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Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400
Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome, Broker/Owner HomeRome Realty. Radio Host ALL ABOUT REAL ESTATE. Sundays 12 noon. Author: Real Estate The Rome Way. 410-530-2400
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Pikesville, MD Real Estate News

By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
 After all these years in real estate, I've concluded.Some houses are just like people. Not just in the way they look, but in their personalities. There are friendly houses. You know the ones. The front door opens, sunlight pours in, and before you've even seen the kitchen, you feel comfortable. They aren't trying to impress anyone. They make you feel welcome.Then there are the shy houses.They don't photograph particularly well. Buyers scroll right past them online. But once you walk inside, they slowly reveal their charm. Like a quiet person at a party, they become more interesting the longer you spend with them.Some homes are old souls.Usually stone homes, historic homes, or houses built when craftsmanship mattered more than trends. They may creak a little and show a few wrinkles, but...
Comments 3
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
 This is about Hedy and Al's House. The house they said they didn’t want, or everything on the list…except the home. People often think they know exactly what they want in a home. In fact, many buyers come armed with detailed lists. I remember a couple some years ago who were extremely specific. They wanted a home in Baltimore County, in a strong school district for resale value, even though they didn’t have children. They wanted low-maintenance replacement windows, a newer roof, a large, modern kitchen because they both loved to cook, a hot tub, a two-car garage, and everything in excellent condition. We spent somewhere between six months and a year looking at every house that fit their criteria.Finally, I said to them, “I need you to trust me. I want to show you a house.'' I took them...
Comments 5
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
I'm Still in the GameNot every house sells the first weekend.Not every property generates multiple offers.And not every listing is easy.In fact, some of the most rewarding sales of my career have been the ones that everyone else had given up on.I have a property on the market right now that falls squarely into that category.Before it came to me, the owner tried selling it himself. Then it was listed with one agent. Then another. Then another. It even went to auction.Still no sale.By the time I was called, many agents would have politely declined. After all, how many chances does a property get before people start asking, "What's wrong with it?"But I've never been particularly interested in taking only the easy listings.The truth is, almost any property can be sold if you lower the price...
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By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
The Emotional Stages of Buying a Home  At first, buying a house is exciting. It starts with possibilities. Buyers sit on their couch late at night, scrolling through listings, convinced the perfect house is out there waiting for them. They imagine cozy kitchens, holiday dinners, home offices, fenced yards for the dog, music rooms, gardens, big closets, and, finally, a place that truly feels like home. Looking at houses is fun at first. Everything feels hopeful.Then comes the reality stage.The first few houses may look nothing like the pictures online. One smells funny. One backs up to a highway. One has no closets. One is way too expensive for what it is. Buyers start saying things like, “How can houses cost this much?” or “Maybe we should just keep renting.” This is often followed by w...
Comments 11
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
Selling a home can be a complicated process, especially given the amount of paperwork involved. If you’re thinking about selling, it’s time to gather the right documents, which can sometimes be difficult to locate if you’ve lived in your home for a long time. Start by collecting key documents, including items when you bought the house...the contract, settlement sheet, loan documents, title insurance, and location survey. You should also gather papers related to any refinancing, ground rent information, proof of redemption, home equity documents, and details about any second or reverse mortgages.If you’ve made significant improvements or renovations, like adding a bathroom or deck, make sure to include receipts and permits for those upgrades. Warranties for recently repaired or replaced ...
Comments 7
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
No Emergencies in Real EstateAfter decades in real estate, I have learned something that surprises people when they first hear it: there are very few true emergencies in real estate. Plenty of stress? Absolutely. Plenty of pressure, emotion, confusion, delays, last-minute surprises, and people wanting answers immediately? Every single day. But actual emergencies? Rare. Real estate has a way of making everything feel urgent. A lender needs one more document. An appraisal is delayed. A buyer gets nervous after a home inspection. A seller is upset about a repair request. Someone cannot find a paper they swore was on the kitchen table five minutes ago. The moving truck is scheduled. The utility company is late. By noon, everybody suddenly feels like the sky is falling. And yet, somehow, alm...
Comments 8
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
Over the years, I have had significant success with my advertising, radio show, and blogging activities. I have improved these efforts by starting with a clear idea and a focused blog post topic. I also include visuals throughout my content to make it more interesting.I have two amazing assistants: Jeni, the associate publisher, and Ebony, the art director of the weekly publication, The Baltimore Jewish Times. The team is fantastic, and my ads always get comments.  I appreciate their assistance in selecting one blog post from my extensive collection of over 6,000 entries. Each week, they randomly feature one of these posts as a quarter-page piece on the inside cover. This is the post chosen for this week: real estate rollercoaster. And below ...how the published blog does double duty in...
