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99 Single Family Homes For Sale in Annapolis Under $500,000

March 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Downtown Annapolis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

99 Single Family Homes For Sale in Annapolis Under $500,000!!!

You want to live in Annapolis but think it’s too expensive? Think again! There are 99 single family homes for sale in Annapolis under $500,000 right now waiting for you to visit!

Are you looking to live in Annapolis because of the great restaurants? Is it because of the serenity found on the water? The cobblestone streets you find downtown? Whatever the reason, you can live here!

There are so many things to do in Annapolis, you need to find the time to kick back and enjoy all it has to offer!

 

Check out the 99 Single Family Homes For Sale in Annapolis Under$500,000

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The Inventory of Homes in The Broadneck Peninsula Remains Virtually Unchanged

February 25, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Inventory of Homes in The Broadneck Peninsula Remains Virtually Unchanged.

There are currently 167 homes on the market in the 21012 and 21409 zip codes versus 173 during the same time last year.

What dictates whether prices go up, go down or stay flat? Supply and demand.

When there are more buyers in the market than homes on the market, prices go up. When there are more homes on the market than buyers to buy them, prices go down.

Comparable Data

Comparable Data

 

One of the things that confuse the buyers and sellers in our local market is when they listen to the global news and try to apply it to our local market.

I try to explain it this way…. when you are planning a trip to Florida, you don’t watch the weather forecast for the west coast. You have to narrow your search by going to weather.com and putting in the zipcode for Tampa, Florida. This search is now a relevant search and can be used to start packing your bags.

Just like the weather forecast, real estate is the same way. You have to disregard what the real estate market is doing in Phoenix, AZ and do your research using a real estate site and your local zipcode. The easiest way to determine what is going on in the Broadneck real estate market, is to contact a local Realtor and ask him to pull comparables of your home and give you a competitive market analysis.

If you are thinking about selling your home in the Broadneck Peninsula, please give us a call or drop us an email and we would be happy to review the local market conditions with you and determine the value of your home.

Live well my friends!

Filed Under: Annapolis Real Estate, Anne Arundel County, For Buyers, For Sale by Owner, For Sellers Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How Does a Short Sale Work?

February 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Stop Foreclosure

Stop Foreclosure

 

How Does a Short Sale Work?

You’ve probably heard of them, you probably know someone who is going through one, but you may not understand exactly what one is.

A short sale occurs when a mortgage company agrees to accept less than what is owed for the sale of a home.

Let me give you an example to demonstrate the point.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (sellers) are no longer able to make their mortgage payments and have let the bank know they will be engaging the help of a real estate agent to market the sale of the home.  The agent provided Mr. and Mrs. Smith a comparable market analysis (CMA), and said the value of the home was approximately $300,000 – $325,000.  Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Smith bought when the market was at it’s peak 5 years ago and they owe $380,000.  The deficit is $55,000-$80,000 and if the sellers sell their house for market value, they will short the bank this amount.

How does it work?

Here are the steps:

1.  The sellers have hardship (divorce, loss of job, illness, etc.) and can no longer meet their mortgage obligation

2.  The sellers should talk with the mortgage company to see if they would do a loan modification (make a change to the terms of the current mortgage in an effort to reduce the current payment) or if the bank has any other alternative to help them stay in the home

3.  Once it is determined that the bank can’t help the seller stay in the home, the seller should interview local short sale experts.  This is a very important step because the skills needed to navigate a short sale are very different than a home sale with equity

4.  Put the home on the market.  One of the differences in marketing a short sale than a home with equity is that while preparing a home for a short sale, no money or very little money should be spent in making improvements to the home

5.  Once an offer comes in, the agent will review the price and terms with the sellers.  If the sellers accept the offer, they send the contract to the bank or banks for their approval.  This is where the fun begins.  The process for getting the banks approval (also called third party approval) can take time.  I have seen them approved in 3 weeks (rare) and up to over a year

6.  The buyer can still do their property inspections but are likely to meet resistance if they ask for any repairs as the sellers may not have the ability to pay for any repairs and the banks are not likely to make any repairs either

7.  The bank/s will make their decision and will send the approval back in writing.  If the sellers agree to the terms, it’s time to prepare for closing

8.  The buyer will now submit all final loan paperwork, the appraisal will be ordered and closing will be scheduled (typically within 30 days)

No two short sales are alike.  All of them will try your patience and proper expectations should be set for the buyer and seller of a short sale.

