2023 Real Estate Observations (Boston, Braintree, Wilmington: basements, ceiling, attractive)

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by redplum33

https://media.npr.org/assets/img/201...-s1100-c50.jpg

I would be so uncomfortable in that house, lol

[charolastra00]

Hoarding is on a spectrum, ranging from the TV show extreme to people like my grandparents who kept building on rooms to their home to hold all the stuff. It was neat and tidy, but there was a LOT and there were closets whose contents hadn't seen the light of day in decades. My grandmother was still mobile even when she decided to sell, so she was able to keep up with it (coupled with grandkids happily taking things she gave us - like 5 year out of date Jiffy cornmeal mixes - and then tossing them in the dumpster down the street on the way out). Blessedly, she was able to make a clean mental break when I moved her to independent living and got rid of all of it. Too fast, unfortunately, since she ended up giving away or tossing a lot of sentimental items before we were able to retrieve them. Better than the alternative!

My boyfriend's parents' house will end up like this listing. It is a danger - and even conversations about how when we have kids they will never be allowed to visit has not shifted behavior. I once tried to convince his parents to let me tackle at least the living room and kitchen and it was like I threatened to put a gun to their head - the comfort of being surrounded by stuff even if it's not being used and is creating squalor is an addition in of itself. His father is the hoarder and his mother enables, and while she tries to keep it free from filth there's just too much stuff. Any mobility or health challenges on her part will mean a quick decline of whatever cleanliness is present. When they die, my boyfriend says he'll dynamite the place and then sell it to whoever wants the land. Even after cleaning, there's so much disrepair behind the piles of stuff that it likely won't be worth it to fix up.

After seeing it firsthand, there are few things more scary to me than ending up a hoarder, whether due to mental illness or decline or due to physical inability to keep clean.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by redplum33

A true hoarder house typically just has very narrow paths throughout the house. This house is nothing like that. It's just messy and neglected.

Exactly. You can't even walk through a true hoarder house.

[newenglandgal123]

Now here's an interesting one and something I haven't seen before. First, looks like Hingham isn't as hot as Westwood...these folks only offered a meager $100K over list, not $300K. Second, looks like they took out a mortgage for the full purchase price from the sellers. How does that work? Sellers can set their own interest rate and terms as far as when buyers have to pay them back by? https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4...21252193_zpid/

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

Now here's an interesting one and something I haven't seen before. First, looks like Hingham isn't as hot as Westwood...these folks only offered a meager $100K over list, not $300K. Second, looks like they took out a mortgage for the full purchase price from the sellers. How does that work? Sellers can set their own interest rate and terms as far as when buyers have to pay them back by? https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4...21252193_zpid/

That a rent to own type situation, maybe between family?

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by massnative71

That a rent to own type situation, maybe between family?

That was my first thought but I don't think that is the case. It was listed on the public market via MLS and there were two different realtors/realty firms involved. If it was family why would you need to do that?


Interesting if this is how some folks are taking advantage of the home selling process now. Think about it...they get some buyers who maybe can afford the monthly, but don't want the high mortgage rates so a well off seller who can float two mortgages gives them a loan at a lesser interest rate and he/she still makes a pretty sum off the interest and gets to take their asset back if buyers default! Pretty clever.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

That was my first thought but I don't think that is the case. It was listed on the public market via MLS and there were two different realtors/realty firms involved. If it was family why would you need to do that?


Interesting if this is how some folks are taking advantage of the home selling process now. Think about it...they get some buyers who maybe can afford the monthly, but don't want the high mortgage rates so a well off seller who can float two mortgages gives them a loan at a lesser interest rate and he/she still makes a pretty sum off the interest and gets to take their asset back if buyers default! Pretty clever.

Definitely clever, although many would be uneasy jumping into a private financing deal like that (on both sides).

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

That was my first thought but I don't think that is the case. It was listed on the public market via MLS and there were two different realtors/realty firms involved. If it was family why would you need to do that?


Interesting if this is how some folks are taking advantage of the home selling process now. Think about it...they get some buyers who maybe can afford the monthly, but don't want the high mortgage rates so a well off seller who can float two mortgages gives them a loan at a lesser interest rate and he/she still makes a pretty sum off the interest and gets to take their asset back if buyers default! Pretty clever.

It takes some high risk tolerance to do something like this...and I don't really see the reward unless the rate is much more than what a buyer can get from a bank. Why would a seller charge less interest? The transaction does not seem necessary in the current real estate environment unless availability of jumbo mortgages have dried up and house couldn't sell without them.

Without more information I would bet that the buyers and sellers know each other.

- 100% financed, so buyers have no skin in the game. Sellers must be pretty darn certain they can sell for more if they need to take the house back. Taking possession of real estate collateral is not an easy or cheap task and who knows what the condition the house will be in when that happens.

- If it's still a strong seller's market, why go through all the hassle? Was the second place buyer's offer significantly lower (meaning there was not a strong demand for this house)?

- What interest rate could the sellers get on the open market with the cash proceeds? One year U.S. Treasuries are yielding over 5%. Go out five years and its 3.75%. I really doubt sellers are offering a 30-year loan. A rational investor would require much higher interest to compensate for individual credit risk (most HELOC's are around the Prime rate, which is currently at 8.25%).

[newenglandgal123]

$708K for a basic 3 bed 1500 sq ft ranch in Braintree?! I mean it looks in good condition but $700K for this fairly small and basic house...geez. This is what I'd see as a $400-450K house...not something worth $700K to me. And it's a slab too....doesn't even have a basement!!


https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...4_M42489-33157

[robr2]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

$708K for a basic 3 bed 1500 sq ft ranch in Braintree?! I mean it looks in good condition but $700K for this fairly small and basic house...geez. This is what I'd see as a $400-450K house...not something worth $700K to me. And it's a slab too....doesn't even have a basement!!


https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...4_M42489-33157

Nice yard, new kitchen, up to date bath, big addition. It was worth $700K to the buyer.