| |
howard county md: Howard County Horse Haven! - 02/15/12 04:06 PM
This is a truly charming 6.11 acre lot with a cozy comfortable environmentally-friendly home, complete with pathways leading down through the trees and connecting with Benson Branch Park. Bring your horses or your walking shoes and enjoy nature to your hearts' content in western Howard County! For more information, go to www.3557LakewayDrive.com or call me directly at 443-676-1625, email Gretchen@GretchenConley.com.
… (2 comments)
|
howard county md: Howard County Home Sellers – The 5 Best Uses of Your Time and Dollars – #4 – Walls and Floors (Cost: Low; Return: High) - 11/22/11 07:17 AM
What do your neighbors, the Joneses, have? Or the listing down the street or around the block? The recent neighborhood comps? If you don’t know, check with your Realtor. Buyers will be looking at your house and at the other active listings, and will naturally compare them. Appraisers will look at the recent market activity, the condition of the homes and the updates to the homes.
While you don’t want to overspend in your area, you do need to know what’s standard, so that you’ll know what buyers are comparing your home with, and ensure your home comes out on top. … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: Staging - 5 Reasons I Believe In Staging - Reason #4 - 03/17/11 07:54 AM
Staging - 5 Reasons I Believe in Staging - Reason #4: The Competition
Howard County Buyers are looking at a lot of Howard County houses – Comparing, eliminating, choosing. I saw three homes today with my buyer, very similarly priced. It was clear, walking into the 2nd, that the 1st was only going to help sell the 2nd. The 1st was not decluttered, not staged, not freshly painted or carpeted. I had to look at the two prices again, just to be sure! The house that’s NOT ready to be seen/sold is helping the OTHER Sellers. Ask yourself: Do you want … (2 comments)
|
howard county md: Staging - 5 Reasons I Believe in Staging - Reason #3 - 03/16/11 08:18 AM
Staging - 5 Reasons I Believe In Staging - Reason #3: Sellers and Buyers Have Difficulty Visualizing
For Homeowners, it can be exceptionally hard to see your own Howard County home as a buyer would. We tend to overlook what we see each day in our own homes. And because it’s so difficult to see our homes objectively, we have trouble packaging the home as a “product” for potential buyers. Having a professional stager in, who will take the time to go through it from top to bottom with you, will absolutely open your eyes to seeing your home as a … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Avoid Foreclosure in Howard County - Step 5 - 03/11/11 07:12 AM
Step 5 – Consider Tax and Future Ramifications So you’ve researched, Realtored, and worked together quickly as a Team. (Steps 1-4) It’s also very important that you consider the tax and future ramifications of the short sale of your Howard County home.
When this short sale phenomenon began a few years back, there was a lot more push back from the lenders, who wanted to retaining the right to pursue a deficiency judgment against you for the balance of the monies they didn’t get back as a result of the short sale. You will want your Realtor to ensure negotiations with … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Avoid Foreclosure in Howard County MD - Step 4 - 03/10/11 07:34 AM
Step 4 – Fully Participate
Help your Howard County Realtor help you get your house sold. Selling a house, whether it’s a short sale or not, is really a team effort: the Sellers and the Realtor working together to achieve the same goal. So when you hire an experienced short sale agent, listen to them.
Do what your Realtor says is necessary to get the house ready to sell – decluttering, staging – time spent here will REDUCE the time spent waiting for an offer. Understand that the pricing strategy will be different than for a regular sale; the price has … (2 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Avoid Foreclosure in Howard County MD - Step 3 - 03/09/11 06:16 AM
Step 3 – Call Today – Don’t Delay! Every day counts in terms of getting the short sale process started and beginning to negotiate with your mortgage company(ies). Don’t wait! Get a Realtor involved immediately! (Need a Realtor? See my last blogpost on Finding a Realtor.)
First, your Realtor will need to get your house listed, just like in a regular Howard County MD home sale. And hopefully, fully marketed, photographed, staged, the works. Maximum exposure immediately in order to attract a buyer and bring forth an offer to present to the bank.
