Real Estate Search Blog

It’s easy to switch to green cleaning products when you’re moving into a new home. Going green with natural household products means spending less, cutting down on harsh chemicals inside your home, and putting less harsh chemicals down the drain and into your local water supply. Here are some green household tips for your Fall River home.

Club soda

Instead of Drano, pour baking soda down the drain, then follow up with white vinegar. Let the foam bubble up and soak for a minute, then pour boiling water down the drain to rinse.

Instead of window cleaner, mix 1 gallon of water with 3 tablespoons of white vinegar into a spray bottle.

Instead of a toilet bowl cleaner, sprinkle baking soda on the bowl and rinse with vinegar, then scrub with a toilet brush.

For a spot remover, use club soda.

Instead of wood polish, squeeze 1 lemon into 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon water. Apply a thin coat of this to the furniture, let sit for 5 minutes, and buff off with a soft cloth.

To browse hundreds of Fall River homes for sale, including short sales and foreclosures, visit the Greater Fall River Real Estate website.

One of the biggest draws for Madison CT homes is the close proximity to beautiful Connecticut beaches. The following are a few Madison CT houses for sale that are waterfront properties with an ocean view or a private beach.

29 Middle Beach Road West, Madison CT

29 Middle Beach Road West, Madison CT
4 bedrooms and 4 baths
Private beach is 200 feet long
Built in 2002

41 Middle Beach Road West, Madison CT

41 Middle Beach Road West, Madison CT
5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths
Elevator to first and second floors
Private beach
Built in 2001

136 Middle Beach Road, Madison CT

136 Middle Beach Road, Madison CT
5 bedrooms and 5.5 baths
Private beach is 200 feet long
Guest house is 2 bedrooms

For details on these million dollar Madison CT homes for sale OR to browse hundreds of other CT shoreline real estate listings in Madison CT and in the surrounding towns of Guilford, Clinton, Branford, Killingworth, Old Saybrook, Essex, and Westbrook, visit Jerry and Maureen Sherman’s CT Shoreline Real Estate website.

The hardest part of Newton real estate shopping is over — picking out the home that is right for you and your family. But wait! Before you spend hours flipping through home design magazines, here are 5 tips to help you get started on home decorating without the headache.

1. Take cues from the masters. Do you have a favorite painting? Bring a print to a paint store and have them match shades of paint to the painting’s colors. Just think about how great it will feel to introduce guests to “The Waterlily Room”!

A Pedro Cano painting in the Vatican Museums

2. Wallpaper one wall. It’s a modern alternative to papering the entire room – and it also saves you time and money.

3. Mix and match textures. Black leather couch? Add gray satin pillows. Tiled white bathroom floor? Toss down a soft, nubby white bathroom rug.

4. Cluster objects by color. Merchandisers group by color in window displays and with clothing inside the store  – it works great at home, too. The best part is, you won’t have to store away all of your knick-knacks.

5. Skip the home design magazines and look at hotel rooms instead. Hotel rooms are the simplified version of home decor. Surface Magazine and National Geographic Traveller are two magazines that show contemporary indoor and outdoor spaces from top hotels.

A room at the Ace Hotel in New York City

On Saturday, August 7th, the town of Wellesley held its annual farmer’s market and artisan product fair.  Over 60 vendors showcased good such as homemade tomato sauce, natural skin care products, Italian ice, and of course, fruits and vegetables grown by local farms!

The festival was held in the middle of 36 lush acres of the Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley. The reservation is also home to the Festival’s host, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

The Massachusetts Marketplace Festival is a great example of sustainability in MetroWest Boston. In addition, Wellesley is also home to one of the best botanical gardens in Massachusetts — the Wellesley College Botanical Gardens. Go green in Wellesley!

Christine Norcross & Partners are the area experts on Wellesley real estate including homes for sale in Wellesley, Newton, Weston, Natick, Brookline, Needham and more. The home buying process shouldn’t be a headache. Put your trust in the hands of  Christine Norcross & Partners — visit their Wellesley real estate website today.

Even though it’s summer, Fall River schools are buzzing with activity! At Fall River’s B.M.C. Durfee High School, a group of 60 students ages 7 to 14 are participating in a summer course called FRED-TV. Within the school’s television studio, the students can be found working on such projects as a commercial, comedy skit, short movie, and a music video.

