Are you searching for a one level home in Norfolk County, Massachusetts? You’re not alone. Single-level homes offer convenience, accessibility, and comfort. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer, downsizing, or simply prefer the ease of single-floor living, Norfolk County has plenty of options.

Why Choose a Single-Level Home?

Single-level homes are popular for a reason. They are easier to maintain, especially for those looking to avoid stairs. Families with young children, retirees, and individuals with mobility concerns often find these homes ideal. Plus, with everything on one floor, it’s easier to keep an eye on the whole house.

Norfolk County: A Perfect Place to Call Home

Norfolk County is a beautiful area in Massachusetts with a rich history and vibrant communities. It’s close to Boston, yet offers the peace of suburban living. Whether you prefer the charm of a small town or the amenities of a larger city, Norfolk County has it all.

How to Find the Perfect Home

Finding the right single-level home can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. By narrowing your search to specific areas within Norfolk County, you can focus on the homes that meet your needs.

Looking for a home that fits your lifestyle? Visit my website to explore a wide range of single-level homes available in Norfolk County: Search Single-Level Homes in Norfolk County.

Benefits of Working with a Local Expert

Working with a local real estate experienced expert makes the process easier. I understand the Norfolk County market and can help you find a home that fits your needs.  I have been working in real estate full time for over 17 years.   From start to finish, I’ll guide you through the buying process, ensuring you find a home you’ll love.

Ready to Start Your Search?

Don’t wait! The perfect single-level home in Norfolk County is just a click away. Start your search today and find your dream home in Norfolk County, Massachusetts!

Baby boomers, as they approach retirement, often find themselves considering the sale of property or assets they’ve accumulated over the years. In Massachusetts, where real estate values have surged in recent times, selling property can come with hefty capital gains taxes and intricate regulations, including look-back rules. However, savvy boomers are exploring trust options to mitigate these challenges. In this post, we’ll delve into the available trust options in Massachusetts to help baby boomers navigate the sale process smoothly.

Understanding Capital Gains and Look-Back Rules: Before diving into trust options, it’s crucial to grasp the concepts of capital gains tax and look-back rules. Capital gains tax is levied on the profit earned from the sale of an asset, such as real estate. In Massachusetts, this tax can significantly impact the proceeds from a property sale.

Moreover, Massachusetts implements Medicaid look-back rules, which scrutinize an individual’s asset transfers in the five years preceding their Medicaid application. Any transfer made for less than fair market value during this period can result in a penalty, potentially affecting Medicaid eligibility.

Trust Options to Avoid Capital Gains and Look-Back Rules:

1.  Irrevocable Trusts: Irrevocable trusts, once established, cannot be altered or revoked by the grantor. By transferring property ownership to an irrevocable trust, baby boomers can remove it from their taxable estate, potentially reducing capital gains tax upon its sale. Additionally, assets placed in an irrevocable trust are typically not subject to Medicaid look-back rules after five years.

2.  Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT): A QPRT allows individuals to transfer their primary residence or vacation home into a trust while retaining the right to reside in the property for a specified term. Upon the trust’s expiration, the property is transferred to the beneficiaries. This strategy can potentially reduce the property’s taxable value, thereby lowering capital gains tax upon sale.

3.  Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT): A CRT enables baby boomers to donate appreciated assets, such as real estate, to a charitable trust while retaining an income stream for themselves or their beneficiaries. By transferring property to a CRT, individuals can avoid immediate capital gains tax while supporting charitable causes. Moreover, assets held in a CRT are typically exempt from Medicaid look-back rules.

4.  Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT): A MAPT is specifically designed to protect assets from Medicaid eligibility determinations. By transferring assets, including real estate, into a MAPT, baby boomers can shield them from potential Medicaid claims after the five-year look-back period. However, it’s essential to consult with an elder law attorney to ensure compliance with Medicaid regulations.

Conclusion: For baby boomers in Massachusetts looking to sell property while minimizing capital gains tax and navigating Medicaid look-back rules, trust options offer viable solutions. Irrevocable trusts, QPRTs, CRTs, and MAPTs each provide unique benefits and considerations. However, selecting the most suitable trust requires careful evaluation of individual circumstances and objectives. Consulting with a qualified estate planning attorney or financial advisor can provide invaluable guidance tailored to one’s specific needs, ensuring a smooth and tax-efficient sale process.

New construction – a buyers’ dream that usually turns into a nightmare.

