The process,
explained properly.
These are the guides I send my own clients on day one: the full Massachusetts buying and selling process, in order, with the parts other guides skip. Read them, share them, and bring the questions.
The buying road.
Buying a home in Massachusetts has more steps than most states: a two-stage contract, an attorney at the closing table, and a few certificates with very Boston names. It sounds like a lot. It is a lot. It is also completely learnable in one sitting, and this page is the sitting.
- The first conversation
Before addresses and open houses: what are you actually solving for?
- Pre-approval
A pre-approval letter from a lender tells you your real budget and tells sellers you're credible.
- The search
We build a short list from what actually fits, not everything on the market.
- The offer
An offer in Massachusetts is a short binding document: price, deposit, dates, and contingencies, typically inspection and financing.
- Home inspection
Typically within a week or so of acceptance.
- Purchase & Sale
Roughly two weeks after the offer, the Purchase & Sale expands it into the full contract.
- Financing and appraisal
Your lender orders an appraisal, verifies everything, and works toward a clear-to-close.
- Final walkthrough and closing
The day before or morning of closing, we walk the property to confirm its condition and that agreed items are handled.
The selling road.
Selling well is mostly decisions made before the sign goes up: what to fix, what to leave, what story the home tells, and what number the market will actually believe. The weeks after that are execution.
- The walkthrough
I come see the home the way a buyer will: front door first, flaws and all.
- Pricing and the CMA
A comparative market analysis lines your home up against what has actually sold nearby, adjusted for condition, floor level, outdoor space, parking, all of it.
- Preparation
Most homes need less than owners fear: paint, light fixes, decluttering, and staging choices that let rooms read at full size.
- Marketing
Professional photography is non-negotiable; it's the first showing.
- Showings and open houses
We make the home easy to see; restrictive showing windows quietly cost sellers offers.
- Offers and negotiation
Offers differ on far more than price: deposits, contingencies, financing strength, dates, and how likely that buyer is to actually reach the closing table.
- Under agreement
The buyer inspects, we negotiate any findings, and about two weeks after the offer your attorney and theirs finalize the Purchase & Sale.
- Closing and your proceeds
At closing the attorneys handle the paperwork, your mortgage is paid off from the proceeds, and Massachusetts collects its deed excise tax of $4.56 per $1,000 of the sale price in most counties.
- What's your home worth?A valuation prepared personally by a licensed agent, not an algorithm.
- Seller net sheetYour actual walk-away number after payoff, commission, and MA costs.
- Residential exemption checkerThe property-tax break most new owners miss. 30 seconds.
- Sell it, or rent it out?Both paths with real numbers: proceeds today vs. cash flow and equity.
Zachary LaCorte · MA License #9589622 · Chinatti Realty Group