Comments 5
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
 Who Absquatulated? A Real Estate MysteryThere are many moving parts in a real estate transaction. Buyers, sellers, agents, lenders, inspectors, appraisers, title companies, contractors… It’s like a carefully choreographed dance where everyone has a role, a timing, and a responsibility.And then… someone absquatulates.If you’ve never heard that word before, it’s a good one. It means to leave suddenly, maybe a little mysteriously, without much explanation. In real estate, it doesn’t always mean someone physically disappears. Sometimes it’s more subtle. The calls stop. The emails slow down. The urgency fades. And you start to wonder… who absquatulated?I’ve seen it happen in all kinds of ways.There was the buyer who fell in love with a house, wrote a strong offer, negotiated back and forth ...
Comments 14
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
It could have turned into one of those stories I tell with a knot in my stomach. You know, the kind that starts with excitement, takes a sharp turn into panic, and makes you question how everything will end.My recent sale hit the market looking like a completely different house. My HomeRome Team stepped in and did what they do best: they cleaned it out, painted it, freshened the cabinets, installed new toilets and lighting, and spruced up the landscaping. Every detail was handled. We didn’t over-improve; we improved smartly- focusing on the updates that truly mattered. I felt confident enough to raise the price. Just like that, on the first day on the market, it sold. The buyers were in love, and everything was lining up beautifully, inspections done, and the appraisal was ordered. Then...
Comments 5
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
DisengageThere is a quiet power in knowing when to disengage. It does not mean you do not care. In fact, it often means the exact opposite. It means you care enough about the outcome not to let emotion take over. In real estate, and in life, not every conversation deserves your energy, and not every comment deserves a response. Some people are not trying to solve a problem. They are trying to be right, to be heard, or simply to release their own frustration. The moment you recognize that, everything changes.Disengaging is not walking away from the situation. It is stepping away from the emotion within the situation. It is choosing to respond rather than react. It is moving from conversation to documentation, from opinions to facts. A well-written email or text has a way of bringing clar...
Comments 7
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
Eleven Slade THREE BEDROOMS $50,000There are moments in real estate that don’t come along often, and this is one of them. Welcome to Unit 412 at 11 Slade Avenue, a rare 3-bedroom, 2 full bath corner residence that is fully furnished and truly move-in ready. This spacious home offers beautiful natural light and a large private balcony with sweeping views, creating a quiet retreat above it all. And now, we are offering this extraordinary opportunity at an almost unheard-of price of $50,000.This is not just a home; it is a full-service lifestyle.Click for video and learn more about Eleven SladeThe monthly fee includes heat, air conditioning, water, and even the real estate taxes, making ownership simple and predictable. The building itself is known as one of the best-run and most efficient...
Comments 4
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
How Do Real Estate Deals Actually Come Together?From the outside, it can look like a home sells in a moment. A showing, an offer, a contract. Done.But that’s almost never how it really happens.Most real estate transactions come together in layers.It often starts with a simple showing. A buyer walks through a home, takes a look, and leaves. Nothing dramatic. No immediate decision. Just a first impression.Then something interesting happens.They keep thinking about it.They compare it to other homes. They may go see a few more. Sometimes they come back for a second look. Sometimes they drive by again. Sometimes they bring someone with them, a parent, a friend, a different perspective.And then, slowly, interest turns into intent.That’s when conversations begin. Questions are asked. Numbers a...
Comments 4
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
Nothing Works All the Time Everything works...some of the time. One of the simplest truths I’ve learned, and one of the hardest to accept, is this: Nothing works all the time.Some things work some of the time.And that has to be enough. If you’ve been in real estate for more than five minutes, you already know this. But now and then, we forget. We try something that worked beautifully once… and expect it to work the same way again. We price a house the way a similar one sold last spring… and wonder why it sits. We held an open house that was packed the last time… and this time, crickets. We write the perfect offer… and lose. We do everything “right” … and the deal still falls apart. It can make you feel like nothing works. But that’s not true. Things do work. Just not every time. A hand...
Comments 8
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
The House That Wasn’t For Sale… YetLast week on the show, a caller named Chris shared something many buyers quietly feel.He had found the house.Not just a house… that house.The one he admired every time he drove by.The one in the neighborhood he really wanted.There was just one small problem.It wasn’t for sale.Now, most people would stop right there.They’d go back to scrolling online.Waiting.Hoping.But Chris didn’t.A Different Way to Find a HomeInstead of waiting for a “For Sale” sign, I suggested something a little different.I said,“Why not write them a letter?”Not a sales pitch.Not a solicitation.Just a simple, honest note:Hi… my name is Chris.I love your home.If you’ve ever thought about selling, I would love the opportunity to talk.That’s it.Fast Forward to This WeekChris called bac...
