A condo questionnaire killed a loan, then two phone calls brought it back in four hours. Plus a live seller call comes in on air.

Boston real estate agent Seth Williams and real estate attorney Nick Nardone get into the August condo lending shakeup that is quietly wrecking Boston deals, a $25,000 re-trade after a clean inspection, and what clean versus dirty 6D really means at the closing table. Then the bat phone rings mid-episode and you get to hear a seller lead handled start to finish.

In this episode:

• The new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac condo rules: 15 percent reserves and the end of limited review
• A lender denied the loan over an unanswered questionnaire, and how Nick reversed it in four hours
• Self-managed associations with no condo fee, no reserves, and no shot at financing an $800,000 buyer
• A buyer came back for a $25,000 credit five days after giving the all clear
• The 6D certificate, super liens, and why a dirty 6D is not the emergency everyone treats it as
• P&S Section 52 and who eats an assessment levied before closing
• Net versus gross commission, and the closing disclosure nobody reads in time
• Insurance carriers auditing roofs by drone and canceling policies after the fact
• A live on-air seller call from an out-of-state owner selling a Jeffries Point single family
• Overrated or underrated: Labor Day open houses, balcony grills, suspiciously low condo fees, and listing into the fall market

Chapters:

00:00 Cold open: Nick has never eaten an Italian sub 13:38 How to actually grill wings, low and slow 28:00 Deal flow: a real Euro August slowdown 30:16 The $25,000 re-trade after a clean inspection 35:33 Two adjacent Chelsea four-families and the tear-down math 41:34 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: 15 percent reserves, no more limited review 46:05 A condo questionnaire denied the loan, then two phone calls fixed it 50:37 Why the agent has to be the mouthpiece or get cut out 55:53 The 6D certificate, super liens, and estoppel 59:39 Clean 6D versus dirty 6D at the closing table 66:25 Commission statements, net versus gross, and the CD nobody reads 71:41 Insurance carriers auditing roofs by drone 73:57 A live seller call, on air, from Kentucky 87:50 Speed to lead and tracked phone numbers 90:50 Overrated or underrated, Labor Day edition 98:22 Condo due diligence before you write the offer 100:38 Listing after Labor Day and the fall market 102:08 Over/under: trucks getting Storrowed on September 1

Seth Williams runs Reference Real Estate out of East Boston, a team of 14 agents on pace for over 200 sales this year. Buying or selling anywhere from Winthrop to the South Shore, start at sellinboston.com. Nick Nardone is a Massachusetts real estate and condo attorney who spends his week closing deals and untangling other people's paperwork.

Bad Deals Only is made for entertainment. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by listening. Talk to your own attorney and lender about your specific deal. Explicit language throughout.

Boston finally got a real August: pending sales down 13%, inventory way up, rates back at 6.7%, and a move-in ready house that could not sell but rented in a day at the same payment.

In this episode:

• The market check: pending sales down 13%, inventory above the last two years, and buyers who suddenly are not in a rush
• Mortgage rates back at 6.7% and why 6.25% is the number that unlocks the fall
• The listing that sat for months, went up for rent, and was instantly flooded with applications at the same $4,000 a month
• Seth's own purchase going sideways: a roof stain everyone called old, until it rained twice
• Why Seth now sends a full seller's disclosure to the buyer before the home inspection
• Home inspection reports that read like the house could fall down tomorrow or stand another hundred years
• A closing blown up by open ISD permits and a tenant estoppel the seller claimed to know nothing about
• Paragraph 10 extensions, rate lock fees, and who is actually on the hook
• The Salem sump pump permit war, and why some agents stopped doing seller's disclosures entirely
• A South Boston fence a broker swore was common area, and what happens when it is not
• One year of the Massachusetts renter-paid broker fee ban, and the open-listing loophole still charging tenants a full month
• Overrated / Underrated: the school district premium, back to school shopping, Plymouth County, and living off campus
• Plus: writing an offer straight out of anesthesia, spatchcock chicken on a hard-lined grill, and things you only see on Revere Beach

Chapters:

00:00 Why listen to two guys who do this much volume 07:26 Surgery, private-pay insurance and the HSA play 14:20 Writing an offer straight out of anesthesia 18:30 Pending sales down 13%, inventory way up 19:39 Rates back at 6.7% and what that does to buyers 20:23 The house that would not sell but rented in a day 22:23 Do buyers have commitment issues now 24:55 Home inspection reports are 40 pages of disclaimers 26:22 Seth's own roof leak, found at the final walkthrough 29:03 Full seller's disclosure before the home inspection 32:48 Overrated / Underrated: the 80 year old Maytag gas dryer 43:35 Things I see on Revere Beach 55:51 Bad deal: open ISD permits and a tenant estoppel 57:05 Paragraph 10 extensions and who pays the rate lock 59:43 The Salem sump pump permit war 64:57 The fence a broker swore was common area 67:02 One year of the Massachusetts renter-paid broker fee ban 72:48 Overrated / Underrated: the school district premium 78:01 Plymouth County 79:37 On campus vs off campus, story time

Hosts: Seth Williams, owner of Reference Real Estate in Boston (sellinboston.com), and Nick Nardone, Massachusetts real estate and condo attorney.

Bad Deals Only is for entertainment purposes only and is not legal, financial, or real estate advice. Talk to your own attorney or agent about your specific situation.

Boston just tipped into a condo buyer's market, and this week Seth put his own house on the market to prove a point.

In Episode 14, Boston real estate agent Seth Williams and real estate attorney Nick Nardone break down what a buyer's market actually looks like on the ground in Boston, why "it's my house" pulled real buyers out of the woodwork, and the appraisal contingency that is quietly hiding inside every mortgage contingency.

In this episode:

• Why Boston condos have tipped into a full-blown buyer's market, price band by price band
• Selling my own house: closing stress and why Seth broke his rule about representing himself
• How a listing video that said "it's my house" produced three seller appointments and real buyer inquiries
• Buying another off-market four-unit with a private-money rehab loan and a residential refi
• Mortgage rates moving the wrong way, plus a 5.375% seven-year ARM
• Attorney hot seat: who pays for a condo gas leak, the association or the unit owner?
• The appraisal contingency hiding inside your mortgage contingency, and how to write LTV into an offer
• Overrated or underrated: use-and-occupancy agreements, extended-coverage title insurance, and Qualia

Chapters:

00:00 Intro 00:44 Seth's hernia surgery saga 08:40 Seth's ruptured appendix and a 20-year cover-up 10:48 Selling my own house and breaking the self-representation rule 14:00 Why "it's my house" brought buyers out of the woodwork 18:50 Buying another off-market four-unit 21:35 Mortgage rates turn the wrong way 25:50 The Fed, fear-mongering, and reading the market yourself 28:00 $189M for Boston school busing 34:20 Hot take: Boston condos are a buyer's market 41:15 Attorney hot seat: who pays for a condo gas leak? 46:20 The appraisal contingency inside your mortgage contingency 56:44 Put it in the offer: controlling the deal 73:00 Overrated or underrated: use and occupancy, title insurance, Qualia 76:49 Wrap

Hosted by Seth Williams, a Boston real estate agent and owner of Reference Real Estate, and Nick Nardone, a Massachusetts real estate and condo attorney. Work with Seth and the team at sellinboston.com.

Bad Deals Only is for entertainment purposes only and is not legal, financial, or real estate advice. Consult a licensed professional before making any real estate decision.