Buying A Foreclosure Without A Buyer's Broker - ARE YOU KIDDING? - 09/30/10 10:20 AM
 
When I saw the title of this post, I shook my head and smiled because I knew it was such a GREAT question. 
Candace does a great job here of expressing some of the reasons why you may NOT want to buy a foreclosure without the assistance of a buyer's broker, whether you're in her neck of the woods (Arizona) or here in Maryland.  An experienced buyer's broker can help you avoid the pitfalls inherent in buying a foreclosure, so don't blow your opportunity to be represented!
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Via Candice A Donofrio, Broker Fort Mohave, AZ Txt 928-201-4242 :
Buying … (3 comments)

Dine at Chili's Today to Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - 09/27/10 04:15 PM
Every penny of profit earned by Chili's restaurant today will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, as well as the money raised throughout September with their Create-a-Pepper campaign.
Chili's has raised millions of dollars for St. Jude over the past few years - enough to build the Chili's Care Center.  This facility, which opened in 2007, houses the major treatment and research programs for brain tumor and bone marrow transplant patients.  The brain tumor program at St. Jude is the largest protocol-based pediatric brain tumor program in the country.
If you're not familiar with St. Jude Children's Research Center, you … (8 comments)

Juice Box @ The Whiskey Will Benefit Crofton Teacher - 09/26/10 10:54 AM
Crofton Children's Centre is hosting an event next Saturday, Oct. 2, to support one of their teachers in her battle against breast cancer.  This will not be a bake sale, and it's not a “run”… it's something MUCH more spectacular.
They're bringing    to Anne Arundel County for a benefit concert
and they're calling it Juice Box @ The Whiskey.
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Rocknoceros (pronounced like rhinoceros) has dominated the Washington, DC children's scene since its inception in 2005, winning four Whammies (Washington Area Music Awards), landing an on-going Video-on-Demand offering through Cox Cable, and producing 3 CD's of original music.If there are kids in your family, you … (8 comments)

Real Estate Report for Crofton, Maryland - August 2010 - 09/26/10 08:47 AM
The real estate market in Crofton, Maryland, is alive and well, even though the tax credit has ended.
The median sold price in Crofton, last month ($335,000) was the highest we’ve seen all year, except for June when most tax-credit properties closed.  In other words, half the homes which sold were higher-priced and half were lower-priced. 27 homes sold in Crofton during August, up two from the previous month and up one from August 2009. The average sold price ($343.167), was relatively stable - only 1.65% less than last year. The inventory of homes for sale (169) is down 15 homes from last month … (1 comments)

Real Estate Report for Gambrills, Maryland - August 2010 - 09/25/10 07:19 AM
GAMBRILLS, MARYLAND, REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE
Real estate statistics comparing Gambrills, last month, with the same month the previous year presented a more positive picture than we saw in other nearby zipcodes:
Units sold:  Up 36% over last year Average sold price:  Up 28% Median sold price:  Up 58% Average days on market:  Down 43% Let's take a look at August over the past five years, so we can put last month's numbers in perspective:

Another encouraging statistic is the percentage of list price vs. sold price - 90.31%, compared to just 86.59% last year... still not as high as … (5 comments)

Real Estate Report for Odenton, Maryland - August 2010 - 09/24/10 08:39 PM
ODENTON, MARYLAND, REAL ESTATE UPDATE
The listing inventory is up slightly from last year, but the average and median sold prices are down. In fact, both the average and median sold prices are the lowest of any August in five years:

Unfortunately, the number of units sold and the number of homes that went under contract last month in Odenton are also the lowest of any August over a five-year span.
Average days on market, however, is a bright spot on this chart, down over 20% from the same month last year.
"What do all these numbers mean to the … (5 comments)

Are You Ready to Tailgate Tomorrow at the Terps Game? - 09/24/10 10:40 AM

College football and tailgating, sunshine and balmy weather... tomorrow promises to be fun day in College Park, Maryland - especially if the Terps win, but even if they don't.
Our family tailgate expanded exponentially when my nephews started going to Maryland and their parents took over hosting responsibilities from us.  That's because both of the boys played in the Maryland marching band, and band friends often came back to the tailgate after the game.  Over time, some of the parents and siblings of band members joined in, and many have continued to tailgate with us even though they've all graduated.  … (16 comments)

Before You Refinance, Call Your Favorite Realtor! - 09/23/10 05:16 PM
 
Crofton homeowners are joining the re-finance rush, and often paying more fees than necessary.  D.C. REALTOR Patricia Kennedy has a solution for that - call your favorite real estate agent and share your HUD-1 with them.  They know the "usual" charges and can alert you if the new lender or title company are over-charging you.
Read on...
 