Many buyers who want, and can afford, new construction is because they have dreamed of what their perfect house will be and are now at a place in life where they can get what they want. And it won’t be a used home but a shiny new one that they chose the colors, cabinets, flooring, floor plan, etc.  They start out the process all excited and wide-eyed about planning their home.  They will talk about it incessantly to anyone who will listen.  They will spend tons of time on Pinterest looking at all the ideas.  It’s so exciting….until it’s not.

The reality of new construction is that it is an ENORMOUS headache for every person involved.  Fun and excitement soon turns into frustration and anger.

The reason is primarily because of poor organization of the sellers’ real estate agent (they love getting these subdivision listings but hate all the work and communication that’s involved) and the inability to get updates and information from builder, builder troubles with sub contractors to work on schedule, delays for weather or permitting and inspections with the towns and the changes a buyer wants to make and the list goes on and on and on.

Depending on where the builder is at in the development phase, you may have a home to view that’s in various forms of completion or sometimes you have to make the decision based on the plans and specifications that’s been provided and you just choose the lot.  Then there is the completed model that has every bell and whistle so that you want everything you see and it drives the price up for you.  Every developer is different in how they want to handle it.  Some won’t start building until they have a buyer, some will start one or 2 models and then start taking reservations, etc.  And then the fun begins! (insert sarcasm).

When you are preparing to view new construction subdivisions, one important thing you need to know is that THE BUILDER WILL USUALLY NOT ACCEPT HOME SALE CONTINGENCIES!  And some of the things you want to view right out the gate is the allowances and specifications.  I can almost guarantee you that what you see on that allowance package is intentionally minimal because the developer wants you to upgrade.  You’ll want to know how many recessed lights are included, how many cable outlets, what the allowance is for lighting, tiling, carpeting, hardwoods, etc.  And you should always keep in mind that the figures you are seeing on that sheet are at the builders cost!  So when you make changes, cha-ching, cha-ching the price goes up.  And typically any modification or upgrades you make, the builder will want 50% upfront or have you pay directly to the tradesperson that will be doing the additional items.  Trying to figure out the details of every little thing in your new home is such a laborious process and building your new home is not for the feint of heart because of the time you will spend looking and changing and site visiting.  You’ll want to go visit the site all the time (which drives the builders and their agents insane).  Each time you visit, you’ll find something else you want to change.  The time spent chasing the sellers’ agent and builder is insane.  They are all your best friend in the beginning of the process and then they go underground when you want to start visiting the site, doing change-orders, etc.  You will be told it will be 4 months for delivery – NOT.  You’ll be lucky if you’re in your new home in 6 months and this is where the frustration levels really escalate.

The shell of the house will go up fast and a buyer is lead to a false sense of security that this will be on schedule.  And then about a month in, progress starts to slow.  Each time you visit the site, it doesn’t look as though much has happened.  Frustration mounts.

You’ll go in to the shell of the house and see the studs up and find that you don’t like something about the set up.  You’ll want to change it and builder says too late.  Frustration mounts.

You’ll be told to go order your kitchen cabinets with the budget and find out that you can’t possibly make your dream kitchen with that allowance so you have to spend another $15,000.  Frustration mounts.

You’ll be told to choose the tile for kitchen, bathrooms, and find that you don’t like the tile and want to upgrade or you don’t want the walk in shower, you want tile.  More money.  Frustration mounts.

You’ll visit the site and still not much progress.  Frustration REALLY getting up there.

You’ll visit the site and find that they screwed something up.  Frustration bubbling up.

You’re approaching your closing date and the house is no where near ready.  Frustration bubbling.

Kitchen cabinet doors warped, need new ones, it will take 2 weeks, more delay.  Frustration boiling.

Closing date comes and goes and not much progress.  Frustration boiling over!

It’s a crazy, crazy process and the frustration is compounded by these real estate agents for the seller’s not answering phones or emails.  They’re tired of seeing you and hearing from you.  They’re dealing with 3, 4 or 5 other buyers wanting answers.  They are also trying to still sell regular sale homes to buyers so that they can pay their bills because new construction commission checks don’t come in for several months until the houses get built and closed on. So they try avoiding you and your agent even more because they have other things they’re doing.  But they wanted those subdivision listings!  They are getting yelled at by the builder because the builder is tired of hearing from us too with changes and fixes and he wants to know why the other lots aren’t selling, etc. (because their agent is selling other homes and no longer devoted to the subdivision). They want their commission checks and they are all eager in the beginning but that goes sour real fast.  By the time you all close, the buyer can not STAND the sellers’ agent or the builder because, don’t forget, there will be a punchlist of items seller didn’t complete prior to closing but you just wanted to get into your home and you agreed to allow builder to do these things after you close.  BIG MISTAKE because now you, the buyer, are left chasing the builder for these items and they’ve already moved on to the next house.