Comments 11
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
 My mother was an extraordinary woman who faced so many challenges in her life. She came to the US from Germany at age 21 without knowing anyone or speaking English.Mother, a widow at 39, with two young kids, ran the restaurant business, opening at six in the morning and closing at nine at night.  What a role model!  Mom taught by example, never missing one day in all those years. Maybe there is no coincidence that I've missed three live radio shows in twelve years. Despite the difficulties she faced, she was loved and admired by everyone in town for her hard work and determination. And I never heard her complain! When I moved her to Baltimore, she quickly became involved in the community. She gave generously to charity and to people in need, never considering her actions gifts because ...
Comments 15
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
A Closing Worth Waiting For Some closings are just closings. And then there are closings that feel like the house finally found the people it was waiting for. This was one of those. 8602 David Ave 21234 Before we got to the happy ending, there were the fall-throughs. The disappointments. The almost-buyers. The “we love it, but…” moments. The offers that did not make it to the finish line. The starts and stops that make everyone wonder whether the right buyer is really out there. And then they showed up. A young family. A happy family. Two little girls. The kind of buyers who did not just see rooms, walls, and floors. They saw a home. They saw where the girls would grow up. They saw birthday parties, backpacks by the door, muddy shoes, bedtime stories, and all the ordinary little things...
Comments 6
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
Clear to Close!There are three words in real estate that sound almost as beautiful as music.Clear to close!Those words mean we are almost there. Not “almost” in the hopeful way. Not “the lender says it looks good.” Not “we are waiting on one more thing.” Not “we should have approval any minute.” Clear to close means the final pieces are in place and settlement can be scheduled.By the time we hear those words, a lot has already happened behind the scenes. The contract has been signed. The earnest money deposit has been delivered. The inspections have been handled. The appraisal has been ordered, completed, reviewed, and accepted. The title work has been done. The lender has reviewed the buyer’s income, assets, credit, employment, bank statements, tax returns, and whatever else they neede...
Comments 10
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
  A successful negotiation  (A Bill Spear gem) My friend in real estate, Bill Spear, said something today: “A successful negotiation is a signed agreement that both parties are dissatisfied with.” Isn’t that wonderful? And oddly enough… It’s true. People often think a good negotiation means one side “won.” It doesn’t. If one side feels they have won everything, chances are the other side has lost too much, and that is usually not the best foundation for a smooth transaction. A good agreement often has a little discomfort on both sides. The seller wishes they did not have to fix that item. The buyer wishes they had gotten a little more. One side stretched on price. The other stretched on timing. Nobody got everything. And that may be exactly why it works. It's best to always negotiate w...
Comments 5
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
Understanding 11 Slade: A Different Kind of OpportunityCertain buildings require more than a standard listing presentation, and 11 Slade is one of them.With Units 412, 614, and 301 currently in the picture, and the possibility of a fourth co-op listing soon, I have spent a great deal of time not only marketing these homes but also educating buyers and agents about what makes this building so unique. 11 Slade is not simply another residential building. It is Baltimore County’s only co-op, and that distinction matters. The appeal is easy to understand. The building offers a full-service lifestyle with features increasingly hard to find, including valet parking, generous unit sizes, and special amenities such as a freezer/refrigerator room. For many buyers, it represents an elegant and pra...
Comments 8
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
Making Mountains Out of AnthillsOne of the truest things I have learned is this:The smartest person is often the one least interested in proving it.That may not sound flashy, but in real life, and especially in real estate, it can save the day.Not every small problem needs a speech, a standoff, or a grand explanation. Sometimes a tiny issue shows up, and instead of quietly fixing it, people turn it into a production.Why?Because sometimes being right seems more important than being helpful.And sometimes, to make it even more interesting, some people want credit for solving the problem they created.That is where a little ant hill suddenly gets promoted to mountain status.I have learned that not every moment needs blame assigned, history reviewed, and every detail retold. Many times, the b...
Comments 10
By Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400, Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome
( HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400)
Who Knew We Couldn’t Live Without It?Sometimes I think the funniest part of our lives is realizing how many things we once lived perfectly well without but now act like we may not survive if they disappear for ten minutes.Who knew we couldn’t live without a TV remote control? There was a time when changing the channel required standing up, walking across the room, and turning a knob. We survived. Barely, apparently.Who knew we couldn’t live without GPS? We used to keep map books in the car, pull over to figure out where we were, and somehow still made it to the appointment. Now if the little voice in the car stops talking, people panic like they’ve been dropped in the wilderness.Who knew we couldn’t live without instant hot water, microwaves, calculators, cell phones, or computers? Ther...
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