home for sale: I Took The Plunge - Unflattering Photos - 02/15/10 01:22 AM
A couple of Blog posts ago I put the question out there:Since home buyers love to look at photos on the Internet and many buyers eliminate homes without photos is it appropriate to put photos of homes that need lots and lots of TLC?
The trend of the comments was:  Yes, it was a good idea to put photos of the house as it exists in the marketing materials.  The concept is to keep from wasting the time of both the potential buyer and the Realtor.  Who wants to go to a house that needs a lot of work when the … (11 comments)

home for sale: 5104 Clavel Terrace, Rockville, MD 20853 - 02/15/10 12:59 AM
Great Investment Opportunity in Rockville, MD … (3 comments)

home for sale: 7917 Mandan Road, #201, Greenbelt, MD 20770 - 02/10/10 03:47 AM
Greenbelt MD | Condos for Sale | near U of MD | near Goddard Space Flight Center | Pool … (3 comments)

home for sale: The Cost of an Open House - Theft - 10/06/09 07:40 AM
I was writing a blog post on my Outside Blog about an article in today's Washington Post about a "father/son" team that went to a bunch of Open Houses and pilfered the home owner's jewelry and took it to local pawn shops to unload it. 
Due to some good police work and getting the word out within the local Realtor community, the Open House thieves have been caught.  The Alexandria (VA) police are still seeking additional victims of the Open House thefts in order to wrap this case up.  You can find the phone number of the Detective on the case … (12 comments)

home for sale: Mr. Seller...Let the Buyer's Agent Sell Your House - 10/04/09 11:43 AM
Scenario:  Mr. Seller is very eager to sell his house.  He just "happens to be home" when a lot of the buyers and their agents pop by for a visit. Mt. Seller likes to be the tour guide highlighting all the parts of the house he [the Seller] likes about his house. Mr. Seller also likes to talk money.
Yes, that's right.  Stuff like "I can do this with closing help or I can do that with less closing help or....."  Get the point?
So I get the call from the agent with a low ball offer.  I present to the … (12 comments)

home for sale: 13412 Parkland Drive, Rockville, MD 20853 - 08/11/09 11:23 PM
Here is a nice, single family home ideally located within minutes of parks, great shopping, schools and two METRO stops (Glenmont and Wheaton). It is nestled along a quiet, tree-lined street with an attached one-car garage and a spectacular back yard perfect for playing around or entertaining guests. … (0 comments)

home for sale: 1320 Swingingdale Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20905 - 06/04/09 07:32 AM
If you ever wanted to live in a great community at the end of a private cul-de-sac (think: no traffic!) than this might be the perfect home for you.The spacious deck, above ground pool and huge back yard make this house stand out...and that's just the outside! Inside this lovingly cared for home is a roomy kitchen with new, stainless steel appliances and a family room with a warm and romantic wood burning fireplace. The basement is fully decked out as an entertainment center for friends and family. The master bedroom goes on forever with plenty of closet space for all … (1 comments)

home for sale: Sometimes You Just Have To Tell Them NOT To Sell - 06/01/09 08:13 AM
It seems that in February of 2007 I was asked to come over to present a CMA and talk about how wonderful I am to a potential Seller.  This particular Seller was in a subdivision I market to all the time and I've actually sold quite a few homes.  I may not be "The King" yet but I do pretty well.  I went full out.  I took lots of pre-listing appointment photos and prepared a nice pre-listing package. I was ready...or so I thought.
The guy in this house had been living in it for decades and it looked like he … (7 comments)

home for sale: The Market Is Picking UP...These Home Prices Are Going DOWN - 05/11/09 01:30 PM
Recently, I had two of my clients re-think their pricing startegy. I've been gently encouraging them to do something. Yes, the market is picking up. Yes, the media is saying that we may be hitting the bottom. However, the sad fact is that prices are still trying to find the "just right" place to stabilize. Meanwhile, the foreclosures and short sales are still out there in plentiful supply.Wouldn't it be nice, though, if there were some nice homes, in good shape (can you say, "No repairs!") that are being sold by real people (not banks) who can say "Yes!" to your … (2 comments)

home for sale: Should I Tell My Clents What They Want To Hear? - 03/17/09 01:12 AM
I recently received an e-mail from an out-of-town client who has had their house on the market for quite some time. It seems that the house has received some recent showings and since I use a showing service that logs in the visits and sends notification to the Seller, this particular client sounded pretty excited about the uptick in the showing activity.
Now, keep in mind, that no offers have come across.  It has simply been that there have been a few showings vs no showings at all.
I kinda know what this person wanted to hear. "Yes! The Spring market … (7 comments)