It’s so important for you, the buyers of new construction, to work with an experienced agent that is versed in this insane process.  There are so many details to the process and virtually everyone who builds  say they would NOT do it again.

BEST ADVICE:

• Get the allowances, specifications and builders warranty in advance of visiting the subdivision
• Find out if your deposit will be used to build or put in escrow
• Find out how upgrades are handled
• Find out what modifications can and cannot be made to the floor plan
• Get everything in writing.  Every change, small or big, get in writing, every discussion – have your agent follow-up with an email.  Any upgrades that are free or cost, get in writing.
• Keep an account of money you spent for chandeliers, additional light fixtures, cabinet pulls, etc.  Most builders will allow you to do this and have their tradespeople install (at an additional cost of course).
• Any agreements with builder, get in writing.  It gets so confusing with verbal agreements and requests.
• You, the buyer, are dealing with one house, while the agents and developer are dealing with several so it will be up to you to have good record keeping!
• Set up a schedule to visit the site regularly with your agent and sellers’ agent and have your agent put the minutes of the meeting in an email to all parties.
• Keep a running punchlist so that at your scheduled meetings you can keep asking for the items to get done.  You want the smallest possible punchlist when you go to closing because chances are they will never get done.

The process could certainly be made easier if builders would just chose better qualified agents to represent them and their subdivision.   There are plenty of big name agents out there that only do subdivision listings and that does NOT mean they’re good at it.  It doesn’t have to be such a difficult process but it truly is made that way by the lack of communication and organizational skills of the builders’ real estate agent and too many unplanned visits to the home.

RELATED ARTICLES:
NEW CONSTRUCTION TRENDS 2018
New Construction Process

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And, as always (here comes the plug to work with us:-) if you are looking to buy or sell, give the team at Key To The Dream Realty Group a chance and text or call us at 781 269 2195 or email us at info@keytothedream.com.

You’ve stopped here because either the time has arrived to become a snowbird and head to warmer temperatures or you are considering becoming a snow bird!?

As we age (and I include myself in this over 50 category!), we come to the realization that our lives should be easier not harder. And living in New England and our winters definitely make our lives harder. Everything is more difficult in the cold, ice & snow and we have LONG ass winters here. We (the over 50 demographic) are more active, more healthy and living longer. We are realizing we want to be able to be outdoors more with boating, fishing, golfing, etc. We don’t want to remove snow, endure the high costs of heating, worry about ice dam damage to our homes, walk without falling from ice and snow, or just being cooped up for 5 months of the year.

We have so many advantages nowadays to stay in touch and with flights being so cheap & technology available to us, being “far away” from our loved ones is no longer a factor in deciding to stay put in New England as people don’t mind jumping on a plane and visiting for a weekend or the use of Video Chats to stay in touch and “see” our family.

We aren’t the same society as we were just 25 years ago. Multiple generation families can decide to all move because so many employers allow people to work from home. Flights are cheap so if you have to attend “in-person” meetings, it is easily done. Truly astonishing if you think of how so much has changed and staying connected is so much easier now and how we have adapted. Jumping on a flight for a quick weekend is not longer the hassle it used to be!

Making the decision to live your BEST life after working your entire life for your family, tuitions and high cost of living that we have is not an easy one (or maybe it is). But it IS a process and certain things have to be put in motion so that when you finally can make the move, you can do so with as little stress as possible. Decisions have to be made and considerations have to be discussed and plans have to be made!!! I find that for the people who have been in their home for decades that they don’t know where they should start first. Hopefully this little blog article will help you settle upon a plan.

