The Purchase Strategy
It is always a good idea to start with a purchase strategy. What this means is highlighting areas where you'd like to purchase your home and deciding ahead of time all the criteria you expect to be satisfied before purchase. Keep in mind that the pickier you are, the less your chances for success. This also means getting together with your partners if you plan on buying a home with other people and deciding where the overlap is, if any. If there's no overlap, you're with the wrong group of people. Also too narrow a search area will also significantly reduce your chance of finding a home you can all agree upon.

We had three groups of people, so our original plan was to purchase an entire home as a group and share the mortgage. Keep in mind that the interest rates are higher this way, since any mortgage over 400k necessitates a jumbo loan and hence a higher interest rate. The strategy that we went with, and found quite by accident was when we found a multifamily house we liked, we asked if the seller's lawyer could condoize the property and for us as buyers to pay that legal cost. In the end, the sellers get their money just the same. But what condoizing means to the buyers is that each group can get their own mortgage at a significantly reduced interest rate (since the amount of the mortgage per unit is lower) and the purchase of each unit then becomes the sole responsibility of each member of the buying team. You will also need to have your lawyer draw up the necessary paperwork to set up a condominium association if that's the direction you want to go.

The Buyer's Agent
The hunt began in January of 2001. We found that having a Real Estate Buyer's Agent was a great idea, and often doesn't cost the buyer's a cent if the sale of the property pays the agent's commission. In the metro-Boston area we used Polly Drinkwater at DeWolfe who came heavily recommended to us as reliable, honest, and experienced. Polly proved to be crucial for discussing options, pricing, and alternatives. If you have a buyer's agent, definitely take advantage of their expertise and talk to them. For anyone looking to rent properties or purchase, another agency I recommend is Skyline Realty run by another wonderful person Alex Haidar.

The Mortgage
For obtaining mortgage preapprovals and approvals, we were very lucky to have found Joe Cooper at Monument Mortgage Co. in Lexington, MA. Joe is very easy to talk to, honest, and direct. He taught me how to watch the 10 year U.S. Treasury Bond prices for signs that mortgage rates would go lower before we locked in our rate. Joe and Monument Mortgage can be contacted at 1-800-669-9199. They walked us through the mortgage process and made what seemed like a confusing process very easy and painless.

The Lawyer
Because of our purchase strategy, we found it absolutely necessary to have a real estate lawyer representing us to draw up the necessary documentation and to negotiate with the seller's lawyer on finer details of the conditions of purchase. We used Joe Lopisi out of Arlington, Massachusetts and would recommend him to anyone in the metro-Boston area. His and Polly's presence at the closing contributed greatly to our peace of mind. Joe is also one of the few lawyers who will correspond with clients via email.

The House Inspector
You will never realize how valuable a house inspector is until you have to pay for all the repairs you didn't notice when you agreed to buy the house. A good house inspector can spot all the problems early and his or her report will knock money off of the final purchase price. The house inspector won't be able to find everything since pipes and wires in walls will remain hidden until the present owners move out and your contractor comes in to fix things. We used Ray Jackson with his trademark long poking screwdriver, brutal honesty, and sharp wit. If you live in the metro-Boston area and get Ray, it will be worth your while to bring your camcorder to the inspection for both the immense wealth of knowledge and the entertainment value. You'll never realize a home inspection could be so educational, eye-opening, and entertaining.

The General Contractor
Once the closing has happened and you have your new home, the reality sets in that work needs to be done to make it the perfect home. In Massachusetts and New England in general, stories run rampant about the corrupt and unscrupulous contractors who take advantage of poor unsuspecting home owners. I am glad to report that despite the stereotypes, there are indeed excellent and honest contractors here in the metro-Boston area.

We contracted the services of Steve Pascoe, owner of AAA General Contracting, and enthusiastically recommend him to anyone who needs work done on their house. Steve has been honest, direct, and considerate and thorough. If he finds other problems while he's working on a job, he'll tell you about them and ask you what you want done. He will also tell you what he plans to do so you have some idea of what will be happening. His pricing is fair and on the level and his worksmanship top rate.

Home Depot
Well, it's true. When you become a homeowner, Home Depot becomes one of your favorite places to shop. What's more you actually start to know what some of the things in the isles are actually for and how useful they are. This may sound silly, but the proximity of a Home Depot to your new house will make a difference in how much you enjoy renovating your new home.

The Unit 2 History - Buying History | House History

From the local Historical Commission we were able to find out that this Queen Anne style house was built in 1897. However as history goes, that's all that's listed in the official records. The earliest photograph on record was circa 1980. By talking to the previous owners and the neighbors who have lived on the street all their lives were able to find out the following things:

• It was the first house built on the street. All the other houses on the street are early twentieth century, circa 1910 or later.
• It was the first house on the street to go up for sale since the neighborhood was established. The families that live in the houses now were the same families who first occupied the houses when they were built.
• It may have been a school at one time which may explain its unusual layout.
• It was owned by 3 generations of the same family and ultimately housed 4 generations before it was sold to us.