Enjoy!

The Savvy Home Buyer
	This workshop covers the home-buying process in detail. It includes: • deciding on the price point that is right for you • understanding mortgages, mortgage expenses, and getting pre-approved • finding a home • property due diligence and comparative market analysis • elements of the offer • home inspection, purchase and sale, mortgage contingency, walk-through and closing • special discussion of paths to affordable homeownership. Wednesday October 7th 6:00 – 8:00 register here
Real Estate Investing
	This session covers the nuts and bolts of real estate investing, and draws on interviews with local investors and lenders. Topics include: • real estate vs. other types of investments • owning and managing rental property • renovation and resale • condominium conversion • detailed real-life examples • a real estate plan for the future. Wednesday November 18th, 6:00 – 7:30 register here
Creating a Green Home
	This workshop will explore: • How to make your existing home more energy efficient • Green materials that you might consider using for a renovation • Green building techniques and considerations. We will have samples of green building materials on hand and will draw on interviews with local green builders and renovators. Wednesday October 21st, 6:00 – 7:30 register here
Where: ePlace, 830 Mass Ave in Cambridge More Info: To register or get information on other workshops go to http://eplacehomes.com/workshops or call 617.864.4600
	830 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge MA 02139 PHONE 617.864.4600 FAX 617.864.4601

All Real Estate is Local

It’s easy to get excited (or depressed) about national real estate news, and to assume that national news applies to our local market(s). But often, this simply isn’t the case, and we return once again to the theme that all real estate is local . . .

In July, there was much jubilation as the Case Schiller Home Price Index 10- and 20-City Composites posted an increase in prices for the first time since the summer of 2006. In the Boston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), single family home prices increased by 1.6% between April and May. But what does data from the Boston MSA tell us about individual Boston-area neighborhoods? Not all that much.

It’s pretty well understood at this point that, within our local market, some communities have been much harder hit by the foreclosure crisis than others. Fox 25 pulled together some good data on this at the end of last year.

If we take a look at the change in median sale prices for single family homes in selected Boston area communities between 2005 and 2008, we also get a varied picture. Here’s an excerpt from a handout that I prepared for the Savvy Home Buyer workshop.

Now single family sales (above, and in the Case-Schiller index) only tell you so much about urban markets (like ours) which tend to have a majority of condo sales. More on this in our next installment . . .

Upcoming Workshops
We’ll be offering all three of our workshops in September (see details below). The workshops are free of charge and chock full of great information. Look forward to seeing some of you there. 

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September 9th — The Savvy Home Buyer — 6:00 – 8:00. Everything you wanted to know about buying a home, mortgages, and more. Read comments, or register now.

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September 16th — Real Estate Investing 6:00 – 7:30.
Nuts and bolts of real estate investing with real-life examples and numerous additional resources. Read comments, or register now.

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September 24th — Creating a Green Home. Things you can do to make your home more green. From inexpensive tips to materials for green renovations and renewable energy technologies. Read comments, or register now.

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The first-time buyer tax credit is set to expire on November 30th. If you’re starting the active part of your home search or just have a question, feel free to ring us at 617.864.4600, email us at info@eplacehomes.com, or stop by our office at 830 Mass Ave in Central Square, Cambridge. Want to see what other people are saying about us? Check out our reviews on Yelp . . .

Wishing you a peaceful and happy September,

Rachael Burger and The ePlace Team
ePlace Real Estate
830 Mass Ave
Cambridge MA 02139
617.864.4600
http://eplacehomes.com

Real Estate and Taxes
For those of you who might have missed this earlier, we’ve put together some info on the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit. There has also been a lot of talk at our workshops lately about the mortgage interest tax deduction and the tax exemption on the sale of a primary residence. We’ll talk more about these at the Real Estate Investing Workshop on Wednesday July 15th and of course at the Savvy Home Buyer Workshop on August 5th (see below).

Market Update
The Cambridge condo market remains strong. In June, the number of condos going under agreement exceeded that of the same month in 2004, 2006, and 2008. For those of you who are interested in longer-term (10-year) stats for Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, and Massachusetts, check out this data.

Free Workshops
July 15th — Real Estate Investing 6:00 – 7:30.
Nuts and bolts of real estate investing with real-life examples and numerous additional resources. Read comments, or register now.