home for sale: Spring is in the air and Showing Activity is on the Increase - 03/13/09 01:25 PM
For some odd reason, some of my listings are seeing a big spike in showing activity.  I'm trying to figure it out.  I know there are a few reasons:
it's spring it's Daylight Savings Time there's an $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit out there waiting mortgage interest rates are low buyers getting tired of viewing "as is", trashed out "short" sales and foreclosed properties (my listings are in the micro-niche of Sellers With Equity) the prices have stopped falling through the floor Who knows?  All I know is that there seems to be more showings on my listings in … (8 comments)

home for sale: Buyers Kicking Tires - 03/09/09 02:37 AM
In an article in the Real Estate Section of The Washington Post, a guy is described as having really, really researched the market for a long period of time.  He had spreadsheets and visited a lot of open houses, etc.  He and his lady friend eventually decided to buy a house!  Wooooo! Hoooo!
This reminds me of a recent experience where a couple contacted me through my REALTOR.com listing. They liked the house, it had a Virtual Tour so they had and idea what it looked like on the inside and they wanted to see it. 
Since I'm the Seller's rep, … (15 comments)

home for sale: 10904 Hannes Court, Silver Spring, MD 20901 - 02/16/09 11:30 AM
This home, located on a quiet cul-de-sac near the Four Corners neighborhood of Silver Spring is perfect for someone who want to take advantage of a great location that is near METRO and the upscale downtown area of Silver Spring and the schools of the Down County Cluster in Montgomery County.
… (1 comments)

home for sale: A Change (price adjustment) We Can Believe In -- College Park, MD - 01/26/09 08:53 AM
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)

home for sale: Good Credit? Current on mortgage? No Equity? - 01/07/09 12:34 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)

home for sale: Negotiation May Get The Deal Done - 11/30/08 02:29 AM
We all know that we are supposed to represent our client's best interest and I've been to plenty of seminars and read plenty of blog posts about how Realtors are not supposed to show their hand to the other guy.  Things like "I'm sorry this offer is so low.  It's what they buyer told me to put." or "Hey, I know this offer stinks but see if you can't get a counter offer."
No. We're supposed to represent exactly what's on the paper and hope the other Realtor can "read between the lines." 
The fact is that even if I … (3 comments)

home for sale: But You May Not Get Another Offer For Awhile... - 11/25/08 09:57 AM
Recently, I've been lucky (I think) to get some listings that have Sellers with equity.  This means that when an offer comes through there's no waiting for a bank or other "third party approval".  You would think that would mean that these Sellers would be ready to work with reasonable and even not-so-reasonable offers that come to the table.
You would be wrong.
In fact, I'm working with a Seller now that has equity and can certainly make a decision to move forward pretty quickly...if they really wanted to. Of course, they tell me they're ready to sell but, of course, … (10 comments)

home for sale: The Supra to Sentrilock Conversion - 11/09/08 12:59 AM
Tomorrow, I walk into a hotel ballroom in Greenbelt to convert all my Supra lockboxes and key access to Sentrilock lockboxes and key access.  Woo! Hooo!!!
Neighboring jurisdictions have converted long ago (and one will convert a little later this year or early next, I understand). So I went and got my Sentrilock key and card reader several months ago.  I wasn't going to forgo showing property in either Anne Arundel County or Howard County just because Prince George's was running out the clock on their Supra contract.
I'm see a lot of pluses to Sentrilock, not the least of which … (11 comments)

home for sale: Is it Time for Seller Financing? - 10/18/08 05:23 AM
We all know that the market in inundated with short sales and foreclosures.  That makes it hard on everyone, most importantly, Sellers who have equity in their home and have maintained it in good condition over the years.  Prices of homes in short sale or foreclosure situations are pushing prices down all over the place.
Add to this the fact that it is now harder to get a mortgage than anytime in recent memory.  Sure, that's probably a good thing because a lot of people got into homes they couldn't afford.  But what about those Buyers out in the world that … (6 comments)

home for sale: Anyone Have Any Motion Sickness Pills? - 10/13/08 09:14 AM
Today the DJIA - that's the "DOW" to the rest of us - went up 936.42.  This was the biggest point gain in the history of the index and the largest percentage gain - 11.08% - in the history of the index, according to this CNBC web page.
Isn't it amazing.  The end of the world was at hand on Friday and today everybody is drinking happy juice and uncorking the champagne.  Friday everyone was worried about not being able to retire and today it's "Happy Days are Here Again!"  Roller Coaster CIty.
Hey, it ain't over yet.  That's why the … (3 comments)