Yesterday marked the first day of the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.  With more than 26,000 reported to have attended, this conference is brought to Boston by the nonprofit US Green Building Council and featured ways for businesses and builders to keep the environment first in their minds.  It was also reported that there were more than 800 companies present and representing themselves at the show; this high attendance revealed that Massachusetts Businesses are looking to find ways to participate in green techniques that will benefit the area and the services that they offer. The conference relayed a message for everyone to join in the movement to go green, no matter what your income, with products being presented that respect green ideas including solar-tube lighting systems and other ecofriendly devices to exchange for our less environmentally friendly devices already in use.  

For more information on Metro Boston real estate including homes, condos, foreclosures, and short sales, contact your neighborhood realtor John McCann.  You can also search the Metro Boston MLS for the current offerings in this great area.

With a growing number of foreclosures nationwide, it’s a great time to search for your dream home for an affordable price.  However, when looking at the foreclosure market, it may be difficult to locate homes in the foreclosure process as most featured home listings use different terms for homes in this category (e.g. ‘as is,’ ‘bank owned,’ etc).  Often real estate sites that have foreclosure listings do not have them clearly labeled for easy searching, and you will need to look a little harder for these affordable homes.  If you are hunting for a foreclosure and don’t have the time to weed out other home listings, than you may want to consider a few services that will offer you assistance for a weekly or monthly fee.  RealtyTrac and Foreclosure.com allow you to search a comprehensive listing of homes in the process of foreclosure easily for any given area you are home hunting in.  

And don’t forget that you can contact your neighborhood realtor John McCann for all of your questions concerning the Metro Boston Foreclosure market; he’s always happy to assist you in all your Metro Boston area real estate needs.

According to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales of existing homes increased by 1.4 percent this September 2008 as compared to September 2007.  The NAR also reported that the nation’s mortgage market has stabilized somewhat with the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the government although credit markets aren’t settled yet; the slight increase in this number (i.e. sales of existing homes) from this past September 2008 as compared to September 2007, may be due to the recent decline in home sale prices and lower mortgage interest rates overall.

If you have any specific real estate questions regarding the Metro Boston MA area including Malden, Medford, and Everett condos, homes and foreclosures, contact your neighborhood realtor, John McCann.

You don’t want to miss the “Homeowner Foreclosure Prevention Workshop” this coming Saturday in Revere MA.  The Patrick Administration, Metropolitan Mayors Coalition and Revere’s Mayor Ambrosino invite both mortgage lenders and homeowners in Revere and surrounding cities and towns (e.g. Malden and Everett) to join in this unique opportunity.  

At the workshop, homeowners will meet with mortgage lenders to discuss loan modifications and alternatives regarding ways of preventing foreclosures; you, as a resident homeowner, will also be able to meet with local housing and credit counselors and be involved in informational seminars on how to keep your home.  Among the participating lenders are American Home, Mortgage Servicing, Bank of America, Countrywide Financial, GMAC Mortgage, Washington Mutual, and Wells Fargo.  

The session will be from 10:00am to 4:00pm on October 18th 2008, so mark your calendars.  For any questions about the workshop visit their website at www.mass.gov/foreclosure.

If you have any specific real estate questions regarding the Metro Boston area, including Medford, Malden, and Everett homes, condos or foreclosures, contact your neighborhood realtor, John McCann.

image credit: sxc.hu

At the end of September, Massachusetts received federal funds in the amount of $54.8 million in hopes of curbing the increasing numbers of foreclosures, abandoned properties, and struggling neighborhoods across the state.  This funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development was distributed among the major areas, with Boston receiving $4.23 million.    

The number of foreclosures in Massachusetts practically doubled from the recorded 4,920 of last year to 8,804 this year.  Most of the funding will go to areas that are in most need of rehabilitation in the real estate sector due to the numerous foreclosures which hit neighborhoods hard.  Nationally, the housing stabilization fund that was passed by Congress this past summer included $3.92 billion to help states and cities to stabilize their communities and neighborhoods.  Funds can also be used to assist low and moderate income homebuyers to cover down payments or closing costs.

To find out how the Metro Boston foreclosure market is doing or if you have any specific real estate questions relating to Medford, Malden, Everett, Woburn, Wilmington, and Melrose homes, foreclosures, and condos, contact local agent John McCann.

Despite the lower prices in the real estate market being tempting, prospective homebuyers have been unable to purchase homes due to the increasing problems in obtaining the proper financing.  Although the index of pending home resales rose 5.8 percent this past June, it has decreased 3.2 percent in July, as stated by the National Association of Realtors in September.  

These statistics have been part of the reason why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage companies were taken over by the government and mortgage rates have dropped with recent federal intervention.  With hard to obtain financing situations, many borrowers are hesitating to make the purchase with their costs remaining at a higher rate.  

For more information on the Metro Boston Foreclosure market and other real estate related questions contact your neighborhood realtor John McCann.

Foreclosure on a home is a tough situation, and should be avoided at all costs.  In basic terms, foreclosure is when a lender tries to recoup their collateral because the owner has fallen behind on their loan payments. 

Many times reading the fine print of your mortgage agreement can help homeowners know the limits of their payment schedule. 

Also actively contacting your lender for a meeting to discuss a situation. Depending on your lender, this pro-active response can dictate how they will respond to your financial issues and their ability to work with you on your issues. 

For more information on Massachusetts foreclosure procedures, specifically in the Metro Boston Area, please contact John McCann at RE/MAX Reality.

During this current mortgage situation, many Massachusetts homeowners are facing foreclosures.  To add to their foreclosure woes, many of these foreclosed homes are considered "underwater" on their loans. 

This means that the homeowners currently owe more to their lender than what their home is worth.  Now homeowners trying to avoid the possibly credit destroying result of foreclosure, and are instead choosing to sell their home for less than what they owe the bank. 

This process is called "short sales", and of course has created a tremendous buyer’s market, while helping the homeowners unload their homes. For more information on Massachusetts "short sale" homes or about the foreclosure procedure, please contact John McCann at RE/MAX Results.

Industry members of the Hope Now Alliance are trying to ratify the current mortgage crisis all over the nation.  Their plan to help homeowners who hoped to refinance their adjustable-rate mortgages before the high interest rates were set, is being met with mixed results. 

The program, set into place by the nation’s main financial institutions, will give homeowners in the foreclosure process an extra 90 days to meet their payments or come to terms with their lenders.  

This law to protect homeowners began with a "Right To Cure" period of 30 days but has been ratified to include an extra 60 days before foreclosure proceedings can begin. 

The new law has helped the foreclosure rate in Massachusetts.  In May, Massachusetts foreclosure rates dropped 89% from April and an 82% drop from May 2007.  This new law has given Massachusetts homeowners a chance to get back on their feet and continue with their mortgage payments. 

For more information on Massachusetts foreclosure proceedings and the Hope Now Alliance, please contact .