Existing Homes Sales UP and New Home Sales DOWN...Is This a Good Thing? Not for the Media - 01/31/09 05:59 PM
In another post I wrote recently, I was holding forth on the seeming paradox of the recent statistics from December 2008 that showed existing homes sales were UP by 6.5% while new home sales were having their worst time on record.
Since the stats come out a few days apart and they come from different sources (existing home sales stats came from the National Association of Realtors and the new home sales came from the Commerce Department), the great news about existing home sales got a lot of media attention...for two days.  Then the negative number for new home sales came … (9 comments)

Active Rain Soiree -- DC Edition - 01/28/09 07:14 AM
It was a dark and stormy night....
Well,  it was dark, after all it was night,  and it wasn't exactly stormy but there was a serious "wintry mix" (as we call it here in the DC Metro area) with a layer of snow on the ground and a sleet-ish, freezing rain-ish combination falling.  However, a few brave souls made it out to Rainer, Blogger and Realtor Extraordinaire, Patricia Kennedy's home in NW DC to share munchies (can baked brie be called a munchie?) and wine with Active Rain honco, Jon Washburn.
Jon was in town at the invitation of the NAR … (12 comments)

A Change (price adjustment) We Can Believe In -- College Park, MD - 01/26/09 04:53 PM
This home has been inspected, detected, selected and upgraded in all the places it counts:

* great open, remodeled kitchen
* huge renovated master bath with a Jacuzzi and water temperature control (the hot water stays hot!)
* a working sauna
* a fully finished walkout basement
* Pella doors
* hardwood floors
The new, new, new price on this is only $314,999 and it's very close to METRO and the University of MD.
… (5 comments)

Appraisals and Inspections - 01/22/09 08:02 PM
Many of my clients get a little confused between the meaning and importance of an appraisal and an inspection.
The inspection usually comes first.  In my experience, sometime within 7 - 10 days of the fully executed contract of sale.  The Buyer pays for the inspection so they get to choose who the inspector will be.  Sure, it would be nice if the Realtor got to choose or if the Seller got to choose but the plain fact is if the Buyer has a brother-in-law that will give the house a once over, that's the way it is.
The inspection is … (9 comments)

Having Fun at Pat's $2,000,000 Open House - 01/18/09 06:42 PM
OK.  I admit it.  Some Sunday afternoon's I just don't have a lot on my schedule.  So when I saw blog and referral buddy, Pat Kennedy's blog post, about an Open House she was having at a home listed for $1,999,000 in DC, I couldn't resist.
I'll be honest. I would love to play in the playground Pat does.  Every so often, I do get a nice six figure listing but the bulk of my business is in what can be generously called "the middle tier".  Not too cheap, not too pricey. Anyway, I wanted to see what a 2 million … (12 comments)

Thank You, Mr. & Mrs. Buyer For Paying For The Inspection - 01/16/09 06:34 PM
A few posts ago, I wrote about one of my listings going under contract soon after the settlement of another of my listings.  I was pretty excited and thought I was on a bit of a roll.  Maybe too excited.
I forgot my primo rule - don't count the money until it's in the bank - otherwise known as "It ain't over 'til the Fat Lady sings!"
It turns out the buyers for this house wanted to do a home inspection.  Nothing wrong with that.  Inspections are good things.  Besides the house was in good shape,  A lot of upgrades.  Still … (66 comments)

Fun @ Franklin's BrewPub in Hyattsville for the College Park Woods Swim Club - 01/14/09 07:50 PM
I honestly think this FUNdraiser for the College Park Woods Swim Club was a good excuse for neighbors and friends who have known each other for years to get together and have a great meal and toss back a couple of Franklin's famous microbrews.
College Park Woods is this great community minutes from the University of MD that has this wonderful community pool.  They get into water aerobics and everything.  Of course, it's a Memorial Day to Labor Day kind of thing since it is, after all, an outdoor pool.
I wrote more about this with some great photos at this … (1 comments)