The program is an expansion of a successful FRED-TV summer camp that was offered a few summers back. Several of the students look forward to participating in the FRED-TV class when they begin high school at Durfee in the future.

Check out Reach for the Moon, a music video produced by 2009 FRED-TV high school students on the FRED-TV website.

For information on Fall River schools and assistance finding the ideal home in Fall River that will fit your family’s needs, visit the Fall River real estate website.

The major draw for CT shoreline real estate is, obviously, living close to some of the most picturesque beaches in New England. But there’s so much more to the CT shoreline region than the seashore!

West River in Guilford CT

There are six golf courses that are less than 10 miles from the center of Madison CT. There are dozens of fishing spots such as the West River and Quonnipaug Lake in Guilford, the Neck River in Madison, and Schreeder Pond in Killingworth’s Chatfield Hollow State Park. Opportunities to hike, mountain bike, swim, or have a picnic are abundant with the area’s number of state parks.

Chatfield Hollow State Park

By visiting the CT Shoreline Real Estate website, you can browse MLS listings for Madison CT real estate as well as the homes for sale in Guilford CT, Branford CT, Old Saybrook CT, Clinton CT, North Branford CT, Westbrook CT, Essex CT, and Killingworth CT.

Aside from providing the latest details on Taylor Swift’s new album, Twitter and other forms of social media can be extremely useful when it comes to keeping tabs on the latest real estate news. Whether you’re hungry for foreclosures and short sales, information on recent tax credits, or tips on how to stage your home for a sale, these are the 10 best social media sources for real estate search.

Growth spurt... or Goliath?

1. Economix.Blogs.NYTimes.com

With contributors that include esteemed economics professors from MIT, Harvard University, and Princeton, the New York Times Economix blog helps readers understand the real impact of laws and market fluctuations that are relevant to the housing market. Recent blog posts discuss the impact (or lack thereof) of last year’s home buyer tax credit and the lasting effects of kindergarten education on a student’s life.

2. Twitter.com/Agentopolis

The best source for real estate lifestyle articles that aren’t focused on a specific region. Agentopolis combs through a variety of sources, posting about articles such as 10 Best Cities for Working Women with Kids and Hidden Costs of a First Home.

Porter Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts

3. The Cambridge Real Estate Blog

Harvard graduate and Cambridge real estate agent Charles Cherney tells readers what they can expect from the home buying process, how to find their dream home on Day 1, and when they can expect their home to sell in the Cambridge real estate market. Charles also regularly posts in-depth spotlights on Cambridge neighborhoods and properties.

4. Trulia.com/Voices

These message boards are great to browse through for real estate discussions. Post your own question, general or specific, for free advice from experienced real estate agents located in almost every region in the country.

5. YouTube.com

Another great source for real estate video tours. Check out this Cambridge real estate channel for video tours through the latest Cambridge MA listings.

A screenshot of WellcomeMat.com

6. WellcomeMat.com

A real estate video tour website featuring properties listed by 18,000 real estate agents across the US. Particularly useful for luxury properties in metropolitan areas. A good way to establish a connection with an experienced real estate agent.

7. Zillow.com/Advice

Similar concept to the Trulia message boards; another great source for free expert real estate advice.

8. LinkedIn.com

Any real estate agent that’s not on LinkedIn isn’t worth doing business with. Connect with a real estate agent you are interested in working with, read recommendations from clients or colleagues, find out if your agent has any certifications or designations that are important to you.

9. ConsumerBoomer.com

Even though it’s a blog that’s written for Baby Boomers, there’s a wealth of helpful financial information here that’s helpful for any generation. And though it’s not completely dedicated to real estate, articles include Affordable Vacation Homes and How to Get the Best Deal on Mortgages.

10. Twitter.com/EnergizedSeller

For home selling and staging tips, ask Dan Eason. Visit his website for more tips and tricks at EnergizedSeller.com

Did we miss something? Tell us your favorite social media source for real estate!

On his Cambridge real estate blog, real estate agent Charles Cherney noted the importance of the outer and inner appearance of a home that’s on the market.

