Sturbridge Organizations Noted in Book of Lists

Several Sturbridge companies have been noted in the Worcester Business Journal's Book of Lists 2009.  Of the many businesses, health care facilities, and non-profits in the Worcester County region, these organizations have worked hard to earn a place in this important book.  

As a resident of Sturbridge, I am fiercely proud when one of our home organizations gains a place in the spotlight.  Please join me in congratulating the following organizations:

G&F Industries - placed 12th in the list of Top 20 plastics companies

Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center - placed 6th in the list of Top 20 hotels and 3rd in the list of the Top 50 organizations with the largest meeting facilities

Old Sturbridge Village - placed 3rd in the list of the Top 15 tourist attractions, and placed 32nd in the list of the Top 50 organizations with the largest meeting facilities

The Publick House Historic Inn - placed 43rd in the list of the Top 50 organizations with the largest meeting facilities

McGrath Insurance Group Inc. - placed 8th in the list of the Top 20 insurance agencies

smith&jones- placed 10th in the list of the Top 19 advertising and publc relations firms

Rehabilitative Resources Inc. - placed 74th in the list of the Top 100 Central Mass employers

Central Mass South Chamber of Commerce - placed 14th in the list of the Top 17 chambers of commerce

Photograph copyright 2009 by Kathryn Acciari. 

Sell Your Home in 10 Weeks: A Series - Part 4 of 4

In this final phase of my series, I will discuss the last three weeks of getting your home sold. At this point, you have secured a buyer. All parties have signed the Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S), and the buyer's financing is in place. All that remains are for the lender and attorneys to wind up their actions that will complete the sale.

If you missed the earlier parts of this series, feel free to go back and review them:

Part I

Part II

Part III

And now, on to Part IV - Weeks 8 and 9: Last Steps Prior to Closing

You are well on your way to the closing of your home sale. What should you do during these two weeks? While the buyer's lender and the attorneys involved go through the last steps to obtain clear title and formalize the buyer's financing, you should be in your pre-moving stage.

Packing for Your Move: If a moving company is going to organize your move, you should certainly have them on deposit. If you plan to move yourself, it is time to get organized, purchase boxes, and get packing.

In the first part of this series, you rented a storage facility and moved most of your "stuff" out of your home. You should be pleasantly surprised that you have less work to do now than you would have had you skipped the step on renting a storage unit.

Some tips for packing:

• Organize your belongings by contents and room. To streamline your moving process, you can label the room that the contents came from in your old house, and the room you want them to go to in your new house, like this: Toys - Living Room ==> Basement. This will make it easier to find items that are not yet unpacked.
• Label boxes on all four sides so you can easily see which room the box goes to
• Wrap breakables in tissue paper or newspaper

Also, this is a good time to order cards to send to friends, relatives, and colleagues to announce your new address.

Legal Work and Potential Delays: In these two weeks, stay in contact with your attorney and REALTOR. You want to be kept up-to-date on any issue that arises that may delay your closing. Be aware that things do come up that are outside the control of your team members. Sometimes a problem with the title is identified. Sometimes a holiday delays the lender. Sometimes Mother Nature inserts a twist in your plans. Don't assume that you will actually close on your closing date. It is best to have a back-up plan just in case the closing is delayed.

For example, if you are using a moving company, ask if there are any fees for changing your move date. If you are also buying a home, and that closing is delayed, ask the moving company about their fee to store your belongings on their truck for a few days.

If you plan to move yourself, double check with friends who are going to help you move to see how flexible they are with their schedules. Identify temporary housing with friends, relatives, or at a hotel in the event that you find yourself in between homes. Many people fail to make these plans and have to scramble at the last minute to alter their move.

Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Inspection: As the home seller, you are responsible for providing the buyers with smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors that meet current fire codes. At the beginning of Week 8, contact your local fire department to schedule an inspection for a "smoke certificate." Be sure to ask what their fee is for this service.

Legally, this is a step that you can not skip. If you fail to provide the attorneys and lender with a smoke certificate, they can not finalize the paperwork to close the sale.

Part IV - Week 10: Utilities and Closing

Now you are coming near the end of your home sale. If you have followed every step in my plan, you will have eliminated 90% of the potential problems and hassles that could arise with the sale of your home.

Utilities: This final week, you will need to contact all utilities to alert them to your final move and schedule shut-off dates. This includes: electric, gas and/or oil, cable provider, water company. You will need to provide your attorney with the final readings from the utilities to prove that you have paid your bills. There may be a credit made to you for any gas or oil that will transfer to the buyer at the close of the sale.

Again, without these final readings, and subsequent payments required on your side, you will not be able to finalize your home sale closing. So be prepared to take these steps. Also, be aware that many anxious buyers call the utlities to set up their service well before you are ready to cancel yours. Help ease the buyer's mind by contacting the utilities and cable company one week before you plan to move, and let your REALTOR know when you have made those calls.

