Hey all! Here are 3 costly mistakes that you'll want to avoid as a home buyer:

1: Find a buyers agent to help you and represent you. Most real estate agents will charge their buyers nothing in commission and have the seller pay them come closing. So in other words, it's FREE to hire an agent to represent you as a buyer. Most people don't hire a buyers agent from the get-go because they don't want to feel "pressured" into buying a home. The truth is, most agents aren't like...

Spring is coming
Almost here.
Leaving the grey of winter
To the rear.
The emergence of spring
When those birds do sing
Flowers emerge
Life erupting
From dull
To vibrant
Nature does call
For some of us,
Engaged, enthralled.
For me it's simple
Seasonal affect belayed.
The return of the sun
Renewal not delayed.
Days, weeks,
Time, no worries?
We can see the forest,...

When it comes to comparing condos and maintenance fees, here is a trick I recommend you consider using. Take the purchase price, annual insurance cost x 7, monthly maintenance x 12 x 7, and annual taxes x 7. This should give you an estimate (because the numbers will change over time) of what the total costs over 7 years will be.

I find a lot of people see "high" maintenance, and don't adequately weigh the fact that the "high" maintenance has caused the market...

HB 16-1133 was defeated in Committee, February 22, 2016. This Bill was simple, no burden on businesses or taxpayers, and [B]only required HOA property managers[/B] (PM), also known as Community Association Managers, [B]to provide a detailed receipt to home owners when fees are paid. [/B] The Bill did not preclude any fees from being charged or limit amounts: just provide a detailed receipt of work completed. The Bill was intended to mitigate the practice of HOA PM's duplicate and triplicate billing...

Greetings and welcome to central Massachusetts!

Okay, so you have a toddler and you're here for a year, so schools aren't important to you yet.

Based on your post, here's some insight about Leominster based on what you mentioned would be important.

Leominster is a 15 minute commute tops, to Devens.
Leominster has some excellent neighborhoods and a commuter rail to Boston!
Leominster has excellent variety and convenient access to shopping....