Anyone who wants a mortgage knows that credit score is king. But as many people are starting to realize, credit-scores are more of a guideline than an exact science. It may not be possible to get it exactly right, but if there was a way of scoring consumers more fairly, surely it would be widely implemented? Think again. The biggest players in the mortgage business, Fannie and Freddie Mac continue to use a scoring model that is considered outdated by even its developer FICO, which calls newer models more “predictive.” Fannie and Freddie also require all lenders who want to submit loan applicat ..read more

We are excited to announce to our friends, clients and colleagues that we have made the final round of South Shore Home, Life & Style’s Best of the South Shore (BOSS) Awards. We are proud and honored to receive this recognition, which puts us in the running for Best Real Estate Law Firm on the South Shore!  Our Law Firm has made it to the Top 5 in our category. Help make us a BOSS (Best of the South Shore), by voting for Valanzola Law Group for Best Real Estate Law Firm on the South Shore. Please visit this page by 3/6/2023 to vote for us: https://southshorehomelifeandstyle.com/boss-2 ..read more

Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood was the second most expensive Massachusetts zip code in 2021. Six other Massachusetts zip codes made it to the top 100. These included Wellesley, Weston, Newton, Beacon Hill and Downtown Boston. To say that buying a home in Massachusetts is competitive is an understatement. In 2020, urban areas like Boston’s Back Bay disappeared from the rankings due to depressed sales, but once the lid was off after lockdowns eased, prices rose steeply again, and intense bidding wars were seen in the spring of 2021. Will home-buyers face the same stiff competition in 2022? And w ..read more

The post Matthew A. Valanzola Once Again Selected as a Massachusetts Rising Star by Super Lawyers first appeared on Valanzola Law Group ..read more

According to Realtor.com, the Boston real estate market is recovering much quicker than other parts of the country due to Massachusetts’ careful and quick response to Covid-19, as a result, things have opened up more quickly and people are able to get out and see more properties.  Realtor.com also puts out a “recovery index” where they compare certain market metrics from July 11, 2019 to January 2020. These include growth in online search activity and new listings, as well as asking prices and time on market. While this does not reflect sales, the fact that inquiries and prices are up is ..read more

Valanzola Law Group was recently recognized through Wicked Local as Reader’s Choice Regional Favorite for the third year in a row. For 20 years, the Readers Choice Awards have given communities the opportunity to recognize their favorite local businesses. Wicked Local Favorites is a member of the award winning network of Wicked Local websites. “We are proud and honored to be recognized by the community as a Regional Favorite for the third year now. We listen and we respect our clients and care about their success. Being recognized for that is rewarding.” – Edward W. Valanzola About Valanzola L ..read more

Boston seemed a shoe-in for the Amazon HQ when the city was announced as one of the 20 finalists earlier this year. Where are we in August 2018? Though Boston still leads with a talented workforce, it may be flagging when it comes to infrastructure, cost and funding. It seems incentives aren’t on the agenda in Beacon Hill at the moment. Predictions change every month, but some of the most recent ones include Raleigh. Atlanta (Amazon is competing for a huge Defense Department contract there) and northern Virginia. What’s really interesting is how Amazon has been portrayed as Boston’s white knig ..read more

Matt Valanzola, a partner of the award winning law firm, Valanzola Law Group, got his start in the real estate industry managing and developing commercial real estate projects in downtown Boston. Matt has been based in the up and coming neighborhood of Jeffries Point in East Boston for over 10 years, across the water from major Seaport developments. From there he enjoys a unique vantage point that combines local understanding with a citywide vision. His personal philosophy can be summed up by the truth that, “everyone’s got to start somewhere”, which leads to the conclusion that there is a so ..read more

Valanzola Law Group was recently recognized through Wicked Local as Reader’s Choice Regional Favorite, and Attorney Edward W. Valanzola as #1 Attorney, for the second year in a row. For 20 years, the Readers Choice Awards have given communities the opportunity to recognize their favorite local businesses. Wicked Local Favorites is a member of the award winning network of Wicked Local websites. “I am proud and honored to be recognized by the community as Reader’s Choice Award #1 Attorney, and Valanzola Law Group as Regional Favorite. We listen and we respect our clients and care about ..read more

A Federal Reserve study covering millions of mortgage applications revealed the three most common reasons for mortgage loan application rejections. As would be expected, credit scores and credit histories were at the top, while valuation issues were at number three. The top reason why mortgage applications are rejected is flunking the debt-to-income (DTI) test. During 2015, 1 in 8 home purchase loan applications were rejected. Government backed loans received higher denials (FHA, VA, U.S. Department of Agriculture). So who is getting rejected, and what can you do to avoid this scenario? Studen ..read more