Regardless if you’re looking to Buy, Sell or Rent you might want to read this and rethink your moving timeline. If you were in New England last year or you watched the TV in amazement you might know Mother Nature dropped 110 inches of snow on Massachusetts and we were often the target for the snow in New England. The snow brought many issues that even the hardy New Englander had issues dealing with. One might be wondering what were the issues
Transportation came to a halt
Sidewalks weren’t completely clear and folks were forced to walk into the street since that was safer than sidewalk
At Intersections cars couldn’t see pedestrians due to mounds of snow.Besides sidewalks being unsafe to walk on people had to worry about ice frozen to buildings and when were these large icicles going to fall. People couldn’t report to work and parking was a nightmare. Streets that were two-way streets became one-way streets
You might be asking why am I reliving all this fun we had in Jan and Feb 2015? Well, the truth is the Farmers Almanac is predicting the northeast especially New England once again will get slammed with the white stuff. The snow is predicted to start at the end of November and continue till mid-February. It is predicted that we will experience record cold as well. There is always a chance they might be wrong, but they were on the money last year and why chance it? If you’re looking to buy during the offseason you already have one thing against you. Less inventory to choose from unless you’re looking to buy a single-family home. Inventory of the single-family homes you have a bit more choices to buy. If you are renting keep in mind the following: The two times folks move in Boston for rentals is June and September. So any other time of year you’re looking a property that has been on market for a bit. On the upside, you might be able to talk that price down for you, but you also will have less to choose from. If you are moving during the offseason and you’re breaking your lease you are less likely to get your place rented in time once the snow arrives. Right now we don’t have snow on the ground and if your apartment you’re renting is above 2500 it might just sit since folks who would normal rent your place guess what they are doing? They are doing the same thing you are buying a home. Also time you list your rental that you’re trying to break free from matters. If you’re looking to get out of your lease week during Thanksgiving, Dec, Jan or Feb well I hope you’re patient since in the rental market it is the slowest time of year.
When we have bad weather no matter if it’s rain or snow it often shows the negative aspects of the home, and if you notice the negative don’t you think someone else will? Besides water damage that one might view when you look at a property lets say you find a great place to call home and your planning the move. Day of move the weather man says we are expecting a foot of snow. I know of a client who had planned to move Feb 15th and well a day before I got a call from the clients asking the following, Page any chance we can move Feb 14th and pick up keys on the 13th due to the fact that we are expecting another foot of snow? Who needs that stress? Moving, in general, is one of the most stressful moments a person can experience. If you’re looking to buy a home you will face all the same issues a renter might expect, but you might find additional problems that will come up from inspection delays or issues that came up during inspections, home inspectors having limited availability, or unable to inspect the entire home due to the elements preventing them. Even if you managed to get the home inspection done you might find you pay more to move due to the availability of movers. If a mover can’t get into work that might mean they might have a shortage of folks to load and unload a truck or they might not be able to get down the road. So you could be paying as much as you would for a September 1st move. If buyer or seller are unable to secure a mover then that will delay closing which could affect both parties. A Seller’s also might find their open houses are high attendance with no offers or low attendance with no offers or low ball offers. Last, who wants to move in snow boots and heavy jackets? The best time of year might be to find your home now until November and then once the first flake falls just know the clock is ticking and you might want to really think do we really move NOW or wait till Spring? If you want till spring expects heavy interest both on the sales side and rental side which will make it harder to talk that price down. I know as soon as March came around I was a very busy agent and found my buyers had less wiggle room in price and renters faced a very similar situation. So if you have to move now might be the time to do it, and if the prediction is wrong you can focus on enjoy Boston, but if it’s correct and you secure your home before the bad weather starts you can enjoy days on the couch, having snowball fights, making snowman’s and watching others move during the snow season and go wow that could have been us. If all this sounds like it makes sense you should contact me
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