“I was struck on my visits today by by how much appearance matters. One condo I looked at is very nice – but you almost wouldn’t know it. The place needs a good cleaning and would really benefit from having someone give some thought to its presentation…”

An example of a staged bathroom

An experienced Realtor or a professional home stager can bring  a valuable, new perspective to the home selling process. A furniture arrangement that has suited a family’s needs for years may not fully compliment a space in the way that it should; for instance, cluttered furniture may make a space feel smaller than it actually is. In addition to finding an experienced Realtor with a talent for staging, here are some tips that any homeowner can follow to create a blank canvas from his or her property.

• Clear off countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms; remove smaller kitchen appliances such as toaster ovens and blenders from the countertops
• Clear the fridge door
• Re-organize closets. The Container Store and Ikea sell inexpensive storage boxes and hanging bags
• Hang curtains 4-6 inches higher and wider than the window to make the room look bigger
• Rent a storage unit for extra clutter that can’t be stored in your home
• Hire a professional to clean your home. It costs under $100 to have a four-bedroom, 2500 square foot home cleaned.
• Before each showing, boil cinnamon sticks or bake cookies
• Have a professional pressure-clean the exterior of your home — it’s amazing how sparkling the outside of a home can look when it’s freed from years of crud! You can also rent the equipment from a hardware store for $50-$75 for the day.
• Mow the lawn, lay down mulch if necessary
• Replace the mailbox and house numbers if they’ve taken a beating over the years

Real estate agent Charles Cherney’s passion for Cambridge MA real estate, for architecture, and most importantly, for other people, make him an ideal residential real estate agent for Cambridge, MA properties. Visit his Cambridge real estate website and Cambridge Real Estate Blog for helpful real estate tips, detailed blogs about neighborhoods and listings in Cambridge, video tours of Cambridge real estate listings, and more.

If you’re reading this blog, you obviously know the value of the Internet when it comes to real estate search. Home buyers today enjoy the ability to search the newest real estate listings, participate in online forums, and find valuable city data. At the beginning of the real estate search, a home buyer might spend the bulk of his or her time digging through thousands of web sites, MLS listings, and countless real estate agents. It’s inevitable that information overload will take its toll, leaving the home buyer even more lost than they were at the start of their real estate search.

This is where the need for a trusted, tech-savvy real estate agent comes in. A few notable real estate agents in the Boston area have attained the e-PRO Designation, a certification which recognizes the ability of a REALTOR® to use the Internet and advanced technology to assist home buyers. The certification is endorsed by the National Association of REALTORS® and entails classes and a final exam. Wellesley real estate agent Christine Norcross, Cambridge MA real estate agent Charles Cherney, and Cape Ann real estate agent Rosemary Quarato are three Boston area or Massachusetts real estate agents who have earned the e-PRO Designation.

Here are some benefits to working with an e-PRO (credited to the e-PRO NAR website):

• Online home tours — Check out Cambridge real estate on YouTube!
• Instant access to comprehensive neighborhood data – Look at recent Wellesley real estate and Boston area market reports!
• Extensive property listings – Get instant access to Cape Ann real estate listings!
• Immediate email notification of just-listed homes meeting your criteria
• Referral networks and online forums
• Newsletters on current real estate conditions in your area
• Electronic faxes sent to you by email
• Advanced software, PDAs, and laptops to find you answers on the spot

Whether you’re the type of person who always has the latest gadget, or you’re the type of person who’d rather write a letter than type an email — the benefits to working with an e-PRO designated REALTOR® in today’s technologically charged world are substantial.

The Real Estate Search Blog is excited to announce that CNN’s Money Magazine placed Newton, MA in the #3 slot of its 2010 list of 100 Best Places to Live in America! Visit the Newton MA real estate website to browse hundreds of listings in Newton, Massachusetts and its surrounding towns.

In the article, Newton was praised for its stable job market which can be accredited to many colleges, hospitals, and government offices that are located in and around the City of Newton. Families are attracted to Newton real estate by its nationally recognized public school system and its brand new, multi-million dollar, sustainable high school. Newton has fostered a reputation as a green city, with an impressive 93% air quality index, several sustainably operated restaurants, and a biodiesel fuel lab at Newton North High School.

Also listed on Money Magazine’s 100 Best Places to Live is the neighboring town of Brookline. For information on real estate in Brookline MA and to browse hundreds of real estate listings, visit the Brookline MA real estate website.