Do you purchase or sell first? That depends on what your financial picture looks like. Most people have plenty of equity in their homes and most southern states’ home prices are much, much cheaper than around here. You’ll have to decide if you use funds from a retirement plan, or take out a home equity on your home and pay cash for the new home, use a Reverse Mortgage, or do you need the money from the sale of your home? A realtor can and should be able to help you work thru your options and then connect you with trusted professionals in the areas you are interested in. I can tell you the most commonly used resource to purchase your warm weather (or colder weather) residence and that is a home equity. Most people have been in their home for decades (unlike the home buyers of today) and we often have plenty of equity to use to purchase the new property. Then you will have a place to go to once you put your home on the market. If you don’t have enough equity/funds and you need the funds from the sale of your present home, that’s not a problem either. It’s a bit more tricky, but not impossible. When we list your home, we will make it known to all potential buyers that you will need to secure suitable housing so that you aren’t homeless. Then any and all offers you receive will include that language and usually a timeline for you to find a home. This certainly helps to alleviate the stress and worry of not having a place to move to because if you can’t find a home within the timeframe allotted – we can either extend the timeline or you withdraw from the sale without any recourse from the buyer.

Regardless of how you plan on purchasing your new home, you need to know WHERE you want to go. If you don’t know where you want to go but you know that you are done with the winters of New England, check out this ARTICLE on retiree friendly states that don’t have taxes on social security funds or state sales taxes so that your money goes a little bit further than it would around here.

Once your location has been decided upon, you’ll likely want to get your home to sell in order. Whether you’re planning on moving in a month or in a year, you want to get 1 or 2 real estate agents out to offer advice on what projects you should do and give a ball park of what your home is worth in today’s market. It’s impossible for us to tell you what it’s worth in 6 months or even 3 months since real estate changes in a heart beat. But you will want to know what to expect.You’ll then want to reach out to your accountant and discuss CAPITAL GAINS and you can use the ball park figure that the real estate agent provided so that your accountant has a figure to work with. There are all sorts of rules pertaining to capital gains so it it’s important for you to get educated before listing your home.

As the real estate world turns, we know that eventually the insane prices that sellers’ are receiving for their home will end. Real estate is extremely cyclical. We see this pattern every 13-15 years and this time is no exception. The last “crash” was in 2008/2009 and, right on cue, here we are 13-14 years later at the top of the real estate bubble. Home prices have far exceeded even the crazy prices of 2005/2006. Just like in the last crash, home sellers are back to using their home as ATM machines and pulling out cash. It’s as if nothing was learned from the last crash.   The Feds have already stated that they will be raising rates several times this year. Coupled with inflation, and staggering home prices, we are poised for bursting bubble. For the last several years, all we have heard is that the real estate market is hot and home prices increasing at record rates along with low inventory. It’s the perfect storm.   Prior to the pandemic, we were starting to see a slowing down in the multiple offers and crazy over bidding of list prices. Then pandemic enters and lockdowns ensued which re-invigorated the real estate market as buyers did not want to be stuck in their apartments anymore. So now we have more buyers looking for homes that would not have been ready to buy for a couple more years. But the pandemic sped up that process.   Do I think home prices will plummet? Hell no. That’s going to take a while. Do I think the 2022 Spring Market will be the last hoorah for the crazy prices? Yes, yes I do. And literally every lender, realtor and financial investor I talk to all seem to agree. The home prices we are seeing are just not sustainable. We have LITERALLY out priced the first time home buyers that typically only have the minimum deposit, need to use FHA Mortgages, etc. The new first time home buyer is paying upwards of half a million for the homes that used to be considered “starter homes”. The larger, upgrade homes are virtually out of reach for many now.   I think what we will see is a last hoorah for this spring market as we still have buyers that weren’t able to buy last year and are still looking. I think we will see a bit more inventory this spring as sellers will want to capitalize on these prices and head out to warmer climates in the US. Then I think over the summer we will see prices stabilize, over-bidding will die off and buyers will be able to start offering at less than list price.   The other, scarier, alternative to the above, is that we see a total and complete stoppage of buyers wanting to purchase a home due to fears of job loss, inflation, and higher mortgage rates (which, in turn, reduces buying power). Once the main stream media starts reporting that the market is slowing, it creates a tsunami of uncertainty. Then buyers start getting jumpy about getting into a mortgage so they adopt the “sit-and-wait” approach.   If you are thinking that this year is the year you want to sell, this may be your last chance to get these prices. If you are relocating to another state and do not have to buy in this state, then you are at the optimal position to be in. You sell now, relocate and rent in your new area and wait for the “softening”.   Either way, the team of Experienced, Professional (and sometimes not-so-professional ; ) fun-loving, hard working Realtors at https://www.keytothedream.com/ are ready to help you. Whether you need a consultation, question & answer session, or ready to list now, we can help. Call/Text us at 781.269.2195 or email us @ Lori.Poirier@NeMoves.Com.