Quilting and Real Estate in MD

1914 GRIFFIS Ave Baltimore, MD 21230 - Real Estate | CENTURY 21

1914 GRIFFIS Ave Baltimore, MD 21230 - Real Estate CENTURY 21

posted by bmorerealtor @ 11/26/2011 07:33:00 PM 0 comments

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 0 comments

Buying a House

It still amazes me that many people don't know how serious this business of buying a house is. I firmly believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to own their own home regardless of how much you can afford to spend. If $50,000 is all you can afford, your home is no less important than if $1m is what you can afford to spend.
So, I thought I would just jot a few notes here for those people who are considering buying a house for the first time.

1. I think probably the most important thing to do is find out how much you can afford to spend. How much is your monthly mortgage payment going to be? To do this see a reputable lender. That is to say, don't go on the internet and google finance companies. Call your local bank or better still sign on with a buyer's agent and ask them to put you in touch with a lender that they recommend. Don't even consider getting in the car with a realtor until you have spoken to a loan officer and he has looked at your credit and your earnings and you are prequalified for a mortgage. There is no point in getting your hopes up over a house you can't afford. Be up front with your realtor and loan officer before you start looking. If you need closing cost assistance because you don't have quite enough saved tell the realtor up front so that the realtor and loan officer can be creative in ways to structure your contract so the seller can help contribute funds towards your closing costs.
2. If you are buying your first house you may have to change some aspects of your lifestyle in order to be able to afford your house and to keep on enjoying it for many years after you have moved in.
3. Start your search early. Don't wait until the week before your lease expires and expect to move into your new house next week. From the time you make your application for financing, write your contract and have the title work complete it could take 30 to 45 days before you will be enjoying your new home. I would not recommend a pre-settlement occupancy they are very tricky and often do not work out the way you would like them to.
4. Do your homework. When your realtor starts showing you homes check out the local neighborhood and schools on your own. Your realtor can not comment on the community or the schools. After you have looked at the house check out the neighborhood at different times of the day and night. Communities often change their personalities at different times of the day so it's important to check them out if you are really interested in a home there.
5. After you have written your contract and applied for your financing don't start spending money or running up your credit cards and definitely pay your bills on time. Overspending could spell disaster for final approval on your loan.
6. Be sure to have a home inspection, even if it is only for information purposes. Your home inspection is 75% education and your home inspector will show you where all the shut off valves are and how to maintain your home for years to come.
7. Ask your realtor what to expect for closing. Every state is different in how closings are done. In Maryland you have the right to choose your closing agent. Ask your realtor for a list of reputable Title Companies. Their fees are mandated by the state so you will find that the fees are pretty similar. Your realtor will schedule your closing for you, be sure to tell them what a good day and time is.
8. The day before closing you should do your final walk through. Don't wait until the day of closing unless nothing came up on your home inspection. If you were expecting repairs to be done after the home inspection it's better to do your final walk through the day before that way if there are any problems you won't be holding up or delaying settlement.
9. Remember your realtor has bought and sold homes for many people and they love referrals.

Good luck and enjoy your new home!!

posted by bmorerealtor @ 8/13/2006 11:39:00 PM 0 comments

Investing in Baltimore

I really think you can't go wrong buying real estate in the City of Baltimore right now. There are so many incentives to buy low and put a few dollars into it then sell higher. Now, I don't mean for you to get greedy here but make a few thousand dollars and move on to the next house.
There is such a shortage of affordable homes for "real people" to buy. And, Baltimore isn't all that bad. It just needs some folks to take pride in their neighborhood, take pride in their home and take pride in their families to bring it back. I know that's easier said than done. It takes a strong person to rise above it and get on with your life rather than letting the cycle repeat itself.
I help investors all day long buying affordably priced homes and putting a few dollars into them and reselling them for a nice return on investment.
I had a client purchase a home for $55,000 last summer, he invested about $30,000 in it and sold it for $149,000 and now he's buying another one in the same neighborhood for $60,000 and going to put another $30,000 (or less since the house is in better shape) into it and sell it for $149,000 or whatever the market rate is when h e's ready to sell. I can sell $140 something thousand houses all day long.
In the coming months and years it's the affordable housing market that's going to be the place to make money. Do you know anyone with a house that needs some work? I have a whole list of investors who are looking for houses that need work anywhere from a full gut rehab to just a little TLC. Get in touch with me today and let's make it happen.

