Alternative to the SandblasterThe Maryland Association of Realtors took its annual conference back to the beach last week.After a few less than desired yearly conferences at the MGM National Harbor Hotel and Casino, which is located right outside of Washington, DC, the decision was made to take the event back to the Roland E Powell Conference Center in Ocean City, MD.In spite of this event being planned well in advance of the scheduled date, the weather decided to book overcast skies and nonstop high winds for the entire 4 day period.Additionally, somebody thought that it would be a good idea to dump their trash into the ocean, trash which included hypodermic needles and feminine hygiene products.  Just in time for the conference, this debris washed ashore prompting officials responsibl... 09/24/2024

No ReplyI tried to contact a listing agent about a property that the agent had listed for rent.First I texted, then I emailed, and then I called and left a message.  No reply.  Similar to the instructions on a bottle of shampoo, I then repeated the process.  No reply.Later that day, I saw a little boy who told me that he sees dead people and that they don't know that they are dead.Suddenly, as if my life was passing before my eyes, I remembered:the time that a seller for a listing of mine did not show up to settlement;the time that I made an appointment to show a prospective buyer one of my listings, but they did not show up;the time that a lead service sent me a lead, with whom I could never make contact;the time that I left a decent tip on my credit card at a restaurant and noticed th... 02/25/2024

Credit Card Designed To Take You Over The LimitI recently obtained a credit card from Discover Card.When I applied for the card, I do not believe that they asked about my income.They promptly approved me and gave me a $500 credit limit.After two months, I asked to have the credit limit increased.  I was not looking to spend money that I did not have, but if I solely used this card for just groceries and gas, it was quite possible to go over the $500 limit.  My only concern was that I would not go over the credit limit, whereby I would end up paying some ridiculous interest rate like 25% or more.  I would pay the full balance at the end of the month.  They told me that I did not have a long enough history to increase the credit limit. I set it up so that I would have an automatic payment... 02/12/2024

A Matter of PerspectiveMany people have been locked up for carrying, distributing, or using illegal drugs, especially young black males.  Many of those drugs are now legal.  Should I have been locked up for working at a fast food joint that peddled greasy burgers, overly salted fries, and high fructose beverages, which have led to the deaths of many people because of obesity, clogged arteries, and ultimately heart attacks, diabetes, and other conditions?The Super Bowl is a very popular sporting event, however a new record may be set this year for the number of people world wide who do not watch it.  This number could easily exceed 7 billion people.  I will be among the 7 billion plus people.Is President Joe Biden hoping that the Supreme Court rules on the case about presidential immunit... 02/11/2024

Baseball's Spring Training is Just a Few Weeks AwayThe players will soon be preparing for the baseball season, America's Pastime.From the little leagues, high school, and  college and on to the big leagues, the players will be stretching out their arms and getting the timing down on their swings to get ready to take the field and Play Ball.The frigid weather of winter and the brutal football season are nearing an end as we all look forward to more pleasant times.While only a few players develop their athletic ability to the fullest and master the intricacies of the sport to go on to the major leagues, almost anyone, at the right level, whether it be fast pitch baseball or slow pitch softball, with proper training and preparation, can play the sport.Just like baseball has its training pe... 01/29/2024

A Quick Look at 4 GenerationsMy grandparent's generation lived through World War !, a pandemic, The Great Depression with 25% unemployment rates and over 40% drops in wages, women being denied the right to vote, racial segregation, and . . . let's just stop at that.My grandparents and many others of their generation purchased houses.My parent's generation lived through World War I!, racial and gender discrimination, The Cold War, the Korean war, and . . . .let's stop at that.My parents and many others of their generation purchased houses.My generation lived through the Vietnam War, an oil embargo that resulted in a spike in gas prices and mile long lines of cars waiting to get gas, inflationary periods of well over 5% with some peaks of 12% and 15%, mortgage interest rates of 10% and as... 01/03/2024

How Much Does Your House Cost in Hours?When we consider the cost of something, we usually think of the cost in terms of money.In order to obtain money, we usually have to spend time working in a job, which pays us money.Since we have a limited amount of time in our lives, it might be worthwhile to consider how much time we need to spend working, in order to obtain the money to purchase any given item.If a person makes $100,000 per year in a full time job, which involves a 40 hour work week for 52 weeks of the year, then they must work 2,080 hours to make that $100,000.  This equates to about $48.08 per hour.  If the person is taxed at 25%, then that person's net pay is $36.06.For the sake of discussion, let's say that a person can be approved for a monthly mortgage payment of about 30% ... 12/19/2023

