I joined my daughter on a visit to the South Shore yesterday.

[Paper Roses]

She and family will be moving East in May or early June and I'm so happy about that.
What a shock at the prices of houses in Medfield and Sharon. I know the schools are great and that is certainly important but some of the places we saw were awful, poorly constructed, many obvious faults. All the houses were in the $600,000 to 800,000 range. That is a lot of money and they would like to keep it on the lower end of that range.

It is not easy to find mid-range houses in either if those towns with 4 BR's. There are also so many new developments with houses that look just the same. My daughter finally had the courage to tell the realtor," no more of this particular type of house". She has lived in two homes before with the huge open 2 floor center foyer, staircase in the middle of everything, kitchen smack in the back. Most of what we saw seem to have as much closet space as they do open floor space. No-one needs that much closet space. Most had the exact floor plan.

They are not looking for only a new house, but one that is interesting and in a good state of repair. There is a small possibility that this move may not happen if certain things do not turn out to the liking of both parties. If it does work, some quick decisions will have to be made.

The house has to be commuting distance to Mansfield and close enough for an occasional trip to Quincy.

As someone who has been in the same house for 45 years, this whole process is overwhelming, especially if you have to do it long distance.

She flew in for the weekend and we saw a lot of houses. I think she should be looking at other towns in the area. The broker is very nice but I have a feeling she is steering my daughter to these two towns only. Any suggestions for the area?

I am helping a little by gleaning whatever info I can find that she may have missed ot listings she has not seen.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[No Elephants]

1. If there is any question that this broker is not acting in your daughter's best interest,

she should spread her business around.

I've been to some of the towns in that area, but don't know enough to be of a lot of specific help. However, I can give some general tips. You or your daughter should start with a map and see what towns fit your daughter's geographical location needs.

Google the towns. Read the town's wiki. Go to www.realtor.com and get an idea of the real estate listings in that town. Those listings will also mention things like taxes, school system, etc. That way, your daughter can do a lot of groundwork and get a good idea of prices, etc. without flying in.

Also, she may want to rent here a bit before buying, so she does not rush into anything. Of course, if her timing is dictated by a government credit for a home purchase, that may not work as we don't know if they'll be renewed.

Hope that is of some us, though, again, I apologize for not being of more specific help.

[activa8tr]

2. Very sound advice for someone moving here for the first time!

Actually sound advice for someone moving anywhere for the first time.

[janet118]

3. Halifax has some pretty good housing deals

It's near Rte. 495 (easy commute to Mansfield) and has train to Quincy and Boston. It's very small town - almost rural. If you need help finding realtor in this area - I could help - my husband works with lots of them as real estate attorney.

[janet118]

4. Oops - Medfield not Mansfield -

Ask Ian about Brockton - or you might try Whitman or Hanson or Abington. Halifax would still work but it's further east.

[Harbormick]

5. Mc Mansions

Eastern MA like so many other areas were is glutted with over
sized homes that are over taxed and expensive to heat.  An
option may be to rent initially and look at foreclosures and
short sales, although this may seem mercenary (SP) to some. 
Prices don't seem to be plummeting as they did last year and
the market seems to be stabilizing,  Patience will pay off    
 

[Paper Roses]

6. Hi Harbormick, welcome to DU. Always nice to have new local

members.

I wonder how many will wonder how to pronounce Scituate?

The move is now definite and my family in the mid-west is a little worried about what is coming on the market. Actually they would prefer to be in an area like Plymouth or even up where you are but the commute to Mansfield would be impossible with the notorious rush hour traffic that my son-in-law would hit. His trips to Quincy would be once every week or two so that is tolerable. The Mansfield location is the daily job.

They are looking in towns that have really good school systems but the type of house they want seems to be hard to come by. The realtor told them that March will be the beginning of a new influx of properties. I hope that is correct because the only one they have seen that they like is a wonderful Cape in Medfield but right next to a lumber yard on a very narrow road.House great, location terrible. This same road becomes the "back way" to all activities in Foxboro. One big log-jam.

Son-in-Law starts new job July 1st. They are hoping to sell their house before then. If not, it becomes even more complicated. Glad it is not me, the logistics are awful.

BTW, why does it seen that so many of these houses are just not "New England"?