There are currently 13 active short sales in Arnold and 15 in the 21409 zip code.  It’s important to know there are plenty of options to explore to avoid foreclosure.  If you know someone who is struggling, please share this blog with them and help them take their first step to freedom.

Live well.

Filed Under: Annapolis Real Estate, Anne Arundel County, County News, Financing, For Buyers, For Sale by Owner, For Sellers, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Market Watch Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Sales Contract KILLER

February 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

Home InspectionThe Sales Contract KILLER – The Home Inspection

The dreaded words…. HOME INSPECTION!  Officially it is called a Property Inspection and can be a number of different types of inspections such as:  Structural and mechanical, mold, environmental, radon, chimney, etc.

For the sake of this writing, we will be talking about the structural and mechanical inspection.  You know, the one where a home inspector does a visual inspection of the structure and components of a home to find items that are not performing correctly or items that are unsafe.

For some, home inspections kill deals.

Here’s how it works in Anne Arundel County, Maryland (if you are in a different location, please check with your local Realtor).

1.  A property inspection contingency is included in the offer to purchase and stipulates how many days the buyer has to do the structural and mechanical inspection.  

2.  The home inspection is done within said number of days.  DEPENDING ON HOW THE CONTRACT WAS WRITTEN AND AGREED TO, The buyer has the right to:

  • Cancel the contract 
  • Ask for one or more items to be repaired or replaced

3.  The contract also stipulates how many days the buyer has to deliver request for repairs AND THE HOME INSPECTION REPORT back to the seller if there are any repairs requested.

4.  The seller has 3 choices:

  • Fix all of the items requested – the buyer would be required to move forward with the contract
  • Fix some of the items requested – the buyer has the right to terminate the contract
  • Not agree to fix any of the items requested – the buyer has the right to terminate the contract.

5.  The contract will stipulate how many days the seller has to respond to the requested repairs.

What can go wrong with home inspections?

  1. Unrealistic expectations of the buyer.  He wants to have a home with zero defects.  (PS. Good luck, there aren’t any that I know of).
  2. Unrealistic expectations of the seller.  He thinks his home is perfect and if the report comes back with a defect, the home inspector must be crazy.
  3. The buyer uses the home inspection as a punch list…. clean the gutters, spackle the nail pops, trim the bushes back, etc.
  4. The seller doesn’t want to fix items that the contract requires them to fix (there is a paragraph in the contract (in Anne Arundel County specifically) that requires the mechanicals to be in working order) so by contract, it would need to be fixed.
  5. The loan that the buyer has chosen may require certain things on the home inspection to be fixed.
  6. Depending on the lender and the loan type, appraisals may require certain defects to be remedied

So what is the best way to handle home inspections? Set proper expectations with the buyer and the seller of what a home inspection is, what it isn’t and what some possible outcomes could be.  I’ve been a part of many, many very successful home inspections.  They don’t have to be the sales contract killer.

Live well and take home inspections in stride.

 

 

Filed Under: For Buyers, For Sale by Owner, For Sellers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Negotiating is an Art. Is your Realtor an Artist or Just a Presenter?

March 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If negotiation is an art, is your Realtor an Artist?

I’ve said this is several blog posts and it’s worth repeating.  There is much more to a real estate sale than just sales price.  If price becomes the sole focus, many viable real estate transactions could be disregarded when a little massaging could have done the trick.

What are the other considerations when reviewing real estate offers?