Via Patricia Kennedy (Evers & Company Realtors):
Yesterday I got a call from one of my favorite clients.  He purchased a home about two years ago and had decided to refinance at a lower mortgage rate.   Before he signed the final papers this … (0 comments)

Blogging is NOT for Everyone! - 09/22/10 06:05 PM
Let's be honest... BLOGGING IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.
Blogging works for me, and I enjoy it, but I can't say the same for some other proven lead-generating activities often used by real estate agents: 
Cold calling (I just don't do it) Farming (I'm not consistent or patient enough) Print advertising (I'm too cheap to do much of that) Open House (I haven't figured out the magic formula for generating traffic) Buying leads (my response time and follow-up aren't what they should be) There are plenty of agents out there who swear by one or more of these, but don't blog.  That's … (46 comments)

Crofton Craft Fair - Fun Things To Do in Crofton MD - 09/22/10 08:21 AM

It should be mostly sunny and 80 degrees on Saturday for the Crofton Craft Fair at Crofton Country Club, in the heart of Old Crofton.
The event is held twice a year by the Crofton Town Club (formerly the Crofton Newcomers Club) on the last Saturday of September and April.  It's a long-standing community tradition that you don't want to miss. 
Come on down and check out the local community organizations and crafters between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., rain or shine.
If you happen to notice the aroma of barbeque chicken, just follow your nose to the north parking … (8 comments)

Check Traffic on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Before You Leave Home - 09/21/10 08:36 PM
Crossing the Chesapeake Bay by ferry boat was always the highlight of my early childhood vacations to Ocean City, Maryland.  By the time I was in second grade, however, that fun (but slow) ferry boat ride was replaced with a drive across the newly opened Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Sandy Point in Anne Arundel County to Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Fast forward 50+ years, and now we have two parallel spans carrying traffic high above the Chesapeake Bay via Rt. 301/50 - five lanes altogether.  On many days, five lanes are still not enough.  Traffic is expected to be very heavy this … (8 comments)

Something to R.A.V.E. About - in D.C. This Week - 09/19/10 02:12 PM
One of the best things about living in Crofton, Maryland, is its convenience to both D.C. and Baltimore.  There is always something going on, and usually MANY somethings going on in both cities.
This coming week, The Rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. will house an exhibit of photographs taken this past summer across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  This is the culmination of a summer-long project in which the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) partnered with the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) to highlight the Chesapeake Clean Water Act (CCWA) through photographs, video, and stories.  The project … (8 comments)

Election Too Close to Call in Maryland - 09/16/10 10:31 PM
Four races in Anne Arundel County were too close to call in the Maryland primary election, held Tuesday.  One of these is for State Delegate representing District 33A, including Crofton, where only 140 votes separate three candidates.
According to the Annapolis Capitol, incumbent Cathy Vitale is the winner for one of the two State Delegate slots representing the district, but the other delegate won't be decided until absentee and provisional ballots are counted.  Businessman Sid Saab has 2,932 votes, school board member Vic Bernson has 2.976, and incumbent Tony McConkey has 3,072 votes.
"Some numbers are going to go up, some … (10 comments)

VA Mortgage Loan After A Short Sale - 09/15/10 09:44 PM
Many of our home-buyers in the area around Fort Meade, Andrews AFB, and the Naval Station Annapolis are either active duty military or veterans.  And some of them are asking whether they can buy again after a short sale. 
North Carolina mortgage lender Eleanor Thorne does a great job of answering this question in the following blog post (re-blogged here with her permission).  Thanks, Eleanor!
NOTE:  Comments are disabled below; please click on the title of Eleanor's post to comment there instead.
 
Via Eleanor Thorne 919-649-5057 Cary Mortgage Loans NMLS #67179 (First Financial Services, Inc):
We just answered a question from … (0 comments)

Anne Arundel County Real Estate - August 2010 - 09/14/10 11:43 PM

Anne Arundel County, Maryland, is located East of Washington, D.C. and Southeast of Baltimore, Maryland.  It is home to Maryland's State Capitol in Annapolis, Fort George G. Meade, BWI Thurgood Marshall International Airport, the U.S. Naval Academy, numerous small and large businesses, and about 522,000 families. 
The county covers about 416,000 square miles, but it is best known for its 533 miles of waterfront along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
 
Real estate news in Anne Arundel County was mixed last month, with the number of sold/settled homes and dollar volume of sales down while both the average and … (4 comments)

