Posted on February 17th, 2009 by pratt
Now that you have narrowed down you choice of homes to two or three great properties in the Annapolis, how do you decide between them?
Obviously, you can and should take your list of desirable features and do the pros and cons of each of the houses to compare them as much as possible. But what some people forget sometimes is to do research on the neighborhood.
You should make sure the neighborhood has features that will cause it to increase in value as much as possible. Certainly, the home, which is a better investment property, should be considered as a better idea than otherwise.
Check with the local police for crime stats. Lower crime rates mean better property values in the future. But do not just check the current crime rates: check the trends. You would prefer a neighborhood that has a steady or dropping crime rate and clearly avoid ones with negative trends.
Check the local schools—even if you do not have children. Good and improving schools have positive effects on the future value of your home. Negative trends in the local schools should be a strong warning to avoid those neighborhoods.
Drive around and see how well the properties in the neighborhood are maintained. A neighborhood full of properly maintained yards increases the curb appeal of all homes in the neighborhood. They also increase the maintenance costs, marginally at least, and can determine how much time you yourself will end up spending on your yard.
For other ideas check with a local realtor.
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Posted on February 11th, 2009 by pratt
A very interested buyer I had a couple of weeks ago asked a question that all home sellers need to be asking themselves. Are you interested in or open to carrying back a loan on a portion of the selling price?
With today’s buyer’s market, it makes sense for buyers to try to get every advantage they can in trying to find and get into the home of their future. However, does it make sense for a seller to enter into such an arrangement?
The answer as in most things with real estate, the most valuable possession most people will ever have, is…sometimes.
Sometimes it does make sense for a seller to carry back a loan and sometimes it does not.
If the carry back means the seller has to put up money to actually get out of the house they are selling, then usually it does not make sense to carry back anything. However, sometimes it does. For example, say your house is on the market for $500,000 and a buyer asks you if you are willing to carry back a loan on $50,000. Does it make sense to do so or not?
Please not the 50k is at 10% of the price of the house. This frequently is a cut-off for a conventional loan as opposed to a government-backed loan. And many buyers rightfully prefer conventional home loans. But does it make sense to the seller?
If the seller owes $500,000 or more on the home, then the answer is obviously no.
If the seller actually has $300,000 worth of equity, then I would advise the seller to look closely. This means I would advise the seller to say yes with certain conditions.
One of the conditions I would require is information from the seller to allow for a sufficient credit check. Wouldn’t you require that from anyone asking for $50k?
Do not forget to look at the details of the loan. What details or they asking in the loan package from you?
I have seen many times where the holder of the carry back loan needed to foreclose. Does the former seller have the resources financial and emotional to go through that experience? Do they want to risk owning worthless paper or their former home?
Another to look at is how much difference the 50k will make in the sellers future. Is the money needed before the loan comes due?
Only after you have definitely checked out the entire situation should you ever sign a contract in which you agree to a carry back loan.
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Posted on February 11th, 2009 by pratt
The Washington Post is one of the four newspapers that residents of Annapolis read, so it is semi-big news that they announced today their alliance with Trulia. What does it mean for local real estate? Probably not much. Newspapers have been dead or nearly dead to real estate since people started looking on Craig’s list and other online sources. Not that some people do not read the paper, but the fact is that advertising dollars have been going elsewhere because newspapers have been losing eyeballs.
Trulia claims some kind of web real estate expertise. And there is not question the do specialize in real estate in a manner that the Post can only dream about. However, they have been around for a long time without major inroads to any market that I can find. They do claim a share of the national market, but how do I say it? Real Estate is local. And in Annapolis, more local than the Washington Post has been. So while the WaPo-Trulia alliance might mean something to some of the closer in real estate markets to DC, I will be surprised if it affects most of the DC/Baltimore/Annapolis market much…
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Posted on February 9th, 2009 by pratt
January is traditionally one of the slowest months of the year for residential home sales. January sales frequently reflect the state of the previous years market as opposed to the next years market, but still the numbers from January this year are striking.
2000 337
2001 404
2002 481
2003 516
2004 483
2005 526
2006 432
2007 458
2008 281
2009 204
They are simply by far the lowest this century. What does this mean if you are planning on buying? The best buyers market in a very long time. What does this mean if you are planning on selling? Make sure you price your home right or chances are good that your home will help sell other housed instead of your own.
What does the current market mean if you need to sell in order to buy? Make sure you price your house right and you will have a mortgage and a new house you can brag about for years to come: which is to say you will be getting an incredibly good deal…probably. After all who can truly tell the future?
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Posted on February 5th, 2009 by pratt
Do we have radon in homes here in the Annapolis area?
Sometimes, but usually not.
There are areas in Anne Arundel County including some places that are “Annapolis” that have levels of radon high enough to cause concern. The northern part of the county is most commonly has the elevated levels of radon.
What this means for buyers is that you should take a careful look at the radon maps for the area and if your home is close to an area with historically high radon levels, you should make sure that the home is testes before you buy. Try this link to get an official EPA brief of the what home buyers should be aware of http://www.epa.gov/radon/video/breathing_easy.wmv
The radon test is usually less than $200. However, if it finds radon, you are forewarned. You then, assuming you wrote your offer appropriately, have a choice of walking away from the home you fell in love with, negotiating with the seller for a price break, or simply plan to pay to have the radon taken care of after your purchase.
Given today’s buyer’s market, usually you can get a radon mitigation price break.
The radon test is just one of the tests you should probably consider before buying your home of course. Talk to you real estate agent, or even ask me?
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