That old house was really home

I have seen so many houses like this before:

The house has a good flow, good light, quality fixtures. Everything works. But, nothing has been updated since the early 1970s, unless it broke.

In the kitchen: There’s a high-quality stainless steel stove, circa 1960. The cabinets are simple oak. The counters are white Formica. The floor is sheet vinyl. The refrigerator is about three years old, replaced when the gold one died.

The dining room is paneled. The social area and the downstairs bedrooms have beige carpet and neutral-colored painted walls. The upstairs bedrooms have sheet vinyl flooring and painted walls. There is only one full bathroom. The poor thing has maroon and grey tile; at least the tub, sink and toilet are white. There is a half bath, long abandoned, in the corner of the family room in the basement.

There are replacement windows on the north side, including a picture window in the living room. The master bedroom also has replaced windows. The heating system gave up the ghost a couple of years ago and was replaced with a modern furnace with central air conditioning. 

This house hosted family events from 1967 until 2012. The dining room was filled every Thanksgiving and Passover. Anniversary parties, birthday parties and other random family events were held in the back yard. How do I know that? Because I was there. 

My FaceBook profile picture was taken there this Thanksgiving. See the paneling?

 

When I look at this house as a niece, I see the family home of Selma and Jack Rosen. It was the best family space I ever enjoyed. I have almost entirely fond memories of my time there. When I look at it through the eyes of a buyer’s agent, I want to roll those eyes. It is what I call “a little old lady special.”

I see this kind of property for sale all the time. This one is personal. It is interesting to me to see how little any of us cared that the dining room was paneled. Frankly, I didn’t even notice until I said farewell to the house last week.  It only goes to show that a house is the walls and a home is the living that happens in it.

Rest in Peace. Selma Rosen 1915-2012. Jacob Rosen 1912-1994.

How small is too small?

One of the first questions that I ask my clients, when they begin house hunting is, “How much space do you need?” It begins a conversation about how this household uses their space. I generally recommend that people purchase enough space to not feel crammed-in during the next ten years of their lives. When I bump into videos like this one, I realize that my perspective on what is enough does not touch on the micro-housing trend that is growing in popularity.

In order to live in a flat like this, you have to be very consistent about avoiding clutter. This is not for me. Could it be for you?

The importance of the supermarket

Local news: Stop and Shop acquires lease for the ex-Johnny’s Foodmaster in West Somerville. However, beyond that, there is no news about whether a grocery store will be developed on that site.

Having a supermarket at each end of town is an important quality of life feature for the City of Somerville. It is not simply a matter of convenience. Access to fresh fruits and vegetables and perishable proteins is important for the health and well-being of our residents. 

A large number of people depended on the supermarket that used to be at the corner of Broadway and Alewife Brook Parkway. It was walking distance to both Clarendon Hill Towers and the Clarendon Hill Public Housing Development (commonly called North Street.) There are many car-free residents of West Somerville who were using that supermarket. Having the ability to buy groceries without needing to drive there is an economic plus, for people who don’t have a car. The alternative for many is the Shaw’s at Porter Square, which is on the Red Line and bus lines. I’ve noticed more volume at the Shaw’s Market in Porter Square since the Johnny’s in West Somerville closed. 

There is a lot more disruption caused by the loss of that store than many people realize. When a community loses a supermarket, the alternative for groceries can be limited to convenience stores. These types of businesses sell more packaged and processed foods and very few, if any, fruits and vegetables. Although West Somerville does not qualify as a food desert -- because there are supermarkets within a bus ride of most residents and not many fast-food outlets nearby -- the absence of this supermarket in West Somerville will weigh heavy on the health of car-free residents there, literally.

Why can’t they just take a bus? First, consider the schedules. When grocery shopping, what happens if you miss the bus at night? Generally, you will be waiting a half hour or more for the next one. What about cabs? Consider the expense of asking them to wait. Consider the wait for not asking them to wait. Transportation, in the form or buses or cabs can add an hour to every grocery shopping trip. Additionally, of those receiving services from the Community Action Agency of Somerville, 13 percent are disabled and 4 percent are elderly. They may be able to use public transportation, but frequently use alternative services. Most of those services focus on timely arrival to appointments. There is notoriously a long wait for the ride to get home. 

People who can afford a car-share, like Zip Cars will likely use that alternative. However, some people without cars are car-free for economic reasons. They can’t afford a car. They can’t afford Zip Cars. A plurality of those getting services for anti-poverty support through CAAS  in Somerville -- 35 percent – is working. Working poor juggle low-wage jobs (and frequently a lot of work hours) with family obligations. The additional hour of travel time for groceries will tempt them to shortcuts, and poor nutrition. 

It is not so simple to feed oneself and one’s family when transportation time is suddenly increased. Although it does not affect me, personally, it affects the community I live in. I think that the loss of a supermarket in West Somerville is a bad thing for our community.

Does the hot water heater have to be working, by law, in Massachusetts?

I got a call from an agent who had a question. He asked, “Does the hot water heater have to be working, by law, in Massachusetts?” The guy was quite frantic, because the hot water heater was leaking at the walk-through and the closing was in a couple of hours.

I agreed to answer questions, when I can, on this blog. But, this situation was wrong in every direction.

When I called him back, I asked how he came to call me about this, and not his supervisor. (Remember that any real estate salesperson is working under the license of a broker, who is supposed to be supervising.) He tells me that his broker is out of state. So, he says, he went on line and found my editorial [a Boston.com blog post] about closings. It said that everything should be working on closing day. So, don’t I agree that the hot water heater should be working?

I tell him that it is not a law. Most Purchase and Sales Agreements hold the seller to deliver the house in the same condition as the inspection, except that the house has been emptied of personal items and broom-clean. The hot water heater should be working now because at home inspection it was working. Was the hot water heater working at home inspection?

He tells me they didn’t have a home inspection. Then he tells me that the house was winterized, so none of the plumbing was on when the Purchase and Sales Agreement was signed. “Oh,” I say, “Did the Purchase and Sales Agreement reserve the right to inspect the plumbing after the water is turned with the requirement that it be in working order?” He doesn’t know.

He says again, that I wrote that the water heater should be working. (He’s annoyed that I don’t agree with him.) I remind him that his client never confirmed that the hot water heater was working. It could have failed before the house was winterized. In a typical sale, there is a home inspection that establishes the condition of the house. Then the Purchase and Sales Agreement hold the seller to that baseline.

I tell him to look at the Purchase and Sales Agreement. See if there is a clause about the plumbing. Your client is protected if the seller agreed that the plumbing would work after winterization. If you have a clause like that, there is something you can do.

What bothers me about this call is that a licensed agent went to Google or Bing for an answer that his supervising broker should have answered. He called me before looking at the Purchase and Sales Agreement. He called me before calling the buyer’s attorney.

There are basic protections that the buyer in this situation seems to have given up. He or she has been working with an agent who has no idea about the possible problems that can ensue. The agent has absent supervision. The agent does not know what protections are in the Purchase and Sales Agreement.

My agents knew more than this guy months before I let them work 1:1 with one of our clients.

Takeaways:

1.      Home inspections are important for protecting your rights to a functioning house.

2.      Your Purchase and Sales Agreement is the binding document that describes the agreement about your purchase. Understand it before signing it.

3.      When interviewing agents, ask them about home inspections, what they see in a typical Purchase and Sales Agreement, and ask who they call when they run into something they have not seen before. I suggest that you avoid agents who think home inspections are not important. I suggest that you avoid agents who don’t know what protections are typically in a Purchase and Sales Agreement. I suggest that you avoid an agent who would look for an answer on line before asking a more experienced agent or the broker in his or her office.