Final Walk-Through and Moving: The one tricky part that comes up this last week is moving schedules. The buyers are entitled to a final walk-through before the closing. This may take place the day before closing, or the morning of closing. Either way, you must be comletely moved out of the house before the buyers hold their final walk-through. The buyers have the right to see that the house is in move-in condition and without damage before they finalize their purchase.

Most buyers will be ready to move in right after closing. Hopefully, the place that you are moving to is ready for you. Otherwise, your back-up plan will have to be put into play so that you have temporary housing available. This should not be an unwelcome surprise, because you planned and prepared for this.

Signing Papers and Closing: These days, most sellers sign their necessary papers at their attorney's office, leave the keys with their REALTOR, and do not attend the final closing. They authorize their attorney to sign any final paperwork for them at the closing. This frees up the sellers to deal with moving and logistics on the day of the closing. I recommend that you do this, rather than spend three hours at the closing table. However, if you like going to the closing and seeing the papers signed, you certainly have that option. Discuss this with your REALTOR and attorney.

Once you have signed the necessary papers and turned over any keys, and garage door openers, you will be free to go on to your next dwelling. The attorneys will make sure all legal work is complete and that the sale is recorded at the registry of deeds.

Congratulations! You have sold your house in record time with as little hassle as possible. Thank you for following my plan and good luck in your future real estate endeavors!

If you would like to put this plan into place, and you live in Massachusetts, contact me. I will be happy to serve as your REALTOR and home sale Coordinator.

Yours in Real Estate,

Kathryn Acciari, REALTOR
RE/MAX Professional Associates
49 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Cell: (508) 982-0686
Email: kathrynacciari@remax.net
Web: kathrynacciari.remax.com
Blog: kathrynsells.activerain.com

Strengthening the Massachusetts Real Estate Market One Property at a Time!

Free Museum Admissions Sept. 26 by the Smithsonian Magazine

Here is a fantastic opportunity for families and museum lovers. The Smithsonian magazine is offering FREE admission to museums throughout the U.S. on Saturday Sept. 26, 2009.

Via its Museum Day 2009 program, Smithsonian magazine will provide free passes to numerous museums across the United States. You'll need to download the free museum card that is offered on the Smithsonian magazine web site.

Here in Worcester County in Massachusetts, some of the museums included in this special day include:

• Ecotarium
• Fruitlands Museum
• Higgins Armory
• Museum of Russian Icons
• New England Quilt Museum
• Tower Hill Botanic Garden
• Worcester Art Museum

A full list of participating museums are on the Smithsonian magazine web site. This would also be a nice bonus to give a client who is coming in from out of town that weekend.

Your Central MA Real Estate Resource,

Kathryn Acciari

(508) 982-0686

kathrynacciari@remax.net

Outdoor Dance Festival at Mass Motion Dance, Sturbridge, MA

You'll find high energy in the air on Sunday, September 13, 2009, when Mass Motion Dance, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, holds its first ever Dance Festival.

The festival will run from 12 to 6 PM on the grounds of the Mass Motion Dance Academy at the corner of Route 20/Main Street and Route 148/Brookfield Road.   The studio will offer a sampling of dance classes and performances for all ages, along with a backyard BBQ, face painting, live music, and an indoor dance party for kids.

The highlight of the festival will be performances on a full-sized professional stage donated by the Boston Dance Alliance.  Performances will include:  

• BoSoma Dance Company from Boston.  BoSoma will present works by co-artistic directors Katherine Hooper and Irada Djelassi.  Among the dances to be shown, Hooper will offer her piece, Tapestry, a dance which weaves fluid and sharp movements.  Djelassi will present Boxed and Reverie's Muse,an abstract piece reminiscent of daydreaming. 
• The Lee Lund Dance Company from Milford, Connecticut.  This group is comprised of professional dancers from NYC and Connecticut.  The Lee Lund Dance Company performance will include an exhilrating performance set to Peter Gabriel's "Kiss of Life."
• The Dance Project.  This student company showcases Mass Motion Dance teens from both Sturbridge and Boston.  The Dance Project will debut works by owner/director Terri Gordon, Irada Djelassi and Katherine Hooper. 

Mass Motion faculty will offer demo classes for children and adults all day long in Mass Motion's large main dance studio.  A special dance party for kids is planned in the rear studio.  Spend the day celebrating the art of dance!

The outdoor stage has been donated by the Boston Dance Alliance.  Proceeds from the dance festival will support the BoSoma Dance Company 2010 performance season.  Suggested donations of $5.00 are welcomed at the door to participate in all events.

Don't miss this innovative event, which stands to become a yearly festival in the quaint New England town of Sturbridge,  MA. Please call Mass Motion Dance at (508) 347-2332 for more information.  

Sell Your Home in 10 Weeks: A Series - Part 3 of 4

In Part III, we will review the fine points of getting an offer on the table, negotiating the terms of the sale, and finalizing the contract. Part III represents Weeks 4, 5, and 6. If you missed my earlier posts, feel free to refer back to Part I and Part II.

