buy another house, a price to cover all the upgrades they made in their home. Is this realistic? It is to the homeseller, but scientific it is not.
That's why it's important for a homeseller to think like a buyer. To pretend he or she is a homebuyer, look at the direct competition, make a chart and objectively analyze their home. Study the comparable sales and see how they compare to your home in price, value, size, etc. It may be difficult to be objective about your own home as you may err on the high side, but after the comparisons sink in for a while, you may see the light and be better able to make the best decision about your home - to keep, to remodel, to sell at a realistic price.
IN REALITY, this exercise is what realtors provide homesellers, most of whom unfortunately, prefer to list at their price, then take 6 to 12 months to learn to think like a buyer - DAVID
Copyright © 2007 By David F. Kelley, Falmouth,
MA. All Rights Reserved.

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