Rich Powers - CENTURY 21 Hughes Real Estate

Uncover Your Home’s Hidden Past

Rich Powers — Sun, 20 May 2012 11:06:51 +0000

Many homes in our area have stories to tell. If you live in an older home, you may want to know its hidden secrets. You may have wondered who slept in your bedroom or when the home was actually built. Your home holds many clues to its history and its prior owners. With some detective work you will be well on your way to uncovering your home’s hidden past. Here are some hints to get you started.

Gather Information

In order to get started you will need to uncover all of the information you have, you will want to gather your deed and title paperwork. Make note of the first owner, year built, and the year the original owner sold it. You will also want to know the names of all the owners, as well as the years they bought and sold the property. All of this information may not be available on your deed but you will be able to find it at town hall or the registry of deeds.

You may find clues in the names of owners and years owned. Pay attention to details and look for clues. Some clues to the history of the home may be: a family that owned the home for a long time, multiple property turnovers and inconsistencies in property or land descriptions.

Tackling the Records

Wading through the mountains of information may be difficult but don’t get discouraged. Information about your home’s owners will most likely be contradictory. Census records dating back to the year your house was built are likely available at your public library, a nearby university or your local historical society or museum. Review census rosters from the year closest to the one your house was built. Census records from the 1800s and early 1900s have lots of fun and interesting information and often include the names of all those living in a household at the time, their ages, occupations, places of birth, and sometimes more. You may also want to search for census data on the U.S. Census website.

Getting Help

Some of the language on deeds and title paperwork can be hard to understand put older language in the mix and it can be even more confusing. Ask friends who are lawyers, title-company employees or experts in historical documents for help. You can also turn to the internet for help. Use the internet to dig up any information you can find about the families who lived in your home, as well as the surrounding streets, neighborhoods, and landmarks. If prior owners of your home are relatives you can use genealogy web sites for research.

Getting a Feel for the Times

Read through newspapers from the year your house was built. You will start to get a sense of the historical times. Keep notes on everything you find that mentions your house and its occupants. In those times local papers covered social news of all kinds—dinner parties, haying trips, visits from out-of-town relatives—in addition to chronicling everything from world events to weather. They often covered construction of new homes, and may offer you information on where the builders got the materials used to build your house, why they made certain design decisions, and more.

More Information

For more information regarding researching homes you may want to try some of the books listed.

American Shelter: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Home, by Lester Walker, Overlook Press, 1981
How Old is This House? by Hugh Howard, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1989
House Styles in America, by James C. Massey and Shirley Maxwell, Penguin Studio, 1996
Old American House, by Henry Lionel Williams and Ottalie K. Williams, Bonanza Books, 1957
A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia and Lee McAlester, Random House, 1984

Open house at Swampscott, MA 01907

Rich Powers — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:21:27 +0000

View Photos
Starts: 5/19/2012 12:30:00 PM
Ends: 5/19/2012 2:00:00 PM
For Directions: click on the map image or feel free to contact me.
For more information: click here for the full details

Charming Colonial in Olmstead Area of Swampscott, Large fireplaced Living Room with hardwood floors, Eat in Kitchen, 3 large bedrooms with hardwood floors. 1 and 1/2 baths on a corner lot with detached two car garage. Needs TLC but great value and room to grow with walk up unfinished attic

Open house at Nahant, MA 01908

Rich Powers — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:15:55 +0000

View Photos
Starts: 5/19/2012 1:30:00 PM
Ends: 5/19/2012 3:30:00 PM
For Directions: click on the map image or feel free to contact me.
For more information: click here for the full details

Great Value , excellent opportunity to own in Nahant , Featuring Custom Kitchen with Ceramic tile floor and granite counters,2 plus bedrooms with 2 full baths, Sparkling hardwood floors, 2nd level den with roof top deck and some ocean views.

Open house at Swampscott, MA 01907

Rich Powers — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:15:51 +0000

View Photos
Starts: 5/20/2012 11:00:00 AM
Ends: 5/20/2012 1:00:00 PM
For Directions: click on the map image or feel free to contact me.
For more information: click here for the full details

A Great Way to Find That Perfect Home

Rich Powers — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:10:25 +0000

If you are looking for a piece of property that you and your family can call home, there are a few important factors to consider beforehand. First, shopping for homes does not have to be difficult if you do it online. One way to do that is by using the “Search Properties” link above. It will help you to find the perfect home in the area of your choice. You can also Sign up for “New Listings Email Alerts” that will email you every day with new listings, price changes, back on the market and open houses. You will have the ability to search the MLS and get the addresses of properties, view full listings sheet, show where the property is on a map, etc. You can keep the homes you like in a saved folder to view at anytime or email them to a friend or colleague.

This website also will allow you to sign up for MLS Property Messenger which will alert you of a new property as soon as it comes on the market. Be the first to know about new listings or price drops with the great service.