Baby Boomers, Do You Remember Why You Bought a Home? Perhaps these are some of the reasons:You wanted the stability that owning a place of your own would provide to you and to your family.  Your children would grow up in a community where they would make lifelong friends and attend the same schools throughout their school years.You wanted the financial benefits that owning a home would provide.  You would be able to lessen your tax liability with itemized deductions.  You would gain equity in the home which would be a major means of building your wealth.You wanted the freedom that owning a home would give you for pursuing your interests, which might have included having a pet or two, tending to a flower garden, or growing your own vegetables.You wanted the ability to make the home your ... 12/14/2023

Making a Decision To Buy or Rent Real Estate When making the decision to buy or rent your home, you may want to consider several factors.Here are some of those factors.How long do you intend to stay in the particular residence?  If you are going to stay for a short period of time and then move onto a new location, then it may not be worth it to rent, because you will not have time to recover the costs involved in buying and selling.  If you are going to stay for a longer period of time, then you may recover those costs because of appreciation in the value of the property.What is the cost of renting versus the cost of buying?  The cost of renting is straight forward.  You pay a certain amount each month.  The cost of buying is more involved.  Assuming that you use a loan, then you will p... 12/11/2023

Off Market Property?Some investors will ask me if I have any off market properties?Why?  If it is off market, then it is not available to purchase. Why would you care about something that you can not purchase?Or, by off market, do you mean not listed by a real estate agent and not advertised on the multiple list?In other words, not listed by a real estate agent who would be looking out for the interests of the owner, someone who would assure that all necessary disclosures are in the contract,  someone who would provide a competitive market analysis to determine a reasonable price, someone who could point out clauses that are designed to tie up the property and provide outs to the buyer if they can not find another buyer to whom they could assign the property, and clauses that are simply... 11/08/2023

Assigned Out Of a Commission Here is the possible scenario: A real estate agent has a signed Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement with a buyer. A property is found and placed under contract with this buyer using this agent. The listing agent for this property has indicated via the Multiple List Service that a commission is being offered to buyer's agents, but not to sub-agents. The buyer assigns the contract of sale to another agent. The contract of sale that is typically used in Maryland does not allow for assignments. Since this particular buyer is a wholesaler, the agent, buyer, and the seller agree to remove this clause from the contract. The new buyer, the assignee, does not have an Exclusive Buyer Agency Agreement with the real estate agent and hence, has no obligation to pay a commis... 08/24/2023

Where Do Interest Rates Need To Be?Many potential buyers are holding off from buying a home because they believe that mortgage interest rates are too high.This, naturally, raises the question of where do interest rates need to be for these buyers to make a purchase.For the first few months of 2023, interest rates have been fluctuating between 7.0% and 8.0%.The average interest rate from the 1970s through today is about 7.76%, which a bit higher than today's interest rate.The historically low rate of 2.96% was the average in 2021.  Don't hold your breath waiting for that low rate to return anytime soon.In 1981, when people were actually buying homes, the average interest rate was 16.63%.  It is not likely that we are going to go anywhere near that amount.  The economy in the late 70s and... 04/27/2023

House Needs Too Much Work; You Rent Instead of SellYour house needs lots of work before you can put it on the market and realistically get a price that you want.Instead of spending the time and money to properly prepare your home for the for sale market, you decide on an alternative.You immediately put the house on the rental market instead of going through the hassles necessary to sell it.In order to get a good and reliable tenant, you will do a thorough background  check before you approve them to rent your place.You will want to verify that their income is sufficient to pay the rent and the utilities, to review their credit to determine if they consistently pay their bills, to check that they do not have a criminal background, and to talk with references to help you to determine that... 04/12/2023

