Home Buying Knob & Tube Wiring In Massachusetts Homes Quick Answer You can learn to recognize knob and tube wiring in about ten minutes. Look for white ceramic knobs on basement joists, dark cloth covered wires running alone through open air, and small round holes bored through the framing with ceramic sleeves inside them. Inside the living space the tells are different. Two prong […]
Home Buying New Condominium Guidelines Impacting Lending In Greater Boston Quick answer: On August 3, 2026 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac end the Limited and Streamlined Review. Condo buildings with more than ten units now need a Full Review. The lender checks the association’s money, insurance and repairs. Buildings with ten units or fewer may skip project review entirely. On Monday the fast track for […]
Home Buying What Is Reasonable to Request After a Massachusetts Home Inspection?   Six questions that separate a fair request from a deal-killer, written for both sides of the transaction. Mike DelRose Jr. | July 27th, 2026 The Short Answer   There is no universal standard for what is reasonable to request after a home inspection in Massachusetts. It is subjective, specific to the property, and relative […]
Contractors July 2026 Investment Opportunity: Watertown, MA Investment Opportunity · Watertown A 7,500 SF Development Lot Off Mt. Auburn St, Priced at Land Value 33 Melendy Ave, Watertown · MLS #73523468 · Offered at $950,000 7,500Sq Ft Lot 2-Family Zone No FARCap* $950K List Price The Opportunity in One Paragraph 33 Melendy Ave is a level 7,500 square foot lot in Watertown’s […]
Home Selling Questions Greater Boston Homeowners Should Ask Before Hiring A Real Estate Professional The Short Answer Before you hire a listing agent in Greater Boston, ask for their sale-to-list ratio, days on market, and total closings, how they price a home, what their marketing actually accomplishes, and how they negotiate. Our team’s listings sell at a median of 100% of asking in a median of 7 days across […]
Home Buying The Questions Smart Buyers Ask Before Choosing an Agent Buyer’s Guide · Greater Boston By Mike DelRose Jr. and Bobby McShane  |  DelRose McShane Team  |  Coldwell Banker Realty  |  July 2026 The Short Version Buying in Greater Boston is one of the largest decisions you’ll make, and the agent in your corner shapes the outcome. Before you commit, ask how the agent is […]
Apartments Rent Control in Massachusetts: What the 2026 Ballot Fight Really Tells Us By Mike DelRose Jr.  |  DelRose McShane Team  |  Coldwell Banker Realty  |  July 6, 2026 Quick Answer Rent control is not coming to Massachusetts in 2026. The statewide ballot question was removed by the Supreme Judicial Court in June over a religious-exemption flaw, not on its merits. The deeper question our clients keep asking […]
Home Buying The Termite Signs Every Massachusetts Homeowner Should Check Before Listing The Termite Signs Every Massachusetts Homeowner Should Check Before Listing By Mike DelRose Jr. | DelRose McShane Team | Coldwell Banker Realty Quick AnswerBefore you list your home in Belmont, Watertown, or anywhere in Greater Boston, walk your basement and your foundation line. Look for mud tubes running up the concrete, soft or hollow wood […]
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Case Studies Case Study: Condo Conversions, ADUs, and the New Math for Belmont Area Investors By Bobby McShane & Mike DelRose Jr. | DelRose McShane Team | Coldwell Banker Realty Monday, June 26th, 2026, Watertown, MA.  Buying a multi-family in Belmont, Watertown, or Waltham today is a fundamentally different proposition than it was a decade ago. Prices have moved well past the point where rents cover a standard mortgage payment. […]
Case Studies Case Study: They Showed Up on Mother’s Day. That Decision Made All the Difference. By Mike DelRose Jr. | June 15th, 2026 Quick Answer A first-time buyer had been searching for over a year in one of the most competitive entry-level markets in Greater Boston. When a well-priced Cape in Attleboro came to market with unusual showing restrictions, most buyers never got through the door. We did. Speed and […]
Case Studies When the House You Love Isn’t the House That Loves You Back By Mike DelRose Jr. | Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026 Quick Answer Sometimes the hardest part of buying a home isn’t finding one you love. It’s accepting that the one you love isn’t the right one. In this case, a first-time buyer couple fell hard for a small single-family in Waltham, only to have a home […]
Case Studies Case Study: Winning the Deal Unconventionally By Mike DelRose | May 29th. 2026 Quick Answer A first time buyer secured a $670,000 home in a competitive Massachusetts market, even after losing to a higher cash offer. Early action, a strong offer, and clear expectations made the difference. In the end, the seller chose certainty over price. Property & Location Overview This […]
Home Buying From A PDF Handout To An Education Platform     DelRose McShane Team Coldwell Banker Realty  ·  Belmont, MA Perspective & Insight The Savvy Series  ·  A Look Back From a PDF Handout to an Education Platform M Mike DelRose Jr. REALTOR®  ·  Director of Marketing May 28, 2026  ·  Belmont, MA The software it was built on no longer exists. The brokerage […]
Case Studies Case Study: How Location, Timing, and Early Offers Drove a $175K Premium in Natick By Mike DelRose Jr. | May 19th, 2026 Quick Answer In a highly desirable Natick location near downtown, a seller launched showings at a Saturday open house and accepted an offer before the scheduled Sunday open house ever took place. By working with two strong early buyers instead of waiting for broader competition, the home […]
Case Studies Case Study: How Preparation Turned Third Place Into a Winning Offer in Mansfield, MA How Preparation Turned Third Place Into a Winning Offer in Mansfield, MA By Mike DelRose Jr. | May 14th, 2026 Preparation creates speed, and speed wins deals. My client entered this transaction in third place on a 10-offer property listed at $949,000 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. When the top two buyers started to hesitate, a window […]
Case Studies Case Study: Why Pricing This Mansfield Home Slightly Lower Changed the Entire Outcome By Mike DelRose Jr. | May 7th, 2026 Quick Answer We listed a Mansfield Colonial in late October, priced slightly below where the data suggested, and sold it in seven days for $30,000 over list price. The market around us was slowing. Most sellers in that price band were sitting. Strategic pricing created the competition […]
Case Studies Case Study: When “A Project” Becomes a Financial Reality Check By Mike DelRose Jr. | April 29th, 2026 Quick Answer Not every fixer-upper is a smart entry point. In this market, it is often more affordable and far less risky to finance a move-in-ready home than to take on a renovation buyers underestimate. A Cape in Oxford. A $390,000 Lesson. This was a residential sale […]
PropTech A Tool I Did Not Expect to Write About By Mike DelRose Jr. | Tuesday, April 28th, 2028 The Pitch If this sounds like a product pitch, it 100% is. Full transparency: cloudHQ offers a free year of their service in exchange for a blog post. I will take that deal. Not because I went looking for a shortcut, but because I spent the […]
Case Studies Case Study: They already had her next home under agreement. The pressure was real. One wrong pricing decision and They would be carrying two properties. By Mike DelRose Jr. | April 27st, 2026 Here’s What Proper Strategic Pricing Accomplished: 8 offers received on a correctly priced Waltham condo More than half the field came in above asking price The majority of buyers came in at or above list price The winning offer came in nearly 10% above list price The […]
Home Buying Spring 2026 Greater Boston Home Buying Guide: What Affordability Actually Means Right Now By Jenna Figueiredo, Sales Associate REALTOR® ABR® | Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 If you are thinking about buying a home in Greater Boston this spring, here is the one shift that changes everything: stop thinking about price. Start thinking about payment. That is not just a mindset tip. In today’s rate environment, it is the […]