  • Sales price (obviously)
  • Closing costs paid for by the seller (If the net number (Sales price minus any concessions ie. closing help) yields the seller an acceptable amount, don’t get stuck on the fact that someone is asking for closing help….. it doesn’t matter.
  • Repairs requested – If the sales price is full price but the buyer nit picks the house to death to the tune of $15,000 to remedy, would an offer $5,000 less with no repairs requested be better? Of course.

Find the Win Win to Win

  • Closing date – If you accept a full price offer but have to pay two additional months of mortgage payments to accommodate the buyer’s requested date, would you have been better off accepting an offer less than full price, but a 30 day closing?
  • Buyer or seller flexibility – Is your counterpart making all the rules and firm with all their requests or are they willing to compromise on some terms that are important to you?
  • Contingencies – A non contingent offer is much stronger than a contingent contract.  Keep in mind, contingency does not necessarily mean that the buyer has a home to sell.   Another common contingency is a home inspection contingency, for example.  All contingencies buy the buyer time to change their mind and offers an “out”.
  • Buyer and seller motivation – A buyer or seller who is motivated is much much bought in to the sale than someone who could take it or leave it.  You want your counterpart to be committed to the end result – going to closing.
  • Showing activity and offers – if you’ve had one showing in 6 months and they want to buy….. consider their offer.  You do not know when the next showing will be.  On the other hand, if you have multiple showings per week, you may be more judicious.
  • Buyer qualification – Does the buyer have strong qualifications or are they squeaking by? Did the offer include a letter from the lender? Are they pre-approved or only pre-qualified? Has the lender seen the buyers loan documents or are they giving a conditional approval IF the buyers documents match what they told the lender verbally?
  • Loan type – Each loan type has its own rules and regulations.  For example, on an FHA and VA loan, the appraiser will be looking for safety defects in the home which could cost the seller additional money to remedy.
  • Market conditions – buyers market or sellers market.  Obviously, the person buying in a buyers market is in a stronger negotiating position than the seller in a buyers market and vice versa.  Playing hardball when you are in a weaker position could be fatal.

Consider the big picture when an offer comes in.  Choose a Realtor with proven and successful negotiating skills.

If you found this post to be helpful, please share it!

Live well!!

 

Filed Under: Financing, For Buyers, For Sale by Owner, For Sellers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Why Would Anyone Sell Their Home NOW?????

March 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 

Why would anyone sell their home now?????

They revisit their WHY.

People aren’t selling homes today just because it’s fun.  It’s not fun.  It’s hard and it’s frustrating.   Or at least it  can be.

So why are so many people doing it? Because they have a WHY.  They have a reason to move that is greater than the frustrating parts of selling a home in a buyers market.  They have an unmet need they want to fulfill.

What are some of the reasons people are selling homes? It’s personal.  I mean, it’s personal to the seller.

I sell homes in Anne Arundel county and the surrounding areas.  Here are some of the reasons my sellers are moving – they need a larger home to accommodate their aging parents, they need a smaller home as their kids have moved out, they want to decrease their mortgage payment so they have money to travel, they hate the area they are currently living and don’t feel comfortable with the kids playing outside, they can’t afford their mortgage payment because of a recent hardship, they love another home they saw, they love a community they recently saw, they want to be in a community that has more kids, they want to move from a community that has so many kids, and the list goes on and on.

The point of this blog is to remind the sellers to consider WHY they want to move.  They could make more money if they sell in a sellers market.  The trouble is, when will it become a seller’s market again and are they willing to wait for that time to meet their big WHY? So often people think only financially when they are thinking about selling a home.  But when they aren’t meeting their big WHY in the home or community they are currently living in, the emotional and logical rationale for moving sets in and they call their trusted realtor to list their home for sale.

It is important to remember, memories in a home last far longer than the discomfort of leaving some money on the table.  It is important to sit with your loved ones to determine what your big WHY is and is it large enough to pick up the phone to list your home for sale?