Part III, Week 4: Reviewing the Market

Your home has been on the market for several weeks, you have had numerous showings, and your agent held an open house for you. However, no buyer has stepped forward with an offer to purchase your home. What next?

More than likely, your REALTOR will want to review market conditions with you. In a time when conditions change from week to week, it is wise to re-examine what has happened in your market since your house was listed.

Assuming you have been able to maintain the conditions recommended by your home stager, your REALTOR will most likely recommend that your home be repositioned in the market through a price reduction. Even a slight reduction can be enough to rekindle the interest of buyers who have been keeping an eye on your home sale progress.

Be aware that you will want to keep your home priced slightly below the market in your area. When buyers, and other agents, see that you are reducing the price on your home, it will serve as a signal that you are aggressively seeking to sell your home. This will often draw back those buyers who viewed your home once already and wish to come back for a second visit.

Quite often, a price reduction is enough to get buyers excited about purchasing your home. Let's say that two days after repositioning your home in the market, your REALTOR calls to say that a buyer has submitted an offer.

Part III, Week 5: Dealing with Offers

Once your REALTOR has an offer in-hand, he or she is obligated to present it to you regardless of the amount and terms being offered. When you sit down to discuss the offer, you will be tempted to react based on the purchase price offered. Try to maintain self-control until you discuss all of the terms with your REALTOR. A strong purchase price is exciting, but you also want to consider:

• Financing of the buyer - do they have a pre-approval from a reputable mortgage lender?
• Deposits - how much risk is the buyer taking? Did the buyer's agent submit the money deposit with the offer? Are they putting down $1000 or $10,000? This is an indicator of their seriousness and possibly their financial stability.
• Closing date - is their desired closing date in line with your plans? Are they asking for an unusually long length of time for closing?
• Contingencies - do the buyers have property to sell? Are they asking you to include items that you wish to exclude? Are the home inspection time-frames in line with what your REALTOR would expect?

After considering all aspects of the offer, not just the price, discuss with your REALTOR your next move. Will you accept the offer as it stands? Will you decline it? Or will you make a counter-offer?

Since an offer is an indication of interest on the part of the buyer, I'd suggest that you consider making a counter offer. Your REALTOR will advise you on the options for doing this. You don't want to make a counter offer that gives too much away at one time. Neither do you want to make a counter offer that is so small a step that it is a waste of everyone's time to discuss it.

The negotiating stage can be stressful for both buyers and sellers. Be polite, be grateful for an offer, and try to remain cool if the buyer makes a counter offer as well. If they really love your house, everything will come together.

Part III, Weeks 6 and 7: Home Inspection and Purchase Contract

So, you have reached an agreement with the buyer. What do you do now?

Buyer Home Inspection: In the state of Massachusetts, the buyer will usually want to have a home inspection before signing the final purchase contract. The home inspection will take about 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size and condition of your home. But remember - you also had a home inspector review your home, so the buyer's inspection should go quite smoothly.

Be prepared for one possibility: If a problem is found on the home inspection, the buyer will most likely want it repaired, or may ask for a credit so that they can fix it themselves. Sometimes the home inspection ends up being a time for another set of negotiations. Be prepared, just in case.

Purchase Contract: During these two weeks, you will need to be in contact with your attorney. He or she will be responsible for drawing up the purchase contract, more formally known as the Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S for short). The P&S is the legal document that describes all the agreed-upon terms of the sale.

Once the home inspections are complete, and all negotiating is complete, your attorney and the buyer's attorney will discuss the P&S. The buyer will sign it first. Then, you (the seller) will sign it.

The buyer is obligated to provide a second deposit at the signing of the P&S. Your REALTOR will make sure this is all on track and that the buyer has put down this deposit. Either your REALTOR's firm or your attorney will hold any deposits made by the buyer until the closing, at which time those monies will be credited to the buyer's down payment.

Buyer's Mortgage Commitment: This is the last important step in this phase of the sale. After the buyer and you have signed the P&S, the buyer must obtain what is called the Mortgage Commitment. This is a letter from the buyer's lender stating that the buyer is indeed qualified to obtain a mortgage in order to purchase your house.

The buyer will have to provide the lender with such documents as tax returns, pay stubs, debt records, credit card records, and bank account balances. The bank will also send out an appraiser to confirm that the purchase price of your home is indeed in line with the amount the bank is willing to lend.

If all goes well, the bank will issue the buyer's mortgage commitment letter about 7 to 10 days after the signing of the P&S. You can breathe a big sigh of relief once this major milestone is passed.

Next time, I'll talk about the final steps of selling your home. Until then, it is time for you to start packing!

Yours in real estate,

- Kathryn Acciari, REALTOR
RE/MAX Professional Associates
49 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA 01566
(508) 982-0686 cell
kathrynacciari@remax.net email

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By the way, if you know of anyone moving to Central Massachusetts, it would be my pleasure to help them find the perfect home!