The start of my New Year's Resolution
I haven't been very good at blogging but my goal for 2008 and to blog more. So, I'm starting now. I can't believe it's been that long since I last wrote anything here.2007 has been a whirlwind of activity and a lot of things have changed. In April 2007 I changed companies, leaving Century 21 H. T. Brown to become co-owner and office manager of Advance Realty Anne Arundel. I also completed my real estate broker's license.
My oldest son Ryan joined the Army in November 2006, he completed Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Benning in Georgia and also completed Airborne training at Fort Benning before being assigned to the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg. Ryan is now on his first tour of duty in Iraq. This will be the first Christmas ever that he hasn't been home with us. It's been hard, but he was home for Thanksgiving and for that I am truly thankful.
In the meantime my office is very active in supporting our men and women in the armed forces. We campaigned for the Toys for Tots and we have adopted several soldiers who are deployed and send them letters and packages regularly.
My daughter Kristen moved out in August and is now back home again. We're moving rooms around and doing some improvements so Kristen is currently sleeping in my quilting room. So, instead of quilting, I'm knitting scarves. I donated 12 to the mitten tree at my son's, Liam, school and have finished 7 scarves since then.
The real estate market is not bad in Baltimore. We are going through a period of adjustment. Agents are leaving the industry in droves but there are still homes to be listed and still homes to be sold and still buyers buying homes. The media is really making it bad for everyone. Some buyers and sellers too are parallyzed by fear because the media is saying how bad it is. We are no longer seeing multiple contracts (well a few) and houses are taking some time to sell but you need to have a nice house, it needs to be clean, and it needs to be improved or at least look nice for it to sell. My advice to sellers is having your home pre-inspected by a Home Inspector, ask your realtor what you need to do to prepare your home for sale (and if your realtor says they don't know, find another realtor), then do what your realtor suggests. Be sure your home is reasonably priced for the market and be realistic with your expectations for how long it will take to sell and don't be afraid to adjust the price accordingly. And, be sure your realtor will market your home appropriately, have open houses and keep in touch with you through the process. If you can, wait until after January 1 to list your home. Not many people will look anyway over the holidays and if you do put it on the market you will more than likely have someone think you are desperate for a sale. So, wait until January 2 to list your home, spend the holidays preparing your home for the spring market.
Labels: market conditions, personal update
posted by bmorerealtor @ 12/21/2007 08:27:00 AM
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