Live well and consider your memories!

Filed Under: Annapolis Real Estate, Anne Arundel County, For Sellers Tagged With: , , , , ,

Nine Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent Before Listing Your Home

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Find a Successful Realtor

Finding the right Real Estate Agent is critical to the successful sale of your home.  In one of the most difficult housing markets in history, it is not enough to just list your home for sale with the neighbor who has a license.

I recently interviewed with a seller who was interested in listing his home.  He was very well prepared with a list of questions to ask each of the four agents he was interviewing.  It was one of the most thorough interviews I have been on and I applaud the seller for doing his due diligence to find an agent he felt comfortable with and who he felt would be the best agent to sell his home.

I’d like to share some of the questions the seller asked me…..

 

1.  How many homes have I sold this year?

2.  How long have I been selling real estate?

3.  What sets me apart from other top real estate agents?

4.  Why do I feel he should list with Keller Williams? (To which I replied, he wasn’t listing with Keller Williams, he is listing with me, I just hang my license with them (and I trust they are the best anyway).

5.  What do I do differently to list a home for sale outside of just putting up a sign and putting it in the multiple listing service.

6.  How many homes have I sold in his neighborhood?

7.  What are my average days on the market vs. the average for the county and his community.

8.  What are the positives to his home and what are the anticipated drawbacks?

9.  How confident was I that I could get XX for his home? Why do I feel that way?  (I especially loved this question because it will weed out any Agents who are just telling a seller what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear – without being able to supply any supporting, empirical data).

So, as you can see.  This seller took selling his job seriously.  If you are serious about selling your home, not just listing your home for sale, please use this as a guide to a successful interview.

There are a lot of real estate agents in Anne Arundel County.  Be sure to choose wisely and do your due diligence.

Live Well!

Filed Under: Anne Arundel County, For Sellers Tagged With: , , , ,

Pricing a Home To Sell Just Needs to Make Sense

February 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A $100,000 swing?  How can there be a $100,000 swing in suggested list price in a house worth approximately $300,000?

Three Realtors, Three suggestions.  Pretty typical.

What doesn’t make sense to me though, is the illogical valuation of a pretty cookie cutter house in Pasadena, Maryland.

Here’s the deal.  Pricing a home to sell is not a science.  Every house is a bit different.  Every house has its pros and cons.  Every house has a price someone will pay for it.  Herein lies the challenge.  Three Realtors, three values.

I am not suggesting that I think all three Realtors should have come up with the same value (nor would three appraisers all agree on one value), but a 1/3 swing in the real value of the house? Really?

So, how does a seller know where to price the home if there is such a disparity in the value?

First, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.  If the comparables used to evaluate your home seem to be a “better” home than yours, the value of the home will likely be “better” than yours.  If the Realtor tells you what you want to hear and there is no data to support the  higher value, you will not likely find a buyer.

On the other hand, if the comparables used seem to be “worse” than yours, perhaps you are leaving money on the table.

When pricing the home, you have a difficult task.  You have to remove your seller hat and put on the buyer’s hat.  They are going to look at comparables to come up with a price they are going to offer.  If the home is priced too high and they fell in love with the house, they aren’t going to offer the inflated price (especially in a declining or flat market).   In fact, if the price is way off, they may not even see the house as they think the price is totally unrealistic.

Here’s the bottom line, if you can substantiate the value of your home with comparables, you are probably in good shape.  When you are trying to determine the most comparable homes to yours, consider the location, condition, square footage, (note, an appraiser does not value finished space in the basement the same value as the finished space above ground), number of bedrooms and baths, lot size, amenities within the home, and updates to the home to name a few.

If you enjoyed the post, please share!  Live well!

Filed Under: Anne Arundel County, For Sellers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Designed to Sell. 8 Critical Tips to Advertise Your Home to Sell

July 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When you have made the decision to sell your home, make a list of reasons why you moved to your house in the first place.  Why did you choose this house? What do you like about the home? What kinds of things do you like about the area?