Maryland Real Estate Prices PlateauAccording to data from the Bright MLS, which serves all of Maryland, and reports compiled by the Maryland Association of Realtors, real estate prices have plateaued in Maryland.If you were waiting for the market to peak before you put your house on the market, then that time may have arrived.With mortgage interest rates doubling over the last year, inflation remaining much higher than anyone would like, an extremely volatile oil market, and with a potential recession brewing, potential buyers of real estate have been hesitant to enter the market.The appreciation of 8 to 11 percent, that was seen over each of the last three years, has leveled off.One major stressor that is preventing a drastic decline in prices is that, even though fewer homes are being... 04/11/2023

Selling with a VA Assumable LoanVA loans are assumable.If you own a home that you purchased with a VA loan when interest rates were closer to 3.0%, then you could use this as a selling incentive.The purchaser, who would assume the loan, does not need to be a veteran.The purchaser would still need to qualify to the lender's requirements regarding credit, income, and debt.The purchaser would need to pay a 0.5% VA funding fee.If you go this route, then  you should make certain that you are not responsible for the loan if the new borrower defaults.When the purchaser is not a veteran, then the VA loan entitlement will remain with the property and you will not be able to use it for another home.When the purchaser is a veteran, then the VA loan entitlement of that veteran can be substituted fo... 04/10/2023

Mortgage Interest Rates Over the YearsMortgage interest rates have gone up and down over the years. The average mortgage interest rate since 1972 up until 2022 has been 7.76% for a conventional conforming loan.The average yearly high was in 1981 at 16.63% and the average yearly low was in 2021 at 2.96%.Mortgage interest rates have made a fast increase from 2021, when they averaged 2.96%, up until today, in early 2023, when they are near 7.00%.Although interest rates have made a recent sharp increase, they are still below the average when calculated from 1972, however, interest rates by themselves do not show the full picture about affordability. They do not consider the price of homes, wages, inflation and debt, nor savings and available assets.When deciding whether or not to purchase a... 03/13/2023

The Power of VideoWe have a house on the market at 1 Putting Way, Reisterstown, MD 21136. I can start to tell you about it by giving a description such as the following:   Prepare yourself for a jaw-dropping experience.This custom designed home has been built with the highest quality construction methods, materials, and finishes.It starts off with ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) for the foundation and walls, which provide the highest level of energy efficiency, sound reduction, and wind tolerance (capable of withstanding hurricane force winds).The home contains nearly 4,700 square feet of finished living area that includes 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths, and a half bath.The spacious 3 car garage is equipped with a 240V Electric Vehicle charging station, plus an incredible storage area above.Ta... 03/10/2023

Conforming Loan Limits to IncreaseThe Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will increase conforming loan limits, effective January 1, 2023, by about 12.2%The FHFA determines the amount of the increases once it has received the third quarter housing sales numbers.For most counties in the country, the limit will increase from $647,200 to $726,200.The highest conforming loan limit, which will be available in 99 counties in the country, will be $1,089,300.Note, these limits are based on home prices and not on interest rates, affordability, wages, inflation and so on.In Maryland, the high limit of $1,089,300 applies to five counties: Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George's.Check with your lender to determine the limits for the area where you are looking to purchase.If y... 12/02/2022

Should HUD Practice Social Engineering?With a FHA loan homes have become affordable, which sounds like a good idea.But, when someone forecloses on a FHA loan and HUD picks up ownership of the house, should they, then, practice social engineering?HUD is not in the business of owning real estate, so they should put the properties that they obtain on the market as quickly as possible and to the largest buyer pool possible.No, HUD creates all types of categories of buyers and makes properties available to some groups and not to other groups.Here is one: Good Neighbor Next Door.  What is a good neighbor?  Is it a teacher, a police officer, or the like?  Apparently so.  So what does that make me?  Am I a bad neighbor next door?Here is another one: Government agencies and non-profits.  Does HU... 12/02/2022

Home for Sale in Perry Hall MarylandPerry Hall home available for $425,000.  All brick rancher has over 1,800 square feet (3.726 square feet total) of living area on the main level plus a finished lower level.  3 good sized bedrooms, 2 full baths, and 1 half bath.  Features hardwood floors, 2 wood burning fireplaces, spacious covered back porch, eat-in kitchen, newer roof, newer gas furnace and central air, and several newer windows, fresh paint, and new carpet in the lower level.  Located at 9219 Cornflower Road, Nottingham, MD 21236.  Contact Ron Trzcinski of Century 21, The Real Estate Centre at 410-935-5844 for more details.    05/03/2022