The Massachusetts Home Buyer Due Diligence Checklist

I've been helping buyers purchase homes here on the North Shore for more than 25 years, and I've noticed something: the buyers who feel calmest at the closing table are rarely the ones who got the "best deal." They're the ones who knew exactly what they were buying.

That's what due diligence is. It's the homework between "we love this house" and "here are your keys," and in Massachusetts it comes with its own set of rules. Title 5 septic reports. Lead paint notifications. Smoke and CO certificates from the fire department. An Offer to Purchase that can be binding the moment you sign it. If you're buying a single-family home in Beverly, Salem, Danvers, Ipswich, Gloucester, or anywhere in Essex County, here's what to check and when.

Five Things Every Massachusetts Buyer Should Know First

• Massachusetts is largely "buyer beware." Sellers aren't required to fill out a disclosure form, and generally don't have to volunteer defects. They can't misrepresent the property, and real estate licensees must disclose known material defects. Still, your own inspections and research are your best protection.
• Your Offer to Purchase can be a binding contract. You'll also hear it called a Contract to Purchase, which is what the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® forms call it. Massachusetts courts have enforced signed offers before a Purchase and Sale Agreement ever existed, so your contingencies belong in the offer itself.
• Hire your own attorney. The lender's attorney usually handles the closing and title work here. Your attorney reviews the Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S) and works for you alone.
• Homes built before 1978 trigger the state Lead Law. You'll get a Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification and at least 10 days to inspect.
• Septic homes require a Title 5 inspection. The seller orders it, but it's up to you to read and understand it.

Phase 1: Before You Make an Offer

Good due diligence starts before you fall in love with a house. Get a full mortgage pre-approval, not just a pre-qualification, and know your real cash to close. You'll also sign a written buyer representation agreement before touring homes, which has been required for REALTORS® nationwide since August 2024. If you're buying for the first time, my Massachusetts home buyer page walks through programs worth asking your lender about.

Then do your research on the property itself:

• Pull the assessor's record: year built, lot size, living area, bedroom count, and tax bill
• Confirm the utilities: town sewer or septic? Town water or private well? Gas, oil, propane, or heat pump?
• Check the FEMA flood map, especially for coastal homes in Gloucester, Marblehead, Beverly Farms, or Manchester-by-the-Sea
• Ask whether solar panels are owned or leased
• Get an early homeowners insurance quote for older or waterfront homes

Phase 2: Write Contingencies That Actually Protect You

Because the offer can bind you, this is where you protect yourself. In most North Shore deals I handle, the home inspection happens before the P&S, which is typically signed 10 to 14 days after the offer is accepted. Your offer should spell out:

• A home inspection contingency with a clear deadline
• A mortgage contingency with a specific commitment date
• Appraisal protection, plus a plan if the value comes in low
• Your lead paint inspection right on pre-1978 homes
• Any specialty inspections you'll need: radon, septic, well, or chimney
• Exactly which items convey: appliances, generator, shed, EV charger, window treatments

Phase 3: Inspections, Where the Real Answers Are

Massachusetts licenses home inspectors through the Board of Registration of Home Inspectors, so verify your inspector's license at mass.gov before you book. Then show up. Walking the house with your inspector teaches you more than any report.

Specialty inspections worth considering

• Radon in the air, and in the water if the home has a well
• Wood-destroying insects: termites, carpenter ants, powder post beetles
• Chimney (a Level II inspection for fireplaces and wood stoves)
• Sewer line camera scope for older homes on town sewer
• Structural engineer for foundation cracks or sagging framing
• Seawall and erosion review for waterfront property

Septic homes: reading the Title 5 report

Plenty of homes in Ipswich, Essex, Hamilton, Wenham, Topsfield, and Boxford are on septic. The seller provides a Title 5 inspection on the official MassDEP form. It's generally valid for 2 years, or 3 years if the system has been pumped every year with records to prove it. Check whether it passed, conditionally passed, or failed, and make sure the system's design capacity matches the number of bedrooms. A failed system has to be addressed, and who pays is negotiable.

Private wells and oil tanks

For a well, test both water quality and flow, and ask your lender what testing it requires. For oil heat, locate the tank, confirm its age and condition, and ask about any buried or abandoned tanks on the property. These are also items your insurer will care about.

Phase 4: Records, Permits, and Local Rules

This is the due diligence most buyers skip, and it's where North Shore homes surprise people. Before you're committed, check:

• Building permits for that finished basement, addition, or new deck
• Zoning, especially if you're planning an addition, garage, or pool. Massachusetts now allows accessory dwelling units by right in single-family zones, subject to local rules.
• Conservation Commission jurisdiction for homes near wetlands, streams, or the coast
• Historic district rules, common in parts of Salem and Marblehead, which can govern exterior changes
• Chapter 61, 61A, or 61B status on larger rural parcels
• Outstanding betterments for sewer, water, or road work
• Twelve months of utility bills, plus a Mass Save home energy assessment

Phase 5: Flood Zone and Insurance

If the home sits in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, a federally backed mortgage will require flood insurance. Even outside a mapped zone, coastal and low-lying homes deserve a flood quote. Ask the seller for a CLUE report showing past insurance claims, and bind your homeowners policy well before closing. Waterfront homes may face wind or hurricane deductibles and fewer carrier options.

Phase 6: The P&S and Your Mortgage

Your attorney negotiates the P&S, and from here the calendar matters. Put every contingency deadline and your mortgage commitment date where you'll see it. Send your lender documents quickly, and don't change jobs, open new credit, or make large unexplained deposits. If your commitment won't arrive on time, have your attorney request an extension before the deadline passes. You'll receive your Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. Read it.

Phase 7: Title, Closing Documents, and Your Homestead

• Title exam and owner's title insurance. The lender's policy protects the lender. An owner's policy protects you.
• Municipal Lien Certificate to confirm taxes and town charges are paid
• Smoke and CO Certificate of Compliance, which the seller gets from the local fire department and which is required to close
• Final water and sewer reading, plus the oil or propane adjustment
• How you'll hold title, a conversation to have with your attorney

One update many buyers haven't heard: Massachusetts automatically protects $125,000 of equity in your primary residence from many creditors. Recording a Declaration of Homestead raises that to $1,000,000, up from $500,000 under the Affordable Homes Act signed in August 2024. Most closing attorneys can record it at closing. In Beverly, Salem, Danvers, Peabody, and much of southern Essex County, it's recorded at the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds, now located mainly at the Cummings Center in Beverly.

Phase 8: Walk-Through, Closing, and Move-In

Schedule your final walk-through within 24 to 48 hours of closing. Run the heat, A/C, water, and appliances. Check the basement for water. Confirm agreed repairs are done and collect the receipts. After closing, record your homestead if it wasn't done at the table, change the locks, and keep your deed, title policy, inspection reports, and Title 5 report somewhere safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Jim Armstrong

REALTOR® · SRES® · ABR® · GREEN · Massachusetts Certified Real Estate Instructor

Jim leads the Armstrong Field Group at Aluxety Real Estate and has helped North Shore buyers and sellers for more than 25 years. He lives in North Beverly and teaches continuing education for Massachusetts real estate licensees. His family's real estate roots here go back to 1944, when his grandmother, Lillienne I. Field, founded Field Real Estate in Salem.