REBARCamp Raleigh-Durham - 09/13/10 04:08 PM
All REBARCamps are not alike.  I've been to a few of them now, and REBARCamp RDU really stood out among the others I've attended - although I enjoyed them, as well.
So you don't get confused, let me clarify for you that REBARCamp is an entirely different experience than RainCamp. 
RainCamp is very scripted, with little time for networking.  Attendees go home with lots of great information presented in lecture format, primarily by Ben Kinney, with a short local panel of bloggers and a few words from Bob Stewart and/or Brad Andersohn.  You won't regret attending, I promise you.
REBARCamp is … (17 comments)

Um, It's About That Wallpaper! - 09/12/10 05:32 PM
 
It's been my experience that most homebuyers in Crofton, Bowie, and other nearby communities are not interested in living with someone else's choice of wallpaper.  They look at it and think, "Oh no... I'll have to take that down after settlement before we even move in... too much work!"
So take heed, and see what D.C. REALTOR Patricia Kennedy says about this topic:
 
 
Via Patricia Kennedy (Evers & Company Realtors):
When my parents bought their move-up house, my mother carefully chose lovely wallpaper that my father expertly hung on walls throughout the house.  Then, a few decades later when … (7 comments)

We're off to see the wizard... - 09/09/10 07:49 AM
Well, actually we're off to REBARCamp RDU!
Pat Kennedy and I are going to present on Niche Marketing in the Blog Age.  If you follow us both, you know that our styles couldn't be much more different - I'm a bullet-point kinda gal, and she's all about personality.  So I think we may have to poke some fun at each other in the process of sharing our experiences and recommendations.
One of our Northern Virginia neighbors will be presenting on another topic, as well - Brian Block. (Between the three of us, we have you covered for any client you may … (14 comments)

Pastry or Fruit... You Decide (An Informal Contest) - 09/08/10 08:57 AM
Are you feeling creative today?  Now that you've read this title and seen the photo on this page, what are your expectations for this blog post?  Here's what I had in mind for a topic when I staged this photo:
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"Selecting a real estate agent can be even more difficult than choosing one of these tasty treats."
My post would go something like this:
I will tell you that I LOVE chocolate-covered strawberries and, even if I didn't, who could resist these handsomely-attired treats?  As I considered the large platter of strawberries, however, I found myself looking for differences … (9 comments)

These Maryland Season Ticket Holders Are Wearing Navy Tomorrow - 09/05/10 06:30 PM
Our family will be wearing navy blue tomorrow and cheering for the U.S. Naval Academy in their game against the Maryland Terps.  It's a little different experience for us, since we're Maryland season ticket holders.
My husband Larry is a retired Naval Officer and our family has lived near the U.S. Naval Academy for about 40 years.  Given the sorry state of the Maryland football program (first 10-game losing season in history last year) and our affinity for Navy, we went out to get some new tee shirts for this game.  There will be plenty of other opportunities later in the … (18 comments)

Another Unexpected Consequence of Blogging on Activerain - 09/04/10 12:23 AM
Most of us measure the success of our blog posts by the number of comments, or how much business they generate... but tonight I experienced an unexpected consequence from blogging.

 
I'm guessing that not many of you read my Memorial Day Tribute to Unsung Heroes, since there were only 2 comments.  It's too bad, because I think this was a rare look into some interesting history - but then, I'm probably prejudiced because it's our family history as well as American history. 
An email arrived in my inbox tonight, via Activerain, from the nephew and namesake of someone I … (89 comments)

Back to School Night Schedule for Crofton MD Schools - 09/01/10 05:00 PM

It's Back to School Night for Crofton Elementary, this evening (September 1), but each school seems to have its own schedule.  Here are the details:
Crofton Elementary –  9/1/2010, 6 p.m. Arundel H.S. –  9/2/2010, 6:30 p.m. South River H.S. –  9/2/2010, 6:30 p.m. Nantucket Elementary –  9/7/2010, 6:30 p.m. Crofton Woods Elementary –  9/7/2010, 7 p.m. Crofton M.S. –  9/16/2010 –  6:30 p.m. Crofton Meadows Elementary –  Unavailable (will update this when it becomes available) Parental involvement is a major factor in our excellent schools, and there's no time better than Back to School Night for you to get … (6 comments)

 
Margaret Woda, Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation Services, Margaret Woda (Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Crofton, MD 21114) Ambassador_large

Margaret Woda, Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation Services

Margaret Woda

Crofton, MD

More about me…

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Crofton, MD 21114

Address: 2191 Defense Hwy., #120, Crofton, Bowie, and Davidsonville, MD, 21114

Office Phone: (410) 721-1500

Cell Phone: (301) 346-2923

Email Me

Real Estate and community information for home buyers and sellers, military transferees, and rookie agents in the greater Crofton area, including Bowie, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Odenton, and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

EHO



Margaret Woda




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