Short answers to the questions we get most.
Each guide ends with the next step you actually need, whether that's the form, the deadline, the office to call, or the phone number, and lists the public sources behind it. If one of them is wrong, tell us and we'll correct it.
Download the Latest Edition of The Owner's Manual.
The inaugural print edition is free as a PDF, with what a home really costs and two guides.
How to File for a Property Tax Abatement
If your assessment looks high, you have one narrow window after the bill arrives to challenge it. Here's the form, the deadline, and the evidence that actually works.
What a Prop 2½ Override Actually Does
Override, debt exclusion, capital exclusion, they're not the same thing, and only one of them is permanent. What to check before you vote.
Senior Exemptions. Town by Town.
The Clause 41C exemption, tax deferral under 41A, and the state Circuit Breaker credit, who qualifies, and how to apply this year.
Mass Save Explained
The no-cost home energy assessment, what the rebates cover, the 0% HEAT Loan, and the heat-pump question answered honestly.
Shopping Your Homeowners Policy
Why your renewal went up, what to compare beyond the premium, the discounts most people never ask for, and what to do if you're declined.
MBTA Communities Zoning and Your Neighborhood
What the law requires, which towns are covered, what compliance looks like, and what it may mean for your street.
Accuracy Is What We Strive Toward.
Every figure in these guides comes from a public source, whether state law, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Public Utilities, the Division of Insurance, Mass Save, or the town's own published documents. Each guide lists its sources at the end, and when a number changes we update the guide.
- Deadlines and limits are set town by town. We give you the rule, and your assessor or town clerk gives you the date.
- Nothing here is legal or tax advice. It's what we'd tell a neighbor.
- Ask us for one. Members write in with questions, and the most common ones become the next guide.
Get the next guide as we write it.
Membership is free, and The Owner's Manual arrives every month with one practical thing to do about the cost of owning a home here.