At the same time, you’ll be authorizing your … (2 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Avoid Foreclosure in Howard County MD - Step 2 - 03/08/11 07:02 AM
Step 2 – Find A Realtor This is key. It is truly important that you find a real estate agent that has done a short sale before and taken the time to do some of the intensive short sale training out there, one who is truly familiar with the process. And, as the short sale adventure has moved and twisted and changed, that they’ve kept up with those bumps and turns.
A Realtor who has completed the Certified Distressed Property Expert® (CDPE) training has a thorough understanding of complex issues in today’s turbulent real estate industry and knowledge of foreclosure avoidance … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Avoid Foreclosure in Howard County MD - Step 1 - 03/07/11 09:53 AM
Step 1 – Do Your Research Things not going well? House value upside-down? Can’t see a way out? Unfortunately, you’re not alone. But more unfortunately, many Howard County, Maryland homeowners go straight into foreclosure, rather than seeking and receiving help from their lender and a local, knowledgeable Realtor. Don’t let this happen to you!
Here are some of the UNNECESSARY possible complications of going to foreclosure, rather than hiring a Realtor to short sale your house:
Credit Score: A foreclosure will lower your credit score 250-300 points, affecting your credit score for over three years. A short sale, best case, could … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Selling Your Howard County Home in 2011 - Step 2 - 03/02/11 08:11 AM
Step 2: Research Your Local Howard County Market.
CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News all have a lot of housing market information and advice, but it’s important to remember that it’s all national news… and there is NO national housing market. It’s all local! Here’s the best way I’ve ever heard to explain this phenomenon: Getting a national weather forecast: Maybe say, it’ll be an average of 70 degrees across the country, partly sunny, some chance of rain, a 25% chance of snow. Imagine trying to dress for your day with that sort of information! You need a local weather forecast, just … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Selling Your Howard County Home in 2011 - Step 1 - 03/01/11 01:11 PM
Step 1: Research Your Pricing.
Assemble a little Howard County pre-research first, both the similarities and the differences. This should give you a good determination of what a buyer would agree to pay for a home like yours, and what it would be apt to appraise for. And ask yourself, what would YOU pay for your home if you were the buyer, looking at the same comps?
At this point, it’s best to go back to paragraph #1 again, looking at your research, and then remembering why you’re selling. Be realistic when pricing your home. Don’t suddenly forget your research … (2 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Buying a Howard County Home in 2011 - Step 5 - 02/27/11 06:08 PM
Step 5: Choose Your Realtor and Your Lender
Well, you’ve saved and researched, checked your credit, and determined your comfort level for spending on your new home. If you haven’t come across a good lender or real estate agent yet, now’s the time to make the leap.
Pay attention to the agents who have responded to you in a timely, thorough fashion, answering your questions and offering additional relevant information as needed. Try to ensure that both of you are on the same page with regard to your needs, timelines and goals, and that your personalities mesh. I firmly believe … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Buying a Howard County Home in 2011 – Step 4 - 02/27/11 04:45 PM
Step 4: What Are You Spending Monthly Now, and How Is That Working For You?
How much are you comfortable spending each month? Have you thought that out already? That’s a question only you can answer. In years past, there were certainly homeowners who felt they’d been pushed into borrowing more than they should have, blaming the lender or real estate agent. Frequently, however, there have also been homeowners choosing to overspend on their own. At any rate, if someone tells you they can approve you for more than you think you want to spend, take a step back and … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Buying a Howard County Home in 2011 – Step 3 - 01/31/11 06:23 PM
5 Steps to Buying a Howard County Home in 2011 – Step 3 If you haven't noticed by my two previous posts here on Active Rain, I am doing a 5 part series on Steps to Buying a Howard County Home. I have just put up the Step 3 article on my website. If you click on the link above you will be taken there directly.
