TTC_02_10_21_Vol.17-No.16

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Page 12 www.TheTownCommon.comFebruary 10, 2021Community NewsCommunity Announcements,from page 11Best Friends Animal Society isa leading animal welfare organizationworking to end the killingof dogs and cats in America’sshelters by 2025. Founded in1984, Best Friends is a pioneerin the no-kill movement and hashelped reduce the number of animalskilled in shelters from anestimated 17 million per year toaround 625,000. Best Friendsruns lifesaving programs allacross the country, as well as thenation’s largest no-kill animalsanctuary. Working collaborativelywith a network of morethan 3,200 animal welfare andshelter partners, and communitymembers nationwide, BestFriends is working to Save ThemAll®. For more information, visitbestfriends.org.NewburyportBank Donates$1,000 to WhittierRegionalVocationalTechnical HighSchoolNewburyport, MA – NewburyportBank has donated$1,000 to Whittier Regional VocationalTechnical High School.The funds will be used to providefinancial aid to worthy students.Whittier Regional VocationalTechnical High School, alsoknown as “Whittier Tech,” wasfounded in Haverhill, MA in1972. It serves the northern sectionof Essex County, offering aunique mix of core studies alongwith vocational-technical courses.“Whiletechnology has becomeunderstandably importantin school curriculum over the lastfew decades, today there is a resurgenceof interest in vocationaltechnical training,” said Lloyd L.Hamm, President & CEO of theBank. “Whittier Tech providestraining for the foundational jobsessential for a healthy community.We're proud to contribute tothat effort.”Cape AnnMuseum OffersOutdoor WalkingToursGLOUCESTER – During themonth of February, the CapeAnn Museum will offer threeoutdoor walking tours in downtownGloucester. During a timeof continued concerns aroundthe spread of COVID-19, the1½-hour tours offer participantsa safe and engaging wayto learn about the rich history ofCape Ann. Each tour is led bya knowledgeable Museum docentwho will guide participantsalong a route through the cityfocusing on the chosen topic.Cape Ann’s storied light, its naturalbeauty, and its rich culturalhistory had a significant impacton the many American artists whoworked or lived on Cape Ann. Onthe Hopper and Lane tours, participantswill visit places and observethe same views of the harbor,beaches, homes and churches thateach artist translated into remarkableworks of art. The “Evolutionof Spiritual Communities” tourcovers sites related to the religiousand spiritual life of European settlerson Cape Ann over its 400-year history.Tours are held rain or shine. Allparticipants must wear face masks,and dogs are not allowed on thewalks. Cost is $10 for CAM membersand $20 for non-members,and it includes Museum admission.Advance online registrationis required. Space is limited.For more information aboutthe Museum, its programs,exhibits, and collections, visitwww.capeannmuseum.org.Portsmouth NHCOVID vaccineupdateAs of Sun Feb 7, everyonereceiving Dose 1 will be givena vaccination card with an appointmentalready scheduledfor Dose 2. You can reschedulethat appointment, if you needto. There are still some peoplewho had to choose Dose 2 appointmentdates well beyondthe recommended 21 or 28days for the follow-up vaccine.The state is hand-reschedulingall of those so that everyone receivesDose 2 within a week ofthe desirable window.CANCELLING APPOINT-MENTS AND RESCHEDUL-ING – Those who received theirfirst vaccine can now go to theCDC VAMS site or the NHvaccine site and cancel their previouslyscheduled appointmentand reschedule an earlier dateat the same time. The technicalproblem with the VAMS site hasbeen corrected and the 2-1-1wait times are back to normal.COVID-19 VACCINE AD-MINISTRATION IN NEWHAMPSHIRE – As of February8, NH had received 257,700doses of vaccine and had vaccinated166,603.AGE 65+ VACCINATIONAPPOINTMENT WEBSITEOPEN — Scheduling an appointmentonline by visitinghttps://www.vaccines.nh.gov isthe fastest, most efficient way todo so and is highly encouraged.The website is designed to handle100,000+ people at the same time.For those unable to schedulean appointment online, the211 Hotline remains available,7 days a week, 6 am to 10 pm.That call center is staffed by300+ people, but the wait timescan be 45 minutes or more.Those 65+ who do not haveInternet access and need assistancecan call Brinn Sullivan[603-610-4433] at the PortsmouthSenior Activity Center.She can walk through the registrationover the phone, to getyou signed up. You must havean email address for receivingthe appointment confirmation.Note that the City is not settingup vaccination appointments.Brinn is simply available tohelp seniors over the telephoneto register on the State website.Brinn is also assisting seniorswho need assistance with transportationto the local vaccinationsites.