posted by bmorerealtor @ 7/30/2006 11:24:00 PM 1 comments

At the end of a perfect week

It's Saturday morning and I'm still sitting here in my pajamas. I don't have any appointments today and I think I'm going to spend the day trying to finish up a couple quilts that are almost there.
I think I practically moved mountains this week and made miracles happen. I have a couple with 3 kids I'm working with. Until Wednesday I was not aware that they had to be out of their current residence until the end of the summer. Wednesday they tell me they have to be out of their house by July 23. I almost freaked out but kept my cool. We spent yesterday looking at houses in Randallstown. They needed 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a sizeable yard and really wanted a newer home. We had been looking at houses for 3 weeks. Yesterday we looked at a gorgeous 4 bedroom in Kings Point and wrote a contract on it. Even though the house was older than they had been wanting (1968) it had been newly renovated and gorgeous and was for sale by owner. The owner agreed to give them a pre-settlement occupany and close on August 11. So, they move in next weekend but don't have to settle until the middle of August. At 10pm last night the contract was accepted and I got it back today all signed. They are ecstatic. I don't think they realize how unusual this circumstance is.
I submitted another contract last night on a cute 2 bedroom home in Hampden for another of my clients. And, ratified a contract on one of my listings too. It was a very busy week.
I almost feel at loose ends today because I don't have to go out with clients or do anything work related. My son asked me this morning if we were going to do anything today and if it was a surprise. I hadn't really planned on doing anything this weekend except maybe relaxing.
I have 2 quilts that are next to be complete. Both are quilted but need binding so I think I'll go to the quilt store and find fabric to compliment both and get the binding done.
I do need to relax some. We have 14 listings, 3 of which are under contract. And, 6 contracts ratified going to closing and 14 buyers still looking. We're very busy so where's the slow down in the market.

posted by bmorerealtor @ 7/15/2006 11:59:00 AM 0 comments

Weekend Madness

I spent the day Saturday driving a client around emerging neighborhoods in Baltimore. I should really do this more often as things change so much and so quickly. There is so much improvement going on in Baltimore that it's hard to keep up with it all. It's just my opinion but you really can't go wrong buying a house in Baltimore, whether it's to fix it up and resell it, fix it up and hold on to it and rent it or live in it for a while.
If you are a brave soul some of the neighborhoods will improve eventually, some will take longer than others though. But, in the long run, there is plenty of room for everyone to have their own little corner of ownership.
The unfortunate thing is that there are so many so called contractors out there that just take people's money and don't really do a good job, there's also a lot of improvement people out there that are just in it to make a quick $ and don't really do a good job either. It really is buyer beware when you are buying a home that has been renovated. I always recommend you get a home inspection by a reputable home inspector to be on the safe side.
It's been a while since I drove around Reservoir Hill and the renaissance has been going on there a while but I still have a hard time seeing the forest for the trees. There are still a lot of blited homes even though there is a lot of renovation going on. I read in The Baltimore Sun that there is still a huge problem with drugs and drug related violence in that neighborhood too. It's sad because those houses really are gorgeous. I feel the same way about Fayette Square, Harlem Square and Anchors of Hope.
Washington Village continues to be hot but I've noticed a slow down in the resales there and there are a ton of properties on the market given the size of the area and everything has been on the market a long time. I started out in Washington Village 4 years ago and the neighborhood has been good to me. The saddest thing I see there is the investors buying shells and reselling shells and driving the prices artificially high on shells and not improving them. I have 4 listings there and they have been on the market a long time even though they are gorgeous. One of my sellers is getting anxious and his listing is really one of the best deals going since you have the opportunity to bring the price down by not taking granite counter tops and hardwood floors. Right now it's priced with the option to reduce the price, I think I'll suggest he price it low with the option for upgrades. It's really nice and has back lit tray ceilings and the laundry is upstairs. The other thing he did was put in large closets which is unusual in older homes - even after they've been rehabbed.
We drove over to the Hollins Market area and that area is scary depending on which day and what time you go there. Sometimes it looks great but other days it's just downright scary with drug deals going on on the corner and people waiting for their next score.
What I often wonder is what will happen to all these people when the neighborhoods improve?
Baltimore City is filled with all kinds of great homes in neighborhoods on the edge. Lots of opportunities for people to make some money if you don't get too greedy. My Manager always says "pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered" and he's right, if you go into it thinking you'll make a little money then you'll be pleasantly surprised with how much you make, but if you go into it thinking it's going to make you rich then the hardships you suffer along the way and the amount of your return will leave you disappointed.
I'm taking today off and spending it with my family and doing some things that I enjoy doing other than selling real estate. And, I really do love selling houses!!
Later..
June

posted by bmorerealtor @ 7/09/2006 01:33:00 PM 0 comments

Me

posted by bmorerealtor @ 2/20/2006 08:42:00 AM 2 comments