No one will know the intimate details about the great aspects of your home the way you will.  Your Realtor will definately benefit from your list.

In addition to what you liked about the home, it is equally important to share the drawbacks of the home and the area with your Realtor as well.  Why? Because she is going to have to overcome the objection. 

There is no perfect house.  There is no perfect lot.  There is no perfect community.  There is no perfect living situation.  What the Realtors job then, is to emphasize the best parts of the situation while being prepared to overcome some of the less attractive parts of the situation.  It will be important to create a pros and cons list and find the buyer where the pros outweigh the cons. 

Your advertising should be geared toward the appealing aspects of the sale.  Additionally, when advertising, it is imperative to evaluate your expected buyer demographic.  Who is the most likely demographic to purchase?

You will advertise differently for a first time buyer than you would a waterfront, high price buyer.  You will stage the house differently for a buyer profile who is more likely to have kids than you would a home for sale in a 55+ community. 

When advertising a home for sale in Anne Arundel County, for example, you can talk about the proximity to the water, the proximity to shopping, proximity to major employment hubs, BRAC relocations coming in, etc.  What you talk about is directly related to who your target market is. 

Some things Realtors are unable to talk about include, their opinion on schools, the age and race of the community make up, if there are kids in the area, etc. 

Advertising a home is not a one size fits all kind of deal.  Hire a qualified Realtor with marketing experience to sell your home for you.

Thanks for reading and if you found this post helpful and feel it can benefit others, please share!

Filed Under: Anne Arundel County, BRAC, For Sale by Owner, For Sellers, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Price Your Home to Sell, Not Sit

July 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

One of the most common mistakes seller’s make when pricing their home is to price it higher than the market value to pad it for negotiations.  It seems logical but it is in fact one of the main reasons sellers end up making less money on the sale of their home than they would have gotten if they priced the home at market from the outset.

Here’s why.

Scenario – Two seller’s with the exact same house, same community, same features inside of the home are in competition with one another.  Seller 1 prices the home at market value – $300,000.  Seller 2 prices the home a little above market value anticipating a lower than list price offer and closing help.  He lists for $325,000.

Let’s break this down from the perspective of the buyer:

  • It’s a buyer’s market and the inventory of homes is high
  • Two of the exact same homes are on the market and although I like both, I can save $25,000 if I go with Seller #1
  • I am still not going to offer full price because it’s a buyer’s market and I don’t have to 

Can you see the disconnect? Seller #2 wants the buyer’s to write an offer on the house but the buyer doesn’t see the value because the first home is so much cheaper.  So in this scenario, seller #2 is helping to sell his competition’s home.  I loooove when my competition uses this logic.

Now, here’s the second rational for pricing at market.  If we are priced too high and we get little to no buyer’s looking at the home, I don’t even have the opportunity to try to negotiate.  No one is coming to the house let alone getting any offers. 

On the other hand, if we price it at market value and get buyer’s looking at the home, we are creating an environment to increase the likelihood of multiple offers.  Even if we don’t get multiple offers, we will be getting interest and NOW I am in a position to negotiate with a lower than market price. 

It is simply removing control from the buyer and keeping the control on the seller’s side.

There is another far greater danger to pricing too high in a declining real estate market.  As your home sits on the market, the value goes down.  Let’s say that in Anne Arundel county the market is declining approximately 15% YOY, if you are on the market for 6 months, the value of your home potentially has gone down 7.5%.  When you realize the house is starting to get stale and decide to reduce the price, the $300,000 house that was priced at $325,000 is now valued at $277,500 (assuming the 7.5% decline).  You decide to reduce it to $300,000.  That is what we refer to as chasing the market.

Thanks for reading.  As usual, if you think this post will be helpful to someone, please share it!

Filed Under: Anne Arundel County, County News, For Sale by Owner, For Sellers, General Discussion, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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