In the end, you and your family want to be as comfortable as possible in your new home, and so it is important that you find the perfect environment for your property. Once you begin shopping for homes, try to search for property that is located in a good area, and more importantly, the property should be close to your work and to your children’s schools, as this in turn will ensure that commuting does not take too much out of your time. Do not focus on pricing alone, as this will limit your search. Instead, focus on how much room you are looking for, and make sure that these rooms are spacious enough so that no one feels crowded. Pricing can always be negotiated down the road, and you will find that if you negotiate a price on a home that you truly do like, then you will feel that you got a great deal. In the end, you and your family want to feel comfortable in your home, so it is important to begin your search on the right foot.

Multi-Family – Revere, MA 02151 now has a new price!

Rich Powers — Fri, 11 May 2012 21:00:56 +0000

Financed offers require Sellers pre-qual with offer; cash offers require proof of funds. Seller’s addendums to be signed within 48 hours of accepted offer. large two family with 2 level owners unit. Easy Access to Boston

This property features 10 total rooms, 2 full baths, 4 bedrooms, 0.09 Acres, and is currently available for $179,900.

For complete details click here.

Single-Family – Lynn, MA 01905 now has a new price!

Rich Powers — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:01:06 +0000

Beautifully renovated 2 plus bedroom Colonial, New Kitchen, New bath, all rooms freshly painted , Formal Dining Room , Large Living room, 2 large Bedrooms and third small bedroom/ nursery. Large level lot with plenty of Parking. Close to schools and playground

This is a Colonial style home and features 6 total rooms, 1 full bath, 3 bedrooms, 0.09 Acres, and is currently available for $179,000.

For complete details click here.

Commercial – Lynn, MA 01902 now has a new price!

Rich Powers — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:02:21 +0000

Great income, excellent condition 12 units residential with large parking lot. Taxed as 2 parcels. 12 -4 room -2 bedroom units with separate Heat and Hot water ( Gas) and electric all deleaded with certificates.

This property features 0.29 Acres, and is currently available for $824,900.

For complete details click here.

Cutting the Cable Bill

Rich Powers — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:07:02 +0000

Has that monthly cable bill got you down? That bill can really add up so if you are looking to cut down on the monthly expenses follow these ideas from Money Magazine.

Cable TV’s $50-plus monthly cost may be unavoidable for sports fans and news junkies — but if you just want a good selection of TV and movies, try a combo of these online services.

Netflix

Who it’s for: The movie buff

Typical fare: “True Grit,” “The African Queen,” “Downton Abbey”
Thumbs up: Get instant access to newish movies, sturdy classics, and past seasons of TV series.

Thumbs down: New movies may not be available as quickly as on DVD. Many titles in Netflix’s DVD library, which costs extra to use, aren’t offered at all. $8/month (streaming video only); netflix.com

Hulu Plus

Who it’s for: The TV junkie

Typical fare: “The Daily Show,” 37 years of “Saturday Night Live,” “Smiles of a Summer Night”

Thumbs up: Catch the full current season of popular network and cable shows, along with archives of past episodes and a smattering of art-house flicks.
Thumbs down: Just as with free TV, periodic advertisements may interrupt your show. $8/month; hulu.com

Amazon

Who it’s for: The impatient grazer

Typical fare: “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Glee” (Season 2), “Moneyball” ($4)

Thumbs up: Enjoy a little-known perk for paying $80 a year for Amazon Prime two-day shipping: Have instant access to shows and movies at no extra cost. Separately, get new films on pay-per-view.

Thumbs down: Selection is smaller than Netflix’s. $80/year (Prime), $2-$4 (PPV); amazon.com

The Hardware Made Easy

The simplest way to enjoy these services, once you’ve signed up, is to sit at your computer and stare. But you can do better.

To watch on a tablet: Just download the relevant app and sign up. Netflix and Hulu Plus work on iPads and Android tablets, while Amazon is built into a Kindle Fire.

To watch on your TV: Connect your PC by wire to your set. Buy a Roku settop box (starts at $50), which lets you send video wirelessly over a home network to your set. Or use a networked Blu-ray or videogame player, which probably has the necessary software built in.

Smart Shopping

Connect on the cheap: When you’re making a PC-to-TV connection, don’t get roped into spending more than you need to.

Ask The Help Desk

To get a video signal from most new computers (and other video gadgets) to most new TVs, you’ll need what’s known as an HDMI cable. You can spend anywhere from $25 to $100 for a brand-name beauty — or get the same quality link from a generic HDMI that costs $5 on Amazon.com.

Single-Family – Peabody, MA 01960 now has a new price!

Rich Powers — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:01:22 +0000

Financed offers require Sellers pre-qual with offer; cash offers require proof of funds. . Seller’s addendums to be signed within 48 hours of accepted offer.Great Location 7 room 4 bedroom cape with family room and finished basement. Move In condition

This is a Cape style home and features 7 total rooms, 1 full bath, 1 half bath, 4 bedrooms, 0.13 Acres, and is currently available for $247,500.

For complete details click here.