Archive for the 'property information' category

Open Meeting for Houghs Neck Community Council featuring Register William O’Donnell Guest Speaker

Norfolk County Register of Deeds William P. O’Donnell has been invited to speak to the members and guests at an open meeting for the Houghs Neck Community Council on Tuesday evening, May 15, 2012 at 7:00PM.  The meeting will be held at the Houghs Neck Community Center, 1193 Sea Street Quincy. Refreshments will be provided by Red Door Real Estate during the event. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to attend.

The short speaking program will touch on the historical nature of the Registry and the Register’s efforts to modernize and computerize the vast number of Norfolk County real estate records. The Register will also speak about the Massachusetts Homestead Act as well as other Registry related matters. The Massachusetts Homestead Act offers protection to homeowners against the value of their home should the homeowner be sued for any reason. Once a declaration of homestead is filed creditors cannot take a home to satisfy debts up to the amount set by law. The Register will be able to provide homeowners with Homestead declaration forms during the meeting.

Following his remarks, the Register will be available to answer individual questions.  A computer and printer will be available to access an individuals real estate records should attendees wish to confirm the status of a mortgage discharge, get of copy of a recorded deed or check on any other filing.  Although the Register and members of his staff cannot provide legal advice, they can provide answers to basic questions, give general information and assist in showing residents how the free public access computers work.

The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, located at 649 High Street, Dedham, is the principal office for real property in Norfolk County. The Registry is the basic resource for homeowners, title examiners, mortgage lenders, municipalities and others with a need for secure, accurate, accessible land record information. The Registry land records back to the founding of Norfolk County in 1793 are available for online viewing. The Registry’s online index is available from 1900 forward and continues to expand to include earlier records.  For questions or information on this event please contact Madelene Cheney of Red Door Real Estate at (617) 894-1124 or visit http://www.reddoor-re.com

When selling a home or helping someone rent an apartment a common question is “What are the monthly utility bills?” Getting a better understanding of the monthly utility bills of a home can help you set a budget based on the average monthly bill. Many utility companies such as National Grid will provide you with an estimate average for a particular address. You can get his information by calling the provider directly. National Grid Electric: 1-800-322-3223 or National Grid Gas: 1-800-922-8201.

In the case where the home is heated by oil, estimating the average monthly bill is a little harder. Oil needs to physically be delivered to a property. The frequency of the deliveries can vary depending on the weather or the individual oil companies. With oil heat you also have the opportunity to shop around for an oil provider that meets your needs. To assist you we have provided a link to a website that provides you with the oil costs from a few local companies servicing the Quincy MA, Braintree MA and Weymouth MA areas. You may also want to check with the previous resident to see which company they are currently using.

Click Here for Oil Prices from local providers:  http://www.newenglandoil.com/massachusetts/zone1.asp?x=0

Through MainStreetMaps you can access interactive property maps of over 200 towns and cities throughout Massachusetts. The information provided includes aerial and satellite photos, parcel/property lines, parcel ID’s and building footprints. The GIS or Geographic Information System allows anyone with a web browser to visually display city data through various GIS data layers. The layers can be added to the maps display as needed. GIS software helps many city departments manage and analyze geographically referenced information as displayed through the maps. This interactive GIS map is continuously adding features and updating data layers so check back often.

In my experience, evaluating GIS maps have been helpful in determining any underground water that may affect a specific property. In one instance, I was selling a home and was unaware that at one point there was a creek running right through the center of the property. Although now the creek is underground and there is no surface water I knew that the home would be plagued with water issues. During our home inspection the inspector did point out evidence of water penetration in the basement; however there was no true way to gauge the full extent. The potential buyers, my client, were planning on finishing the basement in the near future. After viewing the GIS map for the area with my client they decided not to move forward with the purchase since finishing the basement would not be an option. Lesson learned, now whenever there is an unknown on a specific property I rely on MainStreetMaps for information.