Sarah Toppins's (stoppins) Blog

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Real Estate Agent - Long and Foster
RECENT BLOG POSTS
Most homes in Takoma Park, MD have traditional architecture - bungalows, Victorians, & colonials.  People looking for more contemporary architecture, not to mention large closets and modern bathrooms, must look elsewhere.  This 11-year-old bilevel features the best of both worlds. With tradition...
05/24/2010
I just finished a six hour shift of manning the phones for the National Red Cross trying to help people who wanted to find out about loved ones in Haiti and/or volunteer time and money. Let me share with you what I know.  First, for those people looking for news about people in Haiti, the Interna...
01/15/2010
In what seems to be a fitting close to 2009, my copy of this morning's Washington Post had 31 pages of foreclosure notices, making it one of the largest classified sections in recent weeks.  However, my email included information about a two part video explaining the government's loan modificatio...
12/30/2009
  How to Prepare for a Showing in Ten Minutes or Less Put dishes in the dishwasher (or quickly wash them). Wipe the counters (kitchen & baths). Empty the garbage. Make the beds. Hide dirty clothes in the washer. Take a deep breath! Check toilets & put down toilet seats. Make sure all stairways ar...
12/30/2009
I've just finished reading Michele Lerner's "Homebuying - Tough Times, First Time, Any Time - Smart Ways to Make a Sound Investment" and can recommend it as a good resource for agents working with first time homebuyers and first time homebuyers. Lerner is a writer for the real estate section of "...
11/05/2009
I thought there would be a big increase in inventory after Labor Day since the supply of houses and condos in Montgomery County has been dropping for more than a year, but that didn't happen.  In fact, there were nine (yes, I said nine) more unsold houses (2276) in September compared to August (2...
10/24/2009
MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information System), the multiple listing service for the Washington, DC area has issued its statistics for July.  Of the 1130 homes in Montgomery County, MD that settled in July, half (565)of them were financed with conventional loans.  That says a lot about the marke...
08/24/2009
            Yesterday, I wrote about the 2008 rental market in Montgomery County, MD, to try and get a handle on whether it’s easier to rent a property in this declining real estate market than to sell it.  I offered statistics, but very few conclusions.             Today, I’ll include the statis...
01/26/2009
            A year and a half ago when I noticed that the market was beginning to slow down, I suggested owners might consider renting their properties if they couldn’t afford to sell at the dropping prices.  Since then, I’ve had some experience with the rental market and have heard others’ stori...
01/24/2009
I've noticed that most listing agents for short sales & REO's don't post any inside photos.  Is there a reason for this?  Many of the properties are quite nice.  But my buyers automatically eliminate any listings that don't have multiple photos - there's so much inventory, that's an easy way to m...
01/23/2009
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Sarah Toppins

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