5709 Butterfield Road, Clinton, MD 20735 - 01/12/09 03:33 PM
This home is located within minutes of Andrews AFB in a quiet, tree-lined community called Chirs-Mar. It'll only take one look to fall in love with both this house and the neighborhood of Colonial style homes with perfectly manicured lawns.
-- Minutes to Andrews AFB
--New Roof in 2008
--New Carpet and Flooring throughout the house
--largest lot in the neighborhood with spacious, fenced back yard
--Attached one-car garage with extra long driveway
--Seller says "Sell this house!"
--$7,500 Tax credit for first-time homebuyers
… (0 comments)

College Park, MD: 5918 Bryn Mawr Road, New Great Price - $314,999 - 01/12/09 03:15 PM
If you were looking for a home that was in true "move-in" condition, this may be the one for you!
This beautiful home has been updated and remodeled with a gorgeous kitchen and spacious master bath complete with a real Jacuzzi with a temperature control that keeps the water warm (or hot!) as long as you want to sit in it.
It also has a working sauna in the fully finished walk-out basement.

-- Minutes to METRO
-- Minutes to the University of MD
-- Minutes to great commuter routes
-- Parks, Shopping, Movies, ... and More.

… (1 comments)

Loan Limits Increase for VA Loans -- Good News for Vets! - 01/11/09 08:23 AM
Loan limits for the VA loan program have increased to $812,500 in the two MD Suburbs of DC areas I serve most -- Prince George's County and Montgomery County.  They have also increase, though not as high, in Anne Arundel County and Howard County to $537,900.
This opens up a world of possibility for veterans seeking to purchase a home in the Metro DC area.  The VA Loan program is about the only zero down payment mortgage available.  The best part is that, if you qaulifiy for the loan you get the great interest rates available to vets.
I write in … (7 comments)

Good Credit? Current on mortgage? No Equity? - 01/07/09 08:34 PM
Recently, I've been running into folks who are not "in trouble" or "underwater" with their home.  The payments are current.  Income is good enough to keep the payments current.  Yet, they can't sell their home!  Or, at least, they can't sell it and make enough money to buy something else.
Why not?
Well, it seems that some folks saw the huge run up in home prices and decided to refinance and/or take some home equity lines out  so they could have some cash.  Lots of reasons for cash:
vacations remodeling toys (of the adult and child variety) tuition for the kids … (6 comments)

Is College Park Having a Renaissance? - 01/05/09 09:27 PM
A couple of posts back I wrote about a great end-of-year settlement for a nice Split Level in College Park Woods.  The house hadn't been on the market that long and the previous owner had kept it in good shape.
Now, just days after that one settled an offer cam in on another listing "across town" from College Park Woods near the Town of Berwyn Heights. We're really just talking a couple of miles here. Still a great neighborhood with great access to the University of MD and major employers as well as major commuter routes and METRO.
You can read … (5 comments)

Is Your Home Page Active Rain or Facebook? - 01/05/09 11:41 AM
I have to admit that when I started getting serious about Active Rain I would visit it two, three times a day.  I would be eating and breathing blog post ideas.  I would get up early in the morning to write a post.  Then I would brush my teeth and take a shower.
Then I found Facebook.  Yeah.  Sure.  Facebook has been around for ages.  It wasn't until recently that it took on a whole new aura for "old" people.  You know.  Non-college students. People that are out in the work world and want to connect for business.
Yeah, I know.  … (28 comments)

Houses do sell...No Matter What You Hear on the News - 01/02/09 08:50 AM
I don't know if it's the interest rates, people getting tired of renting, a perception that home prices are pretty darn low (relative to recent home values) or what but homes are selling.  At least a couple of my listings.
I serve a community near the University of MD called College Park Woods.  It's a nice subdivision of single family homes built in the mid '60s.  Community pool. Community park. Close to METRO and some fairly big employers (USDA, NASA, Archives, to name a few).  So the location is good, the prices reasonable.
Yet, because of the "meltdown" and subsequent tightening … (3 comments)