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August 5th (and September 2nd) — The Savvy Home Buyer — 6:00 – 8:00. Everything you wanted to know about buying a home, mortgages, and more(!) Read comments, or register now.

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September 24th — Creating a Green Home. Things you can do to make your home more green. From inexpensive tips to materials for green renovations and renewable energy technologies. Read comments, or register now.

As always, feel free to contact us (via email, phone or in person) about any of your real estate needs, by emailing info@eplacehomes.com, calling us at 617.864.4600, or stopping by our office at 830 Mass Ave in Cambridge.

Enjoy the summer, now that it has finally arrived.

Rachael Burger and The ePlace Team
ePlace Real Estate
830 Mass Ave
Cambridge MA 02139
617.864.4600
http://eplacehomes.com

The Savvy Home Buyer
	This workshop covers the home-buying process in detail. It includes: • deciding on the price point that is right for you • understanding mortgages, mortgage expenses, and getting pre-approved • finding a home • property due diligence and comparative market analysis • elements of the offer • home inspection, purchase and sale, mortgage contingency, walk-through and closing • special discussion of paths to affordable homeownership. Wednesday May 6th 6:00 – 8:00 register here
Real Estate Investing
	This session covers the nuts and bolts of real estate investing, and draws on interviews with local investors and lenders. Topics include: • real estate vs. other types of investments • owning and managing rental property • renovation and resale • condominium conversion • detailed real-life examples • a real estate plan for the future. Wednesday May 20th, 6:00 – 7:30 register here
Creating a Green Home
	This workshop will explore: • How to make your existing home more energy efficient • Green materials that you might consider using for a renovation • Green building techniques and considerations. We will have samples of green building materials on hand and will draw on interviews with local green builders and renovators. Wednesday, June 24th 6:00 – 7:30 register here
Where: ePlace, 830 Mass Ave in Cambridge More Info: To register or get information on other workshops go to http://eplacehomes.com/workshops or call 617.864.4600

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

Here are some notes on this credit. If you’d like to read more, the most comprehensive source I’ve found, interestingly enough, is a site put together by the National Association of Home Builders.

• First-time buyers include people who have not owned a home in the last three years.
• There are income limits on this credit: full credit applies to those with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $75,000 or less for single taxpayers and $150,000 or less for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The tax credit amount is reduced to zero for taxpayers with MAGI of more than $95,000 (single) or $170,000 (married) and is reduced proportionally for taxpayers with MAGIs between these amounts.
• This is a tax credit, rather than a deduction, and it’s “refundable” meaning that if you owed $10,000 in federal tax and received the full credit, then you’d only owe $2,000. If you owed only $2,000 in federal taxes (and you were receiving the full credit) then you’d get a check for $6,000 from the government.
• Generally, tax payers need to live in the home for at least three years or face recapture of the credit amount.

The Savvy Home Buyer
	This workshop covers the home-buying process in detail. It includes: • deciding on the price point that is right for you • understanding mortgages, mortgage expenses, and getting pre-approved • finding a home • property due diligence and comparative market analysis • elements of the offer • home inspection, purchase and sale, mortgage contingency, walk-through and closing • special discussion of paths to affordable homeownership. Wednesday March 4th 6:00 – 8:00 register here
Real Estate Investing
	This session covers the nuts and bolts of real estate investing, and draws on interviews with local investors and lenders. Topics include: • real estate vs. other types of investments • owning and managing rental property • renovation and resale • condominium conversion • detailed real-life examples • a real estate plan for the future. Wednesday March 25th, 6:00 – 7:30 register here
Creating a Green Home
	This workshop will explore: • How to make your existing home more energy efficient • Green materials that you might consider using for a renovation • Green building techniques and considerations. We will have samples of green building materials on hand and will draw on interviews with local green builders and renovators. Wednesday April 8th, 6:00 – 7:30 register here

On March 6th, the Cambridge Community of Realtors is hosting its annual benefit for Our Place, the daycare center for homeless children, run by the Salvation Army in Central Square, just down the street from our office. The benefit this year is a Mardi Gras Soiree at the Charles hotel and the goal is to raise $50,000 to be donated directly to Our Place, which serves 38 homeless children each day and about 100 children annually. The invite to the event is below. Our founder, Bill Scott is VP of CCR this year and we’re hoping to help make this event a success.