Step 3: Know Your Numbers – Time for the Credit Check This article is a very important piece of the puzzle to buying a Howard County Home...you won't want to miss it...the credit pendulum has … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Buying a Howard County Home in 2011 – Step 2 - 01/27/11 05:30 PM
Step 2: Online Research: Look into Neighborhoods, Lenders, Realtors
Do you know the State, the County, the City, even the Neighborhood you’re most interested in? Unlike in the past, there is so much data online that it’s usually very easy to make a lot of progress on WHERE you want to be, even before you’ve set foot in the area. The job market, housing, cost of living, tax rates, amenities, school scores and reviews, sporting opportunities, activities for children – All of this is but a click away.
Research and information-gathering begins early on for most buyers these days. … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 5 Steps to Buying a Howard County Home in 2011 - Step 1 - 01/26/11 05:27 PM
Step 1: Stop spending, Start Saving
View RSS feed close [x]
Lots of things you COULD buy, but not so much you NEED to buy. Hold off on the little stuff and keep your eye on the prize - Your first home, a bigger home, an investment property, your retirement dream.
Set up or boost up your automatic savings at the bank (click here for internet bank interest rates), pay off the credit cards, don’t buy a new car. (Having the garage, or the new car to put in it… Reminds me of one of my daughters years ago … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: 365 Things to do in Howard County MD - 04/18/10 09:28 AM
I'm excited about a new FB page - 365 Things to do in Howard County MD - it's nice to have a place to note all the things I love, businesses I refer, restaurants who serve my favorite meals, a place to celebrate all the special places in Howard County. It will also make it easy for me personally to go back and peruse, know where the website link is, check the dates of upcoming events -- Kind of like my Outlook email folder "Upcoming Events", where I put all the emails I think I'm good with, but if I need to … (1 comments)
|
howard county md: Love, love, love my clients! - 01/15/10 06:25 AM
Just have to say, in this day and age, the economic times we're in, the concern and trepidation with which much of the public enters the market in one way or another, I feel VERY fortunate. I have been working with some of the NICEST clients this past year, and expect that this year will follow suit! A lot of it may be my growing referral base - referrals from nice, reasonable, sane clients tend to also be nice, reasonable, sane clients. I also truly believe that if issues come up, they should be viewed as opportunities rather than problems. When my … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: Longfellow Elementary Rocks! - 11/19/09 08:07 PM
Nothing like the youth of today to put us all to shame! What a fine job by the 5th graders of Longfellow Elementary, celebrating technology! Watch, and then vote for them!
Here's the news, directly from Longfellow's PTA President:
Longfellow Elementary's 5th graders in Howard County created a music video and entered Interwrite's eMakeover contest again this year. But this year Longfellow has been chosen as one of 5 finalists out of approximately 100 nationwide and Canadian entries!! We are the only school from Maryland selected.
The final winner is decided by a panel of judges and by YOUR VOTES. We need … (0 comments)
|
howard county md: Triple Run Luncheon! - 11/19/09 02:58 PM
What an awesome luncheon! What luncheon, you ask? The Howard County Million Dollar Club monthly luncheon, a very high caliber of realtors meeting regularly, endeavoring to increase professionalism, networking, and of course, doing good restaurant-research!
First run: The MARVELOUS SWEET POTATO SOUP at Bistro Blanc (recently voted TOP RESTAURANT in HOWARD COUNTY!). I would have been very very happy with just that, imagining warm cracking fires, fall pumpkins in the farmers' fields through the fog, sheep grazing nearby... but I digress! Then a lovely salmon dish to top it off!!
Second run: Discovering that HCAR (our very own Howard County … (1 comments)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gretchen Conley - Howard County MD Real Estate
Columbia,
MD
More about me…
Keller Williams Realty Centre
Address: 6230 Old Dobbin Road, #150, Columbia, MD, 21045
Office Phone: (443) 766-1632
Cell Phone: (443) 676-1625
Email Me
 Listings
Links
Archives
|
;)
;)
;)