February 10, 2021www.TheTownCommon.com Page 13Reviewing an Offer(s)By John McCarthy, Rowley RealtyMany of you may have seenwhat took place in Rowley overthe past weekend. If not, a newlisting came on the market andthe amount of people lookingand interested was amazing. Ihad people calling me duringthe first open house asking ifsomeone was giving a houseaway! The listing generatedmultiple offers and Rowley Realty’sbuyer was the winner! Mybuyer was at first reluctant toput in an offer but when we discussedhow we needed to frameit and what the seller would belooking for we were able to givethem the terms they wanted.When looking at an offer, it’snot always about the money orat least not entirely about themoney. Hopefully your REAL-TOR® will discuss what to doin a multiple offer situationand ways to make your offermost attractive.Which offer is best for us?The obvious answer is thebuyer offering the most moneyand that may be the casebut not every offer is all aboutthe money. Your REALTOR®should be a big help here. Theywill have met your buyers andunderstand what their motivationis and look at the prosand cons of every offer, becausebelieve it or not it’s not alwaysabout price.Your first buyer, who gaveyou an offer way over the askingprice might not be the bestone. They may have a home tosell first or insist you close beforeyour new home is ready.You should know as much asyou can about evaluating offers,including the main factorsthat go into choosing the bestone for you.What Else?1. The earnest money depositor escrow: One importantconsideration when weighingan offer is the size of theearnest money deposit. Thisis typically referred to as escrowmoney. This money is theamount the buyer is puttingup when they sign the offerand then when they sign thePurchase and Sale document.It is signed to show the personis serious (i.e., “earnest”) aboutbuying your home. This money,which is typically held bythe listing agent’s office, can gotoward the buyer’s down paymentat closing.The standard amount locallyis $1,000 with the initial offerto purchase, and an additional5% (minus the $1,000 alreadygiven) of the purchase priceat the signing of the Purchaseand Sale agreement. If a buyerwants to back out after theircontingencies (home inspection,financing, etc.) the sellertypically keeps this money.Anything less than 5% is lessthan ideal.2. The closing date. Typically,from accepting an offerto the actual closing date takes40-60 days. A buyer who offersless money, but is willing to acceptyour closing date may bemore attractive to you. Movingonce isn’t always fun, movingtwice to accept a higher offermay not be worth it.3. The contingencies. Mostoffers have contingencies, issuesthat must be satisfiedfor the home to transfer. Thebuyer is entitled to walk awayfrom the deal with their earnestmoney if the contingency isn’tmet to their satisfaction. Fewercontingencies=Better offer.Here are the most commoncontingencies:• Home inspection: Thisgives the buyer the right tohave the home professionallyinspected, typically within 10days of the Offer to Purchasebeing signed. Buyers may askyou to have repairs done or tryto negotiate the price down toaccount for these repairs. Youhave the decision on what youare willing to do or not do.• Appraisal: For a lender toapprove a home buyer’s loan,the home must appraise at orabove the agreed upon saleprice. The lender wants to independentlyverify that thehome is worth at least enoughmoney to cover the price of themortgage. The lender will usuallynot send out an appraiseruntil after the Purchase andSale is signed, therefore this isone of the last contingencies,right before the next one.• Financing: Also called amortgage contingency, thiscontingency protects the buyerin case their lender doesn’tapprove their mortgage. Althoughthe buyer provided youwith a preapproval letter fromthe lender, this is the full approval.Not only are the buyer’sfinances checked and doublechecked, but the lender willmake sure that clear title hascome back on the home andthe appraisal is satisfactory. Ifthe buyer does not get financingor any of these issues comeup, they can withdraw and receiveall their earnest moneyback usually with a letter fromtheir lender.• Sale of current home: Abuyer may need to make thepurchase of your home contingenton the sale of their currenthome. Depending on what youhave for other offers you maydecide to work with this buyer.By working with them Imean you give them a certainamount of time to get theirhome under agreement as youdon’t want to miss out on otherbuyers. This contingency is rarerin the sellers’ market we arein, however, with homes sellingquickly, some sellers are willingto work with buyers who haveto sell their home first.4. The down payment. Dependingon the type of mortgage,the buyer must make adown payment on the houseand the size of that down paymentcan affect the strength ofthe offer. HOWEVER, yourprimary concern as a seller is,of course, for the transactionto close, and for that to happenthe mortgage, regardless of theamount of the down paymenthas to be approved.There are a number of mortgageproducts such as FHA andVA loans, that allow for very lowand sometimes no down payments.Your REALTOR® shouldbe able to contact the buyer’smortgage agent and talk withthat person about the credit worthinessand likeliness they willdeliver an approved mortgage.5. The all-cash offer. A cashoffer is ideal. The buyer doesn’thave an appraisal contingencyor a financing contingency.Having a deal with fewer contingenciesmeans there are fewerways for the deal to fall through.Cash offers are easier and comewith less risk. In this increasinglycrazy market where prices aregoing through the roof, if youroffer is cash the seller doesn’thave to concern themselves withwhether or not the appraisal willcome in at or above the agreedupon price.Make a Counteroffer?Assuming you don’t want toaccept the offer reviewed, toyou can certainly make a counteroffer.Your REALTOR® canprovide guidance about whenand why a counteroffer will bethe right thing for you. Onething to keep in mind, you can’tmake counteroffers to multiplebuyers (what if all buyers acceptyour counteroffer).Receiving an offer is nevera bad thing, regardless of theoffer amount or contingenciesattached. A buyer may notagree with your value, but theyare definitely showing interestby writing up an offer. Talkwith your REALTOR® to getan understanding of your prospectivebuyer’s motivationsand what the recommendednext steps should be. Goodluck, and hopefully you willhave multiple offers to choosefrom!If you have any questions aboutthis article, real estate in general orare looking to buy or sell a homeplease contact me, John McCarthy atRowley Realty, 165 Main St., Rowley,MA 01969, Phone: 978 948-2758, Cell 978 835-2573 or viaemail at